Cashew nuts have been at the top of the list of non-traditional exports in Ghana from 2021 up to now. Around 90% of the nuts are exported unprocessed to Asia. The vitamin-rich cashew apple, on the other hand, to which the nut is attached, is generally considered a waste product. The project „Market-oriented value chains for jobs and growth in the ECOWAS region“ (MOVE), implemented by Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), aims at strengthening the competitiveness of the cashew sector in Africa and at increasing the utilisation of the cashew apple. The promotion of women plays an important role in the project. The majority of those employed in the cashew sector are women who are mainly involved in growing seedlings in the nurseries, harvesting the nuts and processing cashew products. MOVE‘s approach to this is primarily the implementation of a series of training events for its partner organisations and target groups. Gender aspects, in some cases also gender-transformative approaches and reflecting on gender roles, especially with regard to the cashew value chain, are integrated into all training activities. Also, a quota is being deliberately set for the participation of women at training measures. The study of the gender impact of the promotion of the cashew value chain in Ghana showed that women generate their own income through the value chain, which they invest into their children‘s education, building houses, buying land, or into other income-generating activities. Many women start their own businesses as a consequence of the training received by MOVE and thus generate jobs for other women and, to lesser extent, men. These women serve as role models for others who are encouraged and enabled to emulate them through the training programmes provided by MOVE. The trainings as such do not have gender-transformative impacts, but they are well positioned to initiate them.
Karin Gaesing (2025) studied this question.