He therefore appealed to players in the cashew nuts industry including investors, to take advantage of the new policy and invest in processing factories, to add value to the produce before exporting.

President Mahama made the announcement when he officially opened the Ghana Tree Crops Investment Summit 2026 in Accra.

He said “I want to travel and be able to buy cashew and see produce of Ghana, not produce of India or produce of some third-party country,” reiterating that “We will no longer export raw cashew, raw shea nuts or unprocessed rubber; while we import the same finished products at higher prices.”

The Tree Crops sector encompasses the crops such as Coconut, Oil Palm, Cashew, Shea, Mango, and Rubber.

President Mahama said the government’s target was a clear 50-60 per cent local processing annually, expansion of agro-industrial parks, incentives for private sector processes and stronger regulatory oversight through the Tree Crops Development Authority.

He reiterated that under the National Policy on Integrated Oil-Palm Development, which was called the Red Gold, the Government was committed to investing $500 million to develop 100,000 hectares of oil palm and create 250,000 direct jobs.

“If we achieve this target, it will eliminate the 40 per cent oil palm imports from other areas and make Ghana a net exporter of oil palm,” he said. 

He reiterated that this was consistent with the government’s pledge to scale up high-impact agricultural value chains with strong private sector participation.

He said the Government was placing emphasis on empowering especially women and the youth and that tree crops delivered exactly the opportunity to achieve this vision.

He noted that while women processors dominated the shea industry, cashew and mango offered strong opportunities for young people to engage in agribusiness, while coconuts and oil palm created processing and logistical jobs.

President Mahama stated that through improved seedlings, farmers’ hubs, access to finance and matching grants for small and medium enterprises, they were going to build inclusive value chains.

Agriculture must be modern, it must be profitable, and it must be attractive to young people, the President stated.

The Summit on the theme: “Sustainable Growth Through Tree Crop Investments: Resetting and Building Ghana’s Green Economy,” speaks to Ghana’s green economy.

The President indicated that tree crops were climate-positive assets, explaining that they enhanced carbon sequestration, reduced soil degradation, promoted biodiversity and strengthened climate resilience.

He noted that the tree crops strategy would support both economic and ecological transformation.

Source  Bftonline