Master Training Program to promote cashew begins on April 23

Business News of Tuesday, 24 April 2018

Source: Julius Abagi

2018-04-24

Cashew33Available statistics indicate that cashew is easily the most prospective revenue earner

The Competitive Cashew initiative (ComCashew) in partnership with the African Cashew Alliance (ACA), and support from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) and the Cocoa Research Institute Ghana (CRIG), will commence the 1 st session of the 5th edition of the Master Training Program for Cashew Value Chain Promotion in Africa from Monday, April 23 to Friday, April 27, 2018, at the Hephzibah Christian Retreat Centre, Peduase.

The unique Master Training Program seeks to increase theoretical knowledge and practical skills of African cashew experts along the value chain and consequently to further promote the competitiveness of African cashew.

The program will provide a platform for 77 cashew experts coming from 9 countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Togoto share knowledge, discuss best practices and lessons learnt as well as to build national and regional networks for future collaboration.

Participants will return to their host institutions and have a multiplier effect on the cashewindustry by sharing their knowledge and experiences gained from attending this tailor-made training.

During knowledge sharing sessions of theories and their application, participants learn about all aspects of the cashew value chain ranging from production and processing of raw cashew nuts, to economics, cashew market dynamics, marketing and financing mechanisms.

Facilitators and technical experts teach, evaluate and re-design each training session according to participants’ needs.

The first session to be held in Peduase will cover the cashew value chain concept, the dynamics of the cashew market and the development of training materials. The highlight will be a field visit to the largest cashew processing factory in the sub-region – USIBRAS, in Prampram.

All sessions cover cross-cutting issues such as gender, policy development, sector regulations and nutrition value of cashew products.

A former Master Trainer, Judith Odei who works as Director of Operations at the MIM Agro Processing factory in Ghana states: “As the Quality Assurance Manager of MIM, I train factory staff on personal hygiene and security threats awareness.

The Master Training programme taught me steps on how to better facilitate these trainings. With regards to process documentation, I have gained more knowledge thanks to the experiences shared by various well-versed experts from different countries.

This will go a long way to improve the quality of work in the factory. In my community, I will raise awareness about the nutritional value and benefits of cashew nuts and apples. Seven months. Three sessions. Three locations.

Rolled out in seven months, the Master Training Program is divided into three successive sessions to be held in Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Benin. This year, there will be two separate editions: Edition 5 and 6.

In so-called “inter-sessions”, participants will return to their host institutions to conduct fieldwork, either individually or in groups, to deepen knowledge on a selected topic. After completion of the program, the participants become certified and acknowledged cashew experts, who train farmers, provide assistance to processors, or advice institutions in their respective countries.

The Competitive Cashew initiative (ComCashew)

The Competitive Cashew initiative (ComCashew) constitutes a new type of multi?stakeholder partnership in development cooperation. The initiative is mainly funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).

Private companies and government and donor agencies also support the Initiative. The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH has been commissioned with the management of the project with Fairmatch Support as an implementing partner who provides consultation on technical issues and facilitates linkages between farmers and processors.

ComCashew benefits from the diverse commercial and technical expertise of their private and public sector partners. Important cooperation partners in Ghana are the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) and the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG).

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