Kogi State government says it remains the clear leader in cashew production in Nigeria.
It attributed the feat to sound agricultural policies evolved and executed by the Yahaya Bello administration.
The assertion was made yesterday by the commissioner for information and communications, Kingsley Fanwo, during an interaction with journalists in Lokoja, the state capital.
He said efforts were ongoing to make Kogi the cashew hub of Africa.
He said, “Today, Kogi State is the biggest producer of Cashew in Nigeria because of our sound agricultural policies geared towards empowering farmers with improved seedlings, mechanisation, agro chemicals as well as creating an enabling environment for the private sector to invest in cashew production.
“Kogi has retained this position for many years and our ambition is to push Nigeria’s production level above that of Ivory Coast, which is the leading Cashew producer in the world.
“The administration of Alhaji Yahaya Bello is scaling up the gear to improving the value chain in cashew production in the state. We can only get value for money when we can add some value to our cashew before selling to the major buyers,’ he said.
Fanwo said the state was also doing very well in the area of cassava production, adding that the emergence of some A-List Industries in the area of cassava processing had enhanced the production and fortunes of the farmers.
He said the issue of herder-farmer clashes in the state had drastically reduced as a result of the “collaborative security architecture that has evolved strategies to ensure peace and security”.
“Governor Yahaya Bello has and is still paying a great attention to agriculture as a result of the determination of the state to use the sector to address poverty and hunger,” he said.
