Jacob Takyi, the 2022 Dormaa Central Municipal Best Farmer, has appealed to the government to address cashew price fluctuations and disparities in the local market to protect farmers’ interest and guarantee them sustainable livelihoods.

Mr Takyi appealed in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) about the challenges of cashew farmers and the impacts on the industry at Antwirifo, near Dormaa-Ahenkro in the Dormaa Central Municipality of the Bono Region.

He said a government-guaranteed price for the commodity would ensure the industry’s sustainability in the area and contribute positively to the country’s socio-economic development.

Mr Takyi suggested the establishment of cashew depots and buying centres across the Municipality to check and prevent individual private buyers from controlling prices of the cash crop to the detriment of the farmers.

He explained the establishment of a depot would help stabilise cashew prices on the market, which kept changing between GhC4.50p and GhC6.00 per kilogramme, depending on its quality in the Dormaa-Ahenkro enclave.

Mr Takyi said, “when the price was at GhC10.00 per kilogramme, the business was profitable. We could pay labourers and other workers who assisted us on our farms. Unlike today, we harvest more bags but the most worrying aspect is that the price per kilogramme is low at GhC4.00.”

“This is adversely affecting production. We use all the little profit we make to pay labourers and thus are left with nothing”, he noted.

Mr Takyi stated that the government’s failure to establish government-controlled buying centres to guide the purchases of the cash crop at a fixed price was long overdue because the situation had given room for individuals to dictate the pricing at the expense of the farmers.

“The prices keep on changing yearly and some buyers purchase from farmers on a credit basis,” he indicated.

Mr Takyi said the farmers had planned to form an association to serve as a mouthpiece that would advance their interest.