Cashew Initiative

Introduction
The Peace Corps Ghana Cashew Initiative was created as a way to bolster the Ghanaians cashew industry by recognizing value chain inefficiencies, promoting income generating activities, providing technical training, and mapping farms. We have done this by partnering farmers with buyers; training farmers in the production of juice and jam made from the cashew apple; demonstrate pruning and grafting techniques; and using GPS units to map farms. Through this we hope to cater to one of the most important facets of the initiative - the retention of our institutional memory.

Related Videos:  (cashew nut processing)  (Cashew Initiative in a nut shell.)

Partners
One way in which we connect farmers with buyers is by organizing the farmers into Farmer Based Organizations (FBOs). These FBOs give the farmers a collective bargaining advantage when dealing with companies as opposed to selling to them on an individual basis. Once formed, these groups have the ability to negotiate a contract with buyers and sell for a set price when the harvest comes.


 * These FBOs are made by grouping a small number of farmers (generally 15-25) and having them form an executive committee consisting of a Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer, and Organizer. Once formed, the group normally creates a constitution to specify their objectives as a group.

The initiative has created a good rapport with a number of groups and companies interested in buying cashew products. For nuts, these include Red River Foods, [Chad’s Company], etc. We have also been in talks with the juice company Pinora who has an interest in buying the cashew fruit.

Juice
There are two different ways volunteers have involved themselves in the production of juice from the cashew apples. One way has been through creating the juice itself and distributing it locally. This has been met with a great deal of success in Ghana and the demand as steadily risen in communities implementing the practice. One advantage to producing juice at site is it that provides the additional health benefits to your community. The directions and tutorial videos for creating making the juice are as follows

Extraction:

1. Wash apples thoroughly in cold water.

2. Cut the washed apples into pieces.

3. Place cut pieces in a screw press extractor to squeeze out juice. One kilogram of apples gives 500-700ml of juice.

4. Boil the juice until brown color is obtained and no more foaming is observed

5. Add preservative (potassium metabisulphite – or cassava starch/rice water) 1gm/10L of juice.

6. Fill sterilized plastic bottles and seal with their lids using bottle capper.

Jam
Making marmalade and syrup are other ways volunteers have found to utilize the fruit of the cashew tree. The products can be made by using plastic jars (like a peanut butter jar), but these are not capable of prolonged storage. The following directions revolve around using sealed glass jars, but the directions can be altered for a product less directed towards preservation.

Making Marmalade:


 * Materials
 * o Stove
 * o Gas cylinder
 * o At least 2 Pots with lids
 * o Wooden Cooking spoons
 * o Mortar and pestle
 * o Sifter
 * o Dish towels and pot holders
 * o Knives
 * o Glass jars
 * o Plastic bins
 * o Cutting board
 * o Fruit juicer
 * o Cups
 * o Large bowls

Ingredients:
 * o Cashew Apples
 * o Sugar
 * o Lime
 * o Ginger
 * o Vanilla

1. Prepare your cooking area. Set up stove and gas cylinder. Set up stations for cutting, grinding and juicing.

2. Get a gallon bucket full of cashew fruits. This should give you about 8 cups of juice.

3. Peel and chop 4 ginger roots into small pieces and grind into pulp and set aside.

4. Halve 4 medium or 8 small limes and juice into a cup, set aside.

5. Start to squeeze cashew apples for the juice into a plastic bin or large bowl.

6. Measure the amount of juice you have and pour through the sifter into the pot and place on burner.

7. Turn on the burner to a medium heat to get the boiling started.

8. Add sugar when the juice starts to boil. The amount of sugar depends on the amount of juice. You will use 1 parts sugar to 2 parts juice. 8 cups of juice will call for 4 cups of sugar.

9. You will allow the juice and sugar solution to boil off and reduce to half the amount before you add the remaining ingredients. Periodically clean out pulp and foreign particles during this process. You should also prepare the glass jars for the canning process. See following section for instructions.

