Kosua Twenewaa Paulina

Around 3,000 people call the cashew farming town of Gonasua, Ghana, their home. With the support of Red River Foods (RRF), the cashew farmers in Gonasua formed a cooperative last year to provide market access, fair pricing, and technical knowledge. One integral member of this cooperative is Kosua Twenewaa Paulina, a cashew farmer and businesswoman.

Kosua started her cashew farm in 2000 when the cashew industry in Ghana was still small. She decided to work with RRF after learning about their sustainability programs from another farmer who had received training as part of RRF’s “Farmer Optimization Program.” Kosua received a “Key Farmer” bonus for supplying more raw cashew nuts to her RRF supplier than any other farmer in Ghana last year. She runs her farm as a successful business, keeping detailed records of her cashew yields and selling prices each year.

Cashew trees need 30 feet by 30 feet of space to be fully productive. By removing some trees on an overcrowded farm and giving the existing trees more space, farmers can actually increase their cashew yields. In 2019, as part of RRF’s farmer training, Kosua took a leap of faith and pruned and thinned the cashew trees on her farm. This seemingly counterproductive method raised eyebrows among her neighbors, who weren’t convinced that cutting down some trees would result in more cashews.

"She is now reaping the fruits of her labor with increased cashew yields and, in turn, increased income."

“With my farm just by the roadside, farmers both near and far thought I was destroying it when they saw the pruning and thinning taking place. They asked me to be careful with the thinning in particular because it was painful for them to watch, seeing some of the trees being cut down after years of growing them,” Kosua says. However, by trusting RRF and participating in tree maintenance, she is now reaping the fruits of her labor with increased cashew yields and, in turn, increased income. She continues to harvest nuts from her farm long after her neighboring farmers (who chose not to prune and thin) have run out. Kosua exemplifies the outstanding, sustainable, and ongoing partnership between local farmers and RRF.

"I want to be able to measure and compare my performance on an annual basis. This is how I will know whether I’m running my farm successfully or not."