Gilbert Ekugbe
The National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN) has blamed the lack of a national policy for the neglect of Nigeria’s cashew sector.
The NCAN said the sector is capable of displacing cocoa and sesame seeds in terms of revenue generation if it is given the right level of attention and financial support.
THISDAY had reported that the cashew industry is capable of generating over $2.7 billion annually by increasing its production capacity to about one million metric tonnes per year.
Speaking during a telephone interview, the President of NCAN, Mr. Joseph Ajanaku, claimed that the sector has been unconsciously neglected.
Ajanaku said: “The sector has no policy. The sector has been unconsciously neglected and a sector that has no policy would definitely not attract the federal government’s attention.
“As an association, we are also advocating for a national policy and we are working with development partners to formulate a policy that would attract the federal government’s attention into the cashew industry.
“If we are able to have a national policy for the sector, the federal government will identify their obligations to support the sector. We want to make government a stakeholder in the sector to bring some level of attraction and the much needed support for the cashew sector.”
He bemoaned that the cashew farmers were not listed among beneficiaries of the Anchor Borrower Programme (ABP), adding that the association has not benefitted from any kind of funding or assistance from the federal government.
“The potentials for cashew to earn foreign exchange for the economy are huge. Though the government is not showing interested in the sector as it is supposed to, cashew is really contributing a lot, “he said.