10. Once the solution is reduced you will squeeze 2 tablespoons of ginger pulp, adding the juice to the mixture.

11. You will add 1 teaspoon per cup of jam of lime juice.

12.You will add 1 tablespoon of vanilla.

13. Stir mixture and wait for it to thicken.

14.Check thickness of mixture by spooning some of the mixture and pouring back into the pot and checking the thickness while pouring.

15. Once it is ready pour into hot glass jars.

16. Leave .5 inch headspace.

17. Scrape out air bubbles.

18. Cover jars and continue to step 2 of hot canning.

Canning:

1. Put water in boiling-water canner: It should be 2/3 full if using pint-size jars, ½ full for quart jars. Set rack on pan rim, cover pan, and bring water to a boil over high heat (for pickles, bring water to 180°–185°).

2. Meanwhile, for all recipes except jams, wash canning jars, bands, and lids in hot, soapy water, or run jars and bands through a dishwasher and hand-wash lids; drain. If making jam, which has a short processing time, sterilize jars: When water in canner is boiling, place jars on rack, lower into water, and boil for 10 minutes (at elevations of 1,000 feet or higher, add 1 minute for each 1,000-foot increase above sea level). Reduce heat to a simmer and keep jars in water until needed.

3. Nest lids in bands, place in a 2- to 3-quart pan, and cover with water. Set over high heat and bring water to 180° (do not boil). Remove from heat and cover pan.

4. Rinse all fruit and vegetables well.

5. For pourable foods, such as jam or chutney, quickly ladle hot mixture through a wide funnel into jars, leaving headspace (the distance between top of jar rim and food inside) as recommended. For chunky mixtures, arrange pieces in jars with a spoon, then pour hot liquid through funnel over foods, again leaving headspace as recommended in recipe. (If the last jar isn’t completely full, let cool, then serve or chill; do not process.) To release any air bubbles in chunky mixtures, run a clean plastic knife around the inside of the jars (metal knives can damage jars). Wipe jar rims and outer threads with a clean, damp cloth.

6. With tongs, lift bands and lids from hot water. Center on jars so the red or gray sealing compound is touching jar rims. Using a hot pad, screw bands on firmly, but don’t force.

7. Place jars on rack in canner and lower into water. The water should cover jars by at least 1 inch; if necessary, add more hot water.

8. Cover canner, return water to a boil (or to 180°–185° for pickles), and process for time specified in recipe; if boiling water starts spilling from canner, reduce heat slightly.

9. Using tongs and a hot pad, lift rack with jars onto edge of canner. With jar lifter, remove jars and set upright on towels on a counter. Do not tighten bands. Let jars cool completely at room temperature.

10. Press on the center of each lid ― if it stays down, jar is sealed; if it pops up, chill the jar and serve within 2 to 3 weeks (see below). Remove bands. Wipe jars and lids with a clean, damp cloth. If desired, replace bands.

11. Label jars; store in a cool, dark place for up to 2 years. Once opened, chill; consume jams, chutneys, and relishes within 3 weeks, pickles within 2 months.

Video Tutorial

Pruning
Cashew orchards in communities can become extremely crowded and trees grow tall in competition with one another for direct sunlight. Farms can easily exceed the suggested 40-60 trees per acre by 3 to 4 times over or more. This high density prevents cashew trees from forming an umbrella shaped canopy and producing to their maximum potential.
 * Materials

*Cutlass *(2) MS 180 Stihl chainsaws with spare parts (provided by MOFA) *gloves, eye protection *bar oil, petroleum, 2-stroke oil, dirty oil *paintbrush *record book, and pencil.

Methods 1. I started by attending our IST on cashew stand management which included a session led by the director of the Wenchi Agricultural station on pruning, thinning, and top-working.

2. From there I trained two men on proper chainsaw operation including basic maintenance, safety, cutting, and felling techniques.

3. After I felt confident they demonstrated an understanding and basic proficiency in chainsaw operation I trained them on proper pruning, thinning, and top-working techniques. (This coming season they will attend a brush up course held by ACi)

4. My pruning crew always started by recording the farmers name, specific requests, or financial limitations on the project (e.g. Kofi only wants 50 Ghana Cedis worth of work done).

5. They would then walk the farm with the farmer to discuss and identify problem areas, high producing trees, diseased trees, and poor producing trees.

6. Trees and limbs that were poor producing, diseased, or hanging too low were marked with a cutlass for removal.

7. All cut surfaces were finished at an angle to minimize moisture collection and painted with dirty oil to protect against diseases and pests.

8. For some of the trees we cut down we covered the stump with shade after painting to prepare for grafting onto the side shoots when they emerged and grew to the appropriate size.

9. Farmers were charged on a fee for service basis and were expected to feed us lunch on the farm if it took a day to complete.

10. We piled cut wood together and advised farmers to remove from the farm or burn if the wood was found to have pests or disease.

11. The key strategy we employed was to look at each farm not as a “one pass project” but rather as a long term project which required yearly monitoring, pruning, and thinning in a stepwise fashion. If you are not careful removing too many trees in a single year will reduce production.

Challenges

1. It’s hard to convince farmers that removing trees increases production. Farmers in my community thought the more the better!

2. Farmers in my community complained about price but when we traveled to other communities they couldn't believe how reasonable our price was.

3. Not all farmers wanted a finishing cut on stumps to prevent moisture collection because of the fuel expended.

4. Not all farmers wanted us to apply dirty oil to cut surfaces but said they would do it after we finished.

Sustainability

1. Two men are trained on proper chainsaw operation, safety, and maintenance. They are also trained on cashew stand management including: pruning, thinning, and top-working.

2. There will always be a need for pruning and thinning.

3. All materials were selected based on minimal expense, local availability, and support (MOFA, ACi, and the Wenchi Agricultural Research Station).

4. Working on a pruning/thinning crew provides a source of income between cashew harvest and cocoa harvest.

5. Pruning and thinning also supports farm productivity so in addition to generating income for pruning/thinning crews it will generate income for farmers long term.

6. Protects orchards from disease and pests.

Video Tutorial

Grafting
Grafting is the process in which cashew seedling pruned and combined with the scion (young branch) of a well-producing cashew tree. The tree then grows with the attributes of the scion, not the seed. Aside from improving harvests, this has also been used to create businesses amongst farmers. They do this by creating cashew nurseries, grafting the seedlings, and selling the final product. As PCVs, we have been able to use very good scions donated to us by the Wenchi Agriculture Station. The directions as to how and graft a seedling are as follows:

Materials *Properly dried raw cashew nuts *bucket of water *polyurethane planting bags (large enough to accommodate cashew's taproot *watering can *polyurethane sheets *nutrient rich soil (compost) *bamboo (fencing) *palm fronds (shade) *grafting tape (strips of clear plastic bags) *grafting caps (small clear plastic bags) *scions from high producing parent stock

Methods

1. Build a fence made of locally sourced materials. For my community we built our fence from bamboo which is abundant in our area and an inexpensive alternative to other fencing options such as wood.

2. Cut Palm Fronds to serve as shade for sun-sensitive seedlings.

3. Lay down polyurethane sheets in rows to serve as nursery beds (the sheets will prevent the tap root from growing into the ground should they grow through the planting bag). Allow walkways between polyurethane sheets so that seedlings may be attended to easily from one side or the other.

4. Fill polyurethane bags with nutrient rich soil and puncture two small drainage holes at the base.

5. Fill a bucket ¾ full with water and ¼ full with properly dried raw cashew nuts (local variety).

6. After about 5 min remove raw cashew nuts that float and re-dry them. (The float test determines nut health. Nuts that sink indicate better health and germination. Nuts that float may have an air pocket because of an underdeveloped or diseased kernel)

7. Allow the nuts to remain in water for one to two days to encourage uniform germination.

8. Plant a cashew seed with the stalk end pointing upwards about 3-5cm deep and water.

9. Plants will germinate in approximately 15 days.

10. Allow 6-8 weeks for seedlings to grow so that their stalk is of comparable diameter to scions (slightly smaller than that of a no.2 pencil).

11. Graft the scions to the seedlings using the cleft/wedge technique. Next year we will try the other grafting techniques including the chip-bud technique (use the grafting tape and grafting cap to secure the union and prevent moisture loss). Once a leaf emerges fully from the terminal bud, remove the grafting cap. (Grafting training was held by Wenchi Agricultural Research Station during our IST where my counterpart and I learned the grafting techniques we disseminated to our community).

12. Keep plants in the nursery for another 6-8 weeks to ensure a solid union between scion and seedling.

13. Transplant, water, and after another month remove grafting tape.

Challenges

1. Pest presence threatened project (Applied chemicals 2x) MOFA can provide chemical advice.

2. Farmers didn't think we needed drainage holes which led to floating seeds within the first week.

3. Too many participants who had never grafted before led to a higher mortality rate. Depending on what your end goal is you should train participants accordingly. If you want to run a nursery as a business select 6-12 people who demonstrate high, consistent, success rates after training. As they work more their success rates will increase but even professionals may only see 70-90 percent success rates when grafting cashew. There is currently only one woman at the Wenchi Agricultural Research Station who I have been told is nearing a 90 percent success rate. If you want to start a nursery to train people on basic grafting techniques invite anyone and everyone who is interested. My main goal was to introduce improved planting material and also build farmer's capacity to establish their own nurseries for grafting so I went with more of a blanket training methodology.

4. Seedlings were planted in April rather than March. This postponed transplanting until just after the minor dry season and the seedlings required watering every few days. If you time it correctly the major rainy season supplies all the water you need.

Sustainability

1. Individuals within my community are educated on the process, materials, and resource people necessary to start a nursery each year.

2. This year I am reducing my support to encourage more of an active participation at each step of the process from the community.

3. All materials were selected based on minimal expense and local availability.

4. A core group of participants showed up on grafting days.

Video Tutorial [: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OOItOiVryc]

GPS Work
Regardless of which crop you work with a basic awareness of farm acreage is important. With an accurate acreage estimate farmers will be able to monitor the benefits of different farm practices with production trends, apply the correct amount of agrochemicals, procure loans, solicit advice from service providers and hire labor at a fair price. A correctly managed GPS/GIS program improves institutional memory between generations of volunteers and validates volunteer activities while assisting host country nationals.

Materials

*Cutlass *GPS Units *Farm Mapping Questionnaire *Measuring rope *Google Earth

Methods

1. All PC Ghana Agriculture PCV's are trained in calculating area with a GPS unit and the pacing method.

2. Within their first three months at site volunteers visit countless farms to measure the farmers’ acreage, take a picture of the farmer, and fill out the farm mapping questionnaire (this provides volunteers a great opportunity to meet farmers while first at site and gather baseline data which may be used to understand the situation on the ground. Once analyzed, volunteers will be in a position to advise farmers on farming practices or approach service providers with informed questions.

3. Volunteers visit farms throughout their service to reach as many farmers as they can and also provide follow ups to previously visited farms (this method is especially effective when establishing test/demonstration plots which may be done on a small scale with every farm).

4. Volunteers then upload the data from the Farm Mapping Questionnaire through Google Form and send GPS tracks either by email to a volunteer GIS specialist or when we meet for market days.

5. The data and photo are combined to make a farmer print out, a project database and a comparative analysis is performed with other data collected.

Challenges

1. Not all PCV's are proactive mappers.

2. Farmers may not believe the GPS acreage is accurate if it is drastically different from their personal acreage estimate.

3. Ensuring data collection is performed in a standardized manner.

4. Pest Identification (IPM)

Sustainability

1. Currently the project is Peace Corps supported and volunteers are trained in PST.

2. There have not been efforts to train service providers such as MOFA but ACi is interested in PCV's serving as consultants for their GPS program.

3. The project is meant to validate PC activities while helping host country nationals.

4. Many MOFA offices have GPS units.

Video Tutorial