The National Cashew Association
of Nigeria (NCAN) plans to build
international brands for cashew products to match the stature of one of
the largest cashew nut exporter in the
world, its President, Mr Tola Faseru has said.
Speaking while presenting the
association’s Road Map for Cashew Industry Development in Nigeria to the
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development,Chief Audu Ogbeh in Abuja, Faseru
said to reach the target, the country has to build brands for processing mills,
producers and exporters following international standards and comply with food
hygiene regulations.
According to him, cashew provides
livelihood for over 300,000 families. He said the crop generated $253 million
last year.
He said the nation produces about
160,000 tons of cashew nuts yearly, adding that the crop is grown in Kogi, Kwara, Enugu, Anambra, Imo,
Abia, Cross River, Edo, Nassarawa, Benue, Taraba, Ogun, Oyo, Ondo, Ekiti,
Delta, Akwa Ibom, Niger and Osun states.
He added that the crop can grow in all parts of the
country, and that the association is making efforts to get more states involved
in the production of the crop. This year, he said the association is expecting
175,000 tons.
On the road map, Faseru said
it is focused on increasing Nigeria’s cashew production from 160,000 tons to
500,000 tons and processing 70 per cent
of total production in four
years, from 2016-2020. By 2024, he said the target is to achieve a
total yearly national production of
840,000 metric tons.
Efforts, he noted, would be made
to increase training in harvesting and proper post-harvest handling practices.
This,he maintained, would boost production figures by 40 per cent by the
prevention of losses and wastages. Achieving this, he noted, would make Nigeria
the largest producer of cashew in the world.
With increasing global demand for
cashew nuts driven by a rising middle class in China and the need for nuts in
Europe, America, Asia and the Middle East, he said raw cashew demand has grown to 3,000,000 tons. Global yearly raw
cashew nut production, he added is put at 2,100,000 tons.
He mentioned challenges to include: encroachment of foreigners at
farm gate which leads to a distortion in the value chain, non implementation of
the Export Expansion Grant (EEG), double taxation through Nigeria Export Levy
(NXP) and Nigeria Export Supervision Scheme (NESS), smuggling of cashew nuts
from the borders which leads to
understated production figures, unfavorable foreign exchange policies, scarcity
of Jute bags for packaging the product and the inability of exporters to have
unfettered access to export proceeds.
Pending when it begins to produce
jute bags locally, he said the association intends to import 1.5 million jute
bags required for this year’s season.
According to him, cashew farmers
need to access to credit so they could grow their production and business and
that farmers should be able to use their lands as collateral to obtain loan.
He called for government support
to enable the association set up a N20 billion cashew research fund to promote
continuous product development, production of hybrid seedlings and better
agronomical practice. The research institute, he added, would commit to producing
local cashew processing machines.
In addition, he said the
association is also setting up a N50 billion
Cashew Processing Fund to enable it establish 200 new cashew processing
factories.