<p>The federal government has called for the harmonisation and regulation of the standard of cashew nuts exported from Nigeria to enhance easy market for the product. This formed the fulcrum of the workshop on “Cashew nuts quality control and regulations” at Ayingba motel, opposite Kogi State University on Ankpa road, Dekina local government area of Kogi State, yesterday. </p><p>The workshop was targeted at farmers, licensed buyers’ agents, exporters, processors and government agencies who were to brainstorm on issues that would shape the future and sales of quality cashew nuts from Nigeria at the international market. Mr Idris Dafang of the directorate of Commodities and Products Inspectorate in the federal ministry of Trade and Investment, said the call had become necessary for local farmers to understand the concept of quality of the cashew products and implement. He re-emphasised the need to harmonise Federal Government legislations, policies and standards on food, to conform with international regulations and standards to enhance standardisation of Nigeria cashew produced at all levels. Dafang hinted that the workshop is to stimulate the various stakeholders by engaging them into a series of technical resources to improve the quality of cashew nut in Nigeria. </p> <p>“The workshop is geared towards enhancing the competiveness of Nigerian commodities at the international market by ensuring adherence to minimum quality standards by all practitioners”, noting, “It also focuses on the expediency of applications of recommended chemicals on produce without compromising quality”. “There are various parameters used in determining the quality of cashew nuts and it is interesting to note that Nigerian cashew nut is among the most preferred by our foreign buyers that puts on us the responsibility of quality assurance system of the commodity in order to retain our position in the cashew export trade “. <br></p><p></p>