Cashew sector to bring in $ 2.5 billion to Ghana – Deputy Minister

Economic News from Sunday, July 21, 2019

Source: ghananewsagency.org

2019-07-21

The cashew industry is expected to bring in $ 2.5 billion to the nation in the next five years, said Augustine Collins Ntim, Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development.

He added that the government had allocated 1 billion GHC to the creation of the Tree Crop Development Authority, which would regulate and reorganize the cashew industry to make a significant contribution to gross domestic product (GDP). from the country.

Mr. Ntim, responsible for rural economic development and agriculture, has mandated the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMD) to bring together the 100,000 cashew seedlings targeted under the Plantation Program for Agriculture and Rural Development. Export Development and Rural Development (PERD) to achieve this goal.

Cashew seedlings would be provided free of charge to farmers registered under the PERD program for planting.

He added that PERD was there to stay and that the government was considering involving unemployed youth in the planting of cashew plants for farmers.

In interacting with the department heads and staff of the Pru East District Assembly in Yeji, in the Bono East area, the Deputy Minister stated that the successful implementation of the Planter programs for the Food and Employment (PfFJ) and PRDE depended mainly on the MMDAs.

He said PERD, PfFJ and other social intervention programs put in place by the government all focused on creating jobs and reducing poverty.

Mr. Ntim said documentation and reliable data collection were essential as they were a key indicator for measuring the impact and success of PfFJ programs and he called on the bademblies to wake up to improve collection. of data.

He called for effective collaboration between ministries and agencies within MMDAs to implement PfFJ and PERD to enable the government to achieve the desired results.

Mr Ntim said that PfFJ and PERD have enormous potential for job creation and rural poverty alleviation in order to stimulate rapid socio-economic growth and development, and have advised Ghanaians to subscribe and support these programs.

He said the government was ready to provide agricultural inputs and equipment to expand the scope of the programs, and that the MMDAs were therefore required to enroll more farmers and make the programs attractive to young people. unemployed.