<p></p><p>ACA has begun an exciting new project targeting the empowerment of the cashew industry in Guinea-Bissau. Cashew is a vital commodity in the national economy, accounting for the majority of the country's GDP and exports. In April, ACA traveled to meet with the currently active World Bank project, PRSPDA in Guinea-Bissau. ACA will work with PRSPDA to support the development of the processing sector in Guinea-Bissau. <br></p> <p>Under the partnership with ACA, Chief Business Officer, Sunil Dahiya, and Assistant Manager for Food Safety and Quality Assurance, Dorcas Amoh, conduct a needs assessments for capacity building and business advisory. They completed company diagnostics for 15 pre-selected domestic cashew-manufacturing businesses on criteria of business conditions, management capacities, and quality & food safety standards. The ACA team worked in collaboration with key sector agencies and institutions, which included ANCA, the Ministry of Commerce & Economy and ATC Caju. In total, all of the assessed companies represent a total installed capacity of 25,000 TPA. Towards the end of the trip, the ACA team delivered a brief presentation of completed field activities to PRSPDA, the Ministries of Commerce, Economy, Finance, and ANCA representatives. <br></p> <p>ACA is proud to be in partnership with PRSPDA to implement this important project. ACA will submit a SWOT analysis report to PRSPDA and World Bank by end of May 2016 for further review and implementation. <br></p> <p>During their individual field trips and interviews, the team discussed ACA’s extensive Business and Food Safety Advisory services. They also encouraged all companies to participate at the ACA's World Cashew Festival & Expo which will be held in Guinea Bissau in September. As a result, 5 local companies representing processing and trading domains requested trial ACA services for the 2016 calendar year.</p><p></p>