<p></p><p>Nigeria is one of the top Raw Cashew Nut (RCN) producing countries in the world. With production figure of about 200,000 metric tonnes per annum, it is one of the largest producers in Africa, and 6th largest in the world. Nigerian cashew nuts have been of high demand in recent times due to quality improvement programme put in place by the government of Nigeria and the private sector. Some of the programmes put in place as part of efforts to address quality issues and increase production include;</p><p><b>CashewExport</b><b> Development Strategy</b></p> <p>As part of a broader strategy to position Nigeria as a major supplier of cashew nut and to attract investment in cashew processing to Nigeria, the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) collaborated with USAID/NEXTT (Nigeria Expanded Trade and Transport) project to develop a framework for Cashew export development strategy for cashew value chain. The main thrusts of this framework include;</p><p><b>I</b>. Quality improvements of RCN (farm-level support for farmers)</p> <p><b>II</b>. Food safety and quality standards - provide capacity for processing companies on food safety, quality assurance and other technical issues as support for ACA seal.</p> <p><b>III</b>. Market Development and promotion – provide linkage for exporters with overseas market. </p> <p><b>IV</b>. Incentive support for the Cashew Industry through advocacy and public-private sector working group.</p> <p><b>V</b>. Trade information and statistics generation and production of relevant market intelligence reports- market information and statistical materials for relevant stakeholders.</p> <p> </p> <p><b>National Strategic Export Programme.</b><b> </b>This programme targets 13 Products with prospect of increasing non-oil revenue. Cashew has been selected as one of the 13 priority products for export development and promotion with a view to increasing Nigeria`s non-oil export revenue. The resultant effect is the attention by the government to provide interventions in the value chain.</p> <p><b>Agricultural Transformation Agenda</b>.Cashew is one of the transformation crops under the agricultural transformation Agenda of Government of Nigeria. Under this programme, Nigerian farmers have access to improved seedlings and subsidized fertilizer/herbicide to enhance the productivity of the crop and indeed increase yield per hectare.</p> <p> </p> <p><b>Capacity Building Programme</b>. Since his assumption of office in late 2013, the CEO of NEPC, Mr. Olusegun Awolowo has encouraged intensive training of cashew farmers and processors with a view to improving the quality of the cashew nut count, KOR and packaging. A large number of stakeholders in the sector have benefited from the training programmes, as he advances collaboration and partnership in achieving results for the sector. In line with this approach, NEPC has joined the African Cashew Alliance(ACA) Board, an Advisory membership which is the highest decision making organ of the international body. By this action, Nigeria is poised to take maximum advantage of the benefits offered by ACA including training of cashew farmers/processors and policies for cashew. Expectedly, ACA has undertaken training of farmers and processors, all resulting in improvements in the quality of Nigerian cashew nuts and kernels. NEPC attended its first ever ACA Board Meeting in Maputo, Mozambique last September.</p> <p>NEPC has been collaborates with the National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN) to organise training for cashew farmers. One of such trainings took place in Kogi State in 2014 where cashew farmers, produce inspectors, extension officers, buying agents, marketers and enforcement officers, and officials of government agencies were trained on good agricultural practices, good storage and warehousing practices, good packaging and handling practices. Participants were also trained on the best practices in drying, using dedicated platforms built around cluster based facilities. Farmers were trained on how to carry out quality testing on cashew especially on moisture, outturn and nut count. All these are geared towards achieving increased cashew productivity and quality. The resultant effect is the increase in the quality of cashew nuts and improved peel ability of the kernels. According to the President of NCAN, Mr. Tola Faseru, ‘the Nigerian cashew nuts is becoming one of the best in the world as our cashew nuts in 2014, reached consistently 51lbs/80kg, with nut count of around 180-185 per kg’</p> <p><b>Nigerian Cashew Quality</b></p> <p>In terms of packaging of raw cashew nuts, presently, all RCN arriving Lagos, the port of export, must be packed in jute bags. Enforcement officers have been deployed at strategic cashew transport routes and mandated to enforce the regulation. </p> <p>Based on these quality improvement programmes, the Nigerian cashew nuts have been attracting buyers from all over the world. For example, in 2013, NCAN signed a Memorandum of Association (MOU) with VINECAS, the Vietnamese cashew association for the export of 80,000 metric tons of cashew nuts to Vietnam. Interestingly, Vietnam import of cashew nuts from Nigeria in 2014 was 106,695 representing 13.4% of Vietnam total cashew nuts import. India, on the other hand, imported 25,875 metric tons in 2014 valued at USD 25,17million (cashew info October 2015). All put together, Nigeria exported 132, 570 tons of cashew in 2014 to Vietnam and India. From January to September 2015, India has already imported 43,893 metric tons of Nigerian cashew nuts worth $51.7million representing about 75% increase in volume terms. </p> <p>According to Mr. Bach of the Vinacontrol of Vietnam, (Vietnamese Quality Inspection Company) the quality of cashew imported from Nigeria improved significantly in the last three years. The increase in trade between Nigeria and her trading partners in Raw Cashew Nut trade attests to increase in quality of the Nigerian cashew nuts. Buyers and importers now perceive Nigerian cashew nuts as good quality in terms of nut count, outturn, peel ability and use of appropriate packaging material (jute bag).</p> <p>The Nigerian Export Promotion Council whose mandate is to spearhead the promotion of Nigeria’s non-oil export will continue to champion quality improvement in all our exportable products to ensure that our products meet our customers’ expectations.</p><br><p></p>