Yesterday, Dr. Mohammad Abubakar, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, reaffirmed that the Federal Government's primary focus for export and revenue creation remains the cashew value chain.
At ACA's delegation's reception at the Ministry's Abuja headquarters, Otunba Babatola Faseru, the organization's president, made the announcement on behalf of Abubakar.
He praised the ACA for planning the first ACA conference in Abuja, saying that it will increase productivity and expertise across the value chain and draw in investors.
He pledged the Ministry's assistance for the conference in order to ensure its success.
He claimed that cashews, like cocoa, produce significant amounts of foreign exchange for Nigeria, increasing farmer profitability.
He added that the Ministry is prepared to work with those involved in the cashew value chain to improve seedling quality, boost output, and generate money.
He claimed that cocoa was the second foreign exchange earner for the economy, and that cashew had become a national commodity that flourishes throughout the 36 States of the federation. This is a clear sign of cashew's ability to stimulate the economy.
He said: “The focus of the present administration is the growth of the agricultural sector and once that is achieved we have set a base for economic growth.
“Every single value chain in the agricultural sector is important and if they come together, they would make a big difference, in the area of Food and Nutrition Security.
Meanwhile, the Minister promised the Ministry’s continued support for the cashew value chain, which he made it known that the Ministry had built capacity of smallholder farmers on cashew production, processing and packaging.
Earlier, in a remark, the President of African Cashew Alliance, ACA, Otunba Babatola Faseru, stated that ACA is a non-governmental organization created in 2005 with the mandate of promoting a global competitive African Cashew industry that would benefit the entire value chain from farmers to consumers.
However, Faseru lamented that Africa loses over 2000 jobs in the cashew value chain annually, and for Nigeria alone cashew value chain alone could provide provide over 1000 jobs annually.
”Jigawa and Kebbi States are doing well in cashew production. We want support from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to move the Cashew sub-sector forward”, he stated.
Also speaking was the President of Cashew Association of Nigeria, CAN, Hon Ojo Ajanaku, disclosed Nigeria has about 600, 000 surviving cashew trees spread across the country.
According to Ajanaku, currently 75 per cent to 80 per cent of cashew nuts produced in Nigeria are exported, as only very few companies are involved in the local processing of the commodity.
He also said 60 per cent of the world’s cashew growth is from Africa, hence more needs to be done to boost cashew processing and investment in Nigeria as a leading African country producing and exporting cashew.