Cashew Sector Promising Under New Structures—ACA MD

The Managing Director of the African Cashew Alliance (ACA), Ernest Mintah, has expressed confidence in the newly established Tree Crops Development Authority (TCDA) and the Cashew Council Ghana (CCG) to harness the potentials of the cashew sector.

 

According to him, these bodies are generally private sector-led, made up of industry players with knowledge of the sector at the heart of decision making, which is good for the growth of the sector.

 

The CCG was officially launched on Thursday, 15th October 2020, in Techiman a few weeks after the President of the Republic officially inaugurated the TCDA in Kumasi.

 

Distinguishing between the two bodies, Managing Director of the African Cashew Alliance (ACA), Ernest Mintah, whose outfit was a major stakeholder in the establishment of both the TCDA and the CCG explains that while the former is regulatory in nature with legal powers to formulate and implement policies, the latter is an advocacy group for the cashew sector.

 

According to him, the CCG will ensure that stakeholders of the cashew sector have a united front and are able to advocate for favorable policies, that is in the collective interest of actors of the sector, at the Authority level.

 

“Unlike the TCDA which is regulatory in nature, the CCA is made up of the stakeholders in the cashew industry. It is a platform of actors with knowledge of the industry to be able to harmonize the needs and what policies are essential for the industry for them to advocate that at the level of the TCDA. It is more of an advocacy group at the level of the crop,” he explained.

 

Each of the other subsectors of the tree crops industry, according to him, already has a Council of this nature and so it was essential for the cashew sector to establish one, explaining that these councils will make the work of the TCDA easier.

 

“It is essential for all the crops to have such Councils as platforms. Otherwise, it will mean the TCDA will have to deal directly with farmers, buyers, processors, exporters of each of the six crops and that will be difficult,” he explained.

 

“With the CCG, when there is an issue related to cashew, it can be deliberated upon at the council level and then go to the Authority with one voice. Actors will be able to come out with a common position in their demands with the government. This will ensure that policies of the Authority in relation to cashew are well-deliberated upon and are in the interest of all actors,” he added.

 

The CCG is a corporate body registered by the Registrar General’s Department with membership from the various players of the cashew value chain. It comprises mainly of the Cashew Processors Association, the Association of Cashew Processors Ghana, and the Cashew Traders Association of Ghana.