<p>THE Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, has tasked stakeholders in the cashew industry to increase efforts towards processing and value addition of cashew products in order to aid job and wealth creation in the country.</p> <p>According to him, for Nigeria to be one of the super powers in cashew Industry, efforts must be geared towards the processing of the products. Speaking at the flag-off of the yearly national cashew season organized by the National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN) in Lokoja, Kogi state, recently, Aganga commended the stakeholders on the efforts made at promoting the product, while urging them to develop the export potential of the product.</p> <p>He said: “Stakeholders in the cashew sub-sector have embraced the new order in the cashew business. As you are aware, cashew has nonetheless, assumed a very prominent position in the country’s commodities export and this is because of the diligent efforts the association has put in, as well as the remarkable potentials of this very important agricultural commodity. It is my sincere hope and believe that the cashew season would offer stakeholders in the industry the opportunities to make cashew export in the country as competitive as other agricultural commodities such as cocoa.</p> <p>Governor of Kogi State, Idris Wada, noted that the state considers agriculture as a business rather than a mere developmental programme, therefore employing a combination of agricultural technologies, policies and institutional arrangements that would lead to better access to raw materials for Agro based industries. National President of the association, Tola Faseru, said: “The nation’s annual production for just the raw cashew nuts is put at 120,000 metric tons valued at N23 billion or $153 million. However, based on the support from the Federal Government in the activities of NCAN in line with the national agricultural transformation Agenda, we expect to increase our volume from 120,000 tons to 240,000 tons within the next six years.</p> <p>“The cashew Industry in Nigeria provides livelihood for