During the engagement, the ministry’s Technical Adviser Mariama Barrie said: “The Cashew Policy focuses on key components within the value chain of cashew production.” She explained that “Cashew is an emerging crop with potential to make significant economic contribution in Sierra Leone.”

This plan seeks to provide a strategic framework for the sustainable and inclusive growth and development of the Cashew sector in the country.

Mariama Barrie further said this project will create an enabling environment for women and youths in the agriculture sector. She called on all private sectors and farmers to put all hands on desk.

Despite its potential, the overall Cashew sector is not structured and affected by sparse information and strategic orientation. The Agriculture Ministry’s consultant for the Cashew Policy development and implementation project Aisie-Nana William said this policy was set up as a guiding principle indicating how all sectors and all players will operate in the sector.

“The policy also looks at key areas within the Cashew chain such as production, gap analysis, and pest management research among others. These are all areas in the Cashew chain that affect farmers, government, private sector and INGOs,” she said.

The Policy Adviser of the Boosting Agriculture and Food Security (BAFS) project Mohamed Bah said the project serves to reduce poverty and food security through better governance, improved and better living conditions. “With the production and exportation of Cashew, the nation’s economy will grow rapidly,” he added.

The Boosting Agriculture and Food and Food Security Project will cover fifteen rural districts in Sierra Leone and it is scheduled to run from 2017-2021.