Ghana seeks to turn wasted cashew apples into profitable rural products

In Ghana’s cashew-producing regions, the fruit that falls after nut harvest has traditionally been thrown away, but a new effort seeks to monetize it. Food scientist Francisca Aba Ansah of the CSIR-Food Research Institute heads the MA-CASH project, which developed a technology that keeps cashew apples fresh for up to six days on the farm and for a year under refrigeration, enabling the production of juice, blends, sausages and other items.

Farmers like Samuel Nortey Adumoah are already making traditional drinks and wine from the fruit, while the initiative also promotes beekeeping during the off-season. Cashew Watch Ghana coordinator Raphael Godlove Ahenu cautions that without reliable supply chains and investment, processing plants may fail, as has happened before. Financial adviser Aaron Owusu Nketia notes that local processing could improve credit access, and Tree Crops Development Authority CEO Andrews Osei Okrah describes the apple as a strategic resource for agro-industrialisation. The programme’s success will hinge on coordinated action, funding and market development.