Association Eyes 1m Metric Tonnes Of Cashew Production, 50% Local Processing

National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN) plans to raise Nigeria’s annual cashew production from about 300,000 metric tonnes to one million metric tonnes within the next decade.

The association said at least 50 per cent of the output would be processed locally.

Its national president, Ademola Adesokan, at the inauguration of the association’s national and state chapter executives in Abuja, described the target as a roadmap for transforming the cashew industry into a major driver of industrial development, investment and rural economic growth.

Adesokan said achieving the target would depend largely on strong state-level structures, as cashew production, harvesting, aggregation, storage and marketing take place within farming communities rather than at the federal government level.

He said the newly inaugurated state chapters would be responsible for strengthening supply chains, improving quality and ensuring consistent supplies to processors and exporters.

The NCAN president said increasing domestic processing to 50 per cent of production would also create opportunities for value addition, job creation and greater earnings from the cashew value chain.

He urged the new chapter leaders to work with farmers, processors, exporters and government agencies to translate the Nigeria cashew roadmap into measurable results.

“We have set ambitious targets, growing national production of cashew from about 300,000 tonnes to 1 million tonnes within the next decade.

With 50% of that volume processed right here at home, that is not a slogan, it is the roadmap with real milestones, ” Adesokan said.

Representing the minister of state for industry , Senator John Enoh, the director, Industrial Development Department, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Lumuyiwa Jayi-Ade, congratulated the new executives and said their inauguration came as the industry moved from policy formulation to implementation.

Jayi-Ade said the ministry, working with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, NCAN, development partners and other stakeholders, would begin developing implementation strategies for the Nigeria cashew roadmap, including the establishment of the Nigerian cashew project office to coordinate reforms, monitoring and stakeholder collaboration.

“Your leadership will be instrumental in mobilizing stakeholders, strengthening coordination, promoting transparency and fostering collaboration necessary for achieving the objectives of the Nigeria Cashew Roadmap”, Jayi-Ade said.

Also, the director, Commodities and Export Department, Obasi Edozie, described cashew as one of Nigeria’s strategic non-oil export commodities, capable of generating wealth, employment, foreign exchange and industrial growth.

He pledged the ministry’s continued support for policies aimed at improving productivity, quality, traceability, local processing and Nigeria’s competitiveness in the global cashew market.

“The cashew sector remains one of Nigeria’s most strategic non-oil export commodities, with immense potential for wealth creation, employment generation, rural development, foreign exchange earnings, and industrial growth”, Edozie said.