Mahama Demands Local Processing of Cashew, Shea, and Rubber
President John Dramani Mahama has signalled an end to the long-standing practice of exporting unprocessed tree crop commodities while importing finished products at higher prices.
He made this indication while urging foreign companies trading in Ghana’s raw cashew to establish processing factories in the country or exit the market at the inaugural Ghana Tree Crops Investment Summit and Exhibition in Accra on February 17, 2026.
The President of Ghana described the arrangement as one that had deprived farmers and the wider economy of fair returns.
“We will no longer export raw cashew,” President Mahama said. “I invite our investment partners who export cashews to come and build the capacity to process our cashew locally. I want to travel and be able to buy cashew and see the produce of Ghana, not the produce of India or produce of some third-party country.”
President Mahama extended the directive to shea and rubber. “We will no longer export raw cashew, raw shea, or unprocessed rubber while importing the same finished products at higher prices,” he said.
The move carries implications for about 890,000 people working in the cashew sector, most of whom are smallholder farmers in the Brong Ahafo, Bono East, and Savannah regions who rely on sales of unprocessed nuts shipped abroad for processing.
The summit, organised by the Tree Crops Development Authority and supported by the World Bank, is being held from February 17 to February 20, 2026, under the theme, “Sustainable Growth Through Tree Crop Investments: Resetting and Building Ghana’s Green Economy.”
President Mahama announced government targets to process between 50 and 60 per cent of tree crop commodities locally each year.
He said this would be backed by the expansion of agro-industrial parks, incentives for private processors, and stronger regulatory oversight through the Tree Crops Development Authority.
“Our target is clear,” he said. “50% to 60% local processing annually, expansion of agro-industrial parks, incentives for private sector processors, and stronger regulatory oversight through the Tree Crops Development Authority.”
The President also relaunched and accelerated the Ghana Tree Crop Diversification Project, a $200 million World Bank-supported programme under which 7.8 million cashew seedlings, 2.3 million rubber seedlings, and 3.9 million coconut seedlings are to be distributed to more than 30,000 farmers. President Mahama said 52,775 households would benefit directly, while 185 small and medium enterprises would receive matching grants.
“I’ve directed the Tree Crops Development Authority and COCOBOD to expedite implementation of this programme,” he said. “Our farmers must see results, not paperwork.”
President Mahama stressed the need for Ghana to move away from exporting raw commodities, citing cocoa exports dating back to the colonial period.
“We’ve exported raw beans since Gordon Guggisberg’s time,” he told delegates. “Ghana at that time was the leading exporter of cocoa. And to think that in the 21st century, we’re still the largest leading exporter of raw cocoa beans, that is not an accolade we should take pride in. We should take pride in being the leading exporter of manufactured cocoa products.”
He noted that the global cocoa crisis should mark a turning point, revealing that the government had decided to adjust cocoa funding arrangements by raising funds locally, paying farmers directly, and allocating part of production to domestic processing.
Source: Graphic
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