<p></p><p>Ani, who was at the corporate office of LEADERSHIP yesterday with the leaders of the Association of Cashew Farmers, Aggregators and Processors of Nigeria (ACFAP), praised the foresight and patriotic spirit of the newspaper for drawing public attention to a gold mine that is neglected by Nigerians. He said that if the federal government is serious about job creation and pulling people out of poverty, it should focus on the development of cashew as a cash crop.</p> <p>According to him, “it is unfortunate that such an important cash crop as cashew does not even feature in the list of crops that the government recognises. Cashew has the potential of earning this country revenue that can even surpass oil and gas.”</p> <p>While encouraging LEADERSHIP not to relent in its self-imposed decision to lead in the efforts to grow the national economy and bring about prosperity for the people, Ani said that Nigeria was losing so much to foreigners who come to the country to buy off the cashew nuts, take them abroad and brand them as “Indian Almonds”.</p> <p>Ani said: “I can tell you, what you buy in Dubai, or China or anywhere else as ‘Indian Almonds’ is actually Nigerian cashew, but we lost out to these people because we do not value what we have.” adding, “that is why what you have chosen to do by organising this summit is highly commendable and I only pray that you would be able to sustain it and take it to the next level.”</p> <p>In his response, the managing director of LEADERSHIP Newspapers, Mr Muazu Elazeh, said that the management took the decision to promote cashew in line with the mission of the company which is to showcase anything that will support the growth and development of the country.</p> <p>The summit, which is being organised in conjunction with ACFAP, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), and All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), has as its theme: “Addressing Nigeria’s Insignificant Contributions To Export Earnings With Special Emphasis On Cashew Value Chain Development And Exportation”.</p> <p>It is supported by the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC), Nigerian Export Import Bank (NEXIM), Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Bank of Agriculture (BOA), and Bank of Industry (BOI).</p> <p>TAK Integrated Agriculture Solutions Limited will lead other private sector groups that include; Nicert-Ecocert Ltd and Macif Group to the summit.</p><br><p></p>