The General Secretary of Cashew Farmers Association of Ghana, Clement Anane is appealing to the government to help eliminate middlemen from the cashew nut selling business.
He wants the government to either purchase or appoints companies to purchase the cashew nuts directly from the farmers as it has been done for cocoa over the years.
This, he says, will guarantee the farmers a good price for their produce.
Speaking to Oyerepa News’ Emmanuel Oduro, Mr. Anane said, the middlemen purchase the cashew nut cheaply from the farmers and sell same to foreign companies at a higher price, thereby depriving the farmers of the right reward for their toil.
Mr. Clement Anane was reacting to concerns raised about the price of cashew nuts by women who are into cashew farming in the Jaman North District of Bono region.
He added that cashew nuts have a good price at the international market but the activities of middlemen in the cashew sector are not working against the farmers.
Mad. Grace Fordjour Adwoa, a cashew farmer at Sampa in the Jaman North district had, in an earlier interview with this reporter, expressed worry about the poor price of cashew nuts.
She said due to the poor price of cashew nuts, they do not get enough money to cater for themselves, let alone to expand their farms.
She, therefore, called on the government to step in and regulate the price or purchase the cashew nuts from the farmers as it is done for cocoa beans.
Mad. Grace Fordjour further pleaded with the government to grant cashew farmers soft loans to expand their farms.
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