According to him, the current cost of credit was unattractive and too expensive for cashew production and processing.

Mr Ahenu made the call in an interview with The Ghanaian Times here in Sunyani in the Bono Region on Friday.

He explained that cashew farmers needed affordable financing for their farm main­tenance and expansion, while processors also required same financing to purchase modern equipment for processing of raw cashew nuts.

“The cashew industry holds immense potential for job creation, foreign exchange earn­ings and rural development. However to unlock this poten­tial we need strategic approach that involves all stakeholders from farmers to exporters as well as address systemic issues that have hindered the indus­try’s growth,” Mr Ahenu stated.

He called on the Tree Crop Development Author­ity (TCDA), a body set up to regulate the cashew sector, to streamline the raw cashew nuts market to ensure equitable marketing environment for the actors in the cashew value chain.

“If these intervention are well implemented Ghana can take advantage of the global market value of cashew which hovers around seven billion dollars to boost her revenue,” Mr Ahenu stated.

Providing a background about his organisation, Cashew Watch Ghana, he said the or­ganisation had been providing training and support to farmers and processors to improve their skills and knowledge in sustain­able farming practices and value addition.

He said Cashew Watch Gha­na projects that the global mar­ket size of cashew was expected to hit $10 billion by 2028 from the current $7 billion.