Cashew Farmers have been urged to adopt agronomic practices from the 6th International Cashew Research Conference.
According to the Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) in- charge- of Crops, Mr Yaw Frimpong Addo, individuals from other countries had shared some best agronomic practices that yielded more and quality produces in their countries.
He was addressing the media at the sixth Council of Ministers’ Conference of the Consultative International Cashew Council (CICC) held in Accra on Wednesday.
The conference, was held alongside a research dialogue, fair and an exhibition, which was aimed at supporting the development of the cashew sector and contribute to the economic and social growth of African states.
Held on the theme “Projecting the Cashew Sector through local Consumption, Value Addition and Job Creation,” the meeting brought together ministers, experts, researchers and other stakeholders from eleven African countries to share experiences, identify gaps and marshal efforts in promoting the cashew industry.
Mr Addo said, this among other measures, would help the country to upscale its cashew production and processing capacity in spite of the support obtained from international organisations such as the World Bank, to be able to increase export and improve foreign exchange earnings.
He said the government’s commitment to the development of the cashew sector led to the creation of the Tree Crops Development Authority (TCDA) and participation in the CICC.
“The aim of TCDA is to provide the opportunity for the country to demonstrate the progress made in the cashew sector and to attract potential investors into the industry, while conferences and exhibitions like this is expected to increase the consumption rate of cashew products and create visibility for small and medium size cashew processors and showcase the country as the preferred destination for the production, trading and exports of cashew,” he noted.
To motivate young farmers to venture into cashew farming, Mr Addo said there was a need to provide farmers with alternative livelihoods, provide them with high quality yielding seeds and educate them on best agronomic techniques.
The Former Director of Crop Service at MoFA, Mr Seth Osei Akoto, said the meeting was focused on scientific research on crop improvement and how to improve cash flows for cashew farmers.
He noted that, the country used to produce as low as 400 kilograms per hectare, however, with the help from Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana(CRIG), the country now produces 600 to 1,200 kilograms per hectare.
The Scientific Director of CICC, Dr Paul Adu-Gyamfi, said research conducted by CRIG and MoFA indicated that, the country’s production of Cashew yields has increased from four kilograms per tree to about 2.5 tonnes per hectare.
“In the first generation of clones that we rolled out, they provided yields between 800,200 kilograms per hectare. Now we have rolled out the second generation of clones of varieties that produce data producing between two tones to 2.5 tonnes per hectare.
We have been able to raise the productivity of cashew in various farms and also increase the profit profitability of the cashew farming systems,” he said.
BY CECILIA LAGBA YADA
