Ghana’s cashew apples get a second life

Sunyani, Ghana – At harvest time in Ghana’s cashew-growing communities, the ground beneath the trees tells a familiar story.While farmers carefully collect the nuts that will be sold to buyers, the fleshy cashew apples attached to them are often left behind. Within hours, the fruit begins to spoil, turning a potentially valuable part of the harvest into waste.Ghana is one of Africa’s leading cashew producers, harvesting roughly a quarter of a million tonnes of raw cashew nuts each year. The trees also produce far more cashew apples than nuts and industry officials say most of the fruit is never processed or sold.For decades, the cashew apple has remained largely outside the market economy. Farmers have had few buyers for the fruit, and without nearby processing facilities, transporting it before it spoils is difficult.Now, researchers, farmers and industry leaders believe the discarded fruit could become a new source of income for rural communities – if Ghana can build the systems needed to collect, process and market it.From waste to valueFor Francisca Aba Ansah, the opportunity became clear after field visits revealed the scale of cashew apple waste. She is a food post-harvest sc...