Gilbert Ekugbe
The President, National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN), Mr. Joseph Ajanaku, has stated that Nigeria could earn over $2.7 billion on annual basis by increasing its production capacity to about 1 million metric tonnes per year.
Ajanuka who stated this during a telephone interview with THISDAY said Nigeria’s current production, which stands at about 350,000 metric tonnes is a far cry from what the country is capable of producing.
He maintained that cashew could be grown in over 80 out of 109 senatorial districts in the country.
In his words: “What was exported as raw cashew nut, we discovered that we are producing close to 350,000 metric tonnes of cashew and if we are able to increase production to 1 million metric tonnes of cashew and export them raw, we will be earning over $2.7 billion.”
He, however, stated that the association is pushing for a national policy that would attract and encourage both local and foreign investors into the cashew industry.
“We are trying to bring in everybody into the sector to boost production, marketing, processing and we are working with service providers. We are working towards having a sector that is attractive and investment-driven,” he said.
He advised the federal government to give cashew farmers the same privilege being given to rice farmers under the Anchor Borrow Programme (ABP), stressing that cashew farmers are currently hindered by inadequate funding to would boost cashew production in the country.
“We have the competitive and comparative advantage to grow cashew in Nigeria. We want government to come in as see how they can help us boost production, because your priority is boosting production and after production, we will talk about adding value to cashew,” he added.
Citing other challenges mitigating cashew production, Ajanaku also said that the cashless policy is affecting cocoa farmers’ production as most of them are largely illiterates and do not have bank accounts.
“The recent challenge we are encountering is the cashless policy, because the people we are dealing with majorly are illiterates and many of them live in the rural areas and will travel long distances to visit their banks. Many of these farmers deal with cash.
“We are also looking at ways we can boost production in the sector, because there is likelihood that the processing arm of the sector is going to grow.
“Nigeria is a rich country and many people are looking for businesses to invest in, but we have also seen that investors are coming into the cashew processing aspect alone because they feel is the best part to invest in,” he added.
