The effects of COVID-19 on cash crop farmers (Cashew nuts) and global economics.

What has been the impact of COVID-19 on the global economy as well as the economy of individuals? At the personal level and in responding to the directive of social distancing, we have to battle on whether to stop a family business that brings joy to everyone including our valuable customers. When we stop, it is not clear how the suppliers of our raw materials will also be affected.

I met one of the people we hope to be able to emulate his farming abilities and become major producers of cashew nuts and mangoes. He was going around looking for local buyers of the nuts he has harvested for this season. The people who usually come to buy in bulk are from China and India. COVID-19 has terminated if not reduced drastically all the processes in the purchasing line.

A product that the pricing stood at Ghc 4.00 per kilogram of nuts, even though not good, is now Ghc 2.60 per kilogram. Even at this rate, it is difficult to get someone to buy readily. Storage is another matter one cannot talk about.

I am not the expert to be talking about this but with what I have observed, I cannot keep quiet. The government as part of the “Ghana beyond aid agenda” added cashew nuts to the cash crops that will be handled like cocoa and coffee.

It is my wish that they come to the aid of farmers of these cash crops to help to alleviate their suffering. The stimulus packages announced by the President during his address to the nation on the 27th of March 2020 should also be extended to cash crop farmers who are in the harvesting season and faced with the challenge of exporting due to the COVID-19 situation. Maybe the nuts could be bought to expand replanting if there are not adequate factories to make our own cashew nuts and oils.

“For such unexpected eventualities, farming is usually seen as a curse…”. The situation could change.