Cashew trees ghana drivers#

To date, national agricultural planning and policy appears to prioritize production of export commodities and agricultural 'modernization' above local food production. This will be important to ensure the lure of export led growth does not compromise local food security. There is also an urgent need to examine export led priorities, including in particular, cashew nut sectoral planning. Given the current-and expected future-challenges facing Ghana's domestic food security, there is an urgent need to critically assess agricultural development policies and donor aid initiatives. On this basis, smallholder farmers in Ghana's breadbasket are increasingly taking up government support packages that enable them to convert land into cashew nut production for export. This is nothing new, with the food crop sector historically marginalised in policy terms, and export commodities the priority of government over the long term. What is worrying is the extent to which smallholder and local farming has become increasingly 'un-competitive.' This is because they have limited access to technology and poor infrastructure, among other social, economic and political factors. Local smallholder farmers therefore play an important role in feeding local populations. At the same time, domestic food production also contributes significantly to national food supply. Meanwhile, some 15 percent of maize-another major staple-is also imported, alongside several other processed foods. Reflecting this, about 70 percent of one of Ghana's major staples-rice-is imported. Ghana has come to depend on both imported and locally produced food. But critics argue it is an assemblage of old policy interventions that have largely failed. The program was designed to enhance food security and create job opportunities. One such program is the Planting for Food and Jobs, an initiative launched in April 2017 by President Nana Akufo-Addo. This is partly due to the dominance of short-term approaches. But most of these programs have not achieved effective results. Ghana has, in recent years, relied on ad hoc programs to drive domestic food security. The conversion of fertile land into cash crop production-and the transformation of Ghana's breadbasket into cashew exporter-presents significant challenges for ensuring long-term food security in Ghana. The research found that farmers in the area previously referred to as the Brong Ahafo region of Ghana have come to dedicate increasing portions of their land to cashew nut production, with only a small portion of land set aside for household food cropping.

Cashew trees ghana drivers#

This article draws from research undertaken as part of a Ph.D., that has sought to understand the drivers and impacts of Ghana's cashew expansion. But it poses potential challenges at the local level, particularly around food security.

In Ghana, expansion of cashew production for export markets is championed as part of its plan for agricultural development. On this basis, cashew is predicted to represent 29 percent of the global nut market by 2021. Globally, demand for cashew nuts has grown at around 7 percent each year. Here the nuts are processed and re-exported to the US, Europe, the Middle East, China and Australia. Of significance, over 98 percent of Ghana's cashew nuts are exported in their raw form to India and Vietnam. This has included sponsored initiatives aimed at increasing production. Organisations such as USAID and the Gates Foundation have also been instrumental in Ghana's cashew sector expansion. In Ghana, a number of social, economic and political circumstances in Ghana have enabled spectacular expansion.įor a start, there has been strong government support as well as backing from international donors. Cashew nut production has increased four fold across the continent since 2000.