(Ecofin Agency) - The government of Ghana is currently in negotiation with actors of the private sector to finalize a strategic plan for the development of the cashew industry. Extending over 10 years, this plan will boost the country’s output to 150,000 tons from 50,000 tons, Ghanaweb reveals.

Upon the implementation of this plan, the processing sector for the nut which has a total capacity of 65,000 tons will be able to exploit up to 75% of this output (against 5% currently). It must be stated that the timing of this plan could not be better considering that global demand for cashew is of 5%.

According to Fatima Alimohamed, Vice-Presient of ‘Agriculture’ department of Ghana’s association of industries, the country should pay more attention to other cultures and not solely cocoa. Experts say that the former gold coast could earn between 400 and 500 million dollars yearly from cashew.

Aaron Akinocho