9th Edition: A Master Training Programme to promote the African Cashew Value Chain, Session 1

The Competitive Cashew initiative (GIZ/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 first session of the ninth edition of the Master Training Programme for Cashew Value Chain Promotion in Africa from Monday, May 27 to Friday May 31, 2019 at the Hephzibah Christian Retreat Centre, Peduase.
The unique Master Training Programme 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 programme will provide a platform for some 85 cashew experts coming from various African countries, to 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 cashew industry 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.
“The new skills that I have acquired are facilitation skills, adult training programme development, nut quality measurement, processing of nuts and management, and top working maintenance. MTP has contributed significantly to improving my performance in my
workplace. For instance, using facilitation skills, it has helped me to engage the key stakeholders by sharing my thoughts on how we can improve the cashew value chain performance in Mozambique. Aligned with this, developing training plan for adults was an important tool to ensure that the skills gained through the 3 sessions will be replicated in our home countries in an effective manner. After completing the MTP, I now share my thoughts with confidence, take decisions wisely, I have become flexible and more aware of human behavior.” – Lúcia Sebastiao António, Master Trainer (Graduate of the 4th Edition), , Senior Technician, National Institute of Cashew (INCAJU)
Nine months. Three sessions. Two locations.
Rolled out in nine months, the Master Training Programme is divided into three successive sessions to be held in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. This year, there will be three separate editions: Editions 7, 8 and 9. In so called “inter-sessions”, participants will return to their host institutions to conduct field work, 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 (GIZ/ComCashew)
The Competitive Cashew initiative (GIZ/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 facilitate linkages between farmers and processors.
GIZ/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).
For more information, please contact:
Cynthia Benon, Manager of the Master Training Program, al-da.benon@giz.de or
Nunana Addo, Communication Officer, via nunana.addo@giz.de
For more information on ComCashew, please visit our website www.comcashew.org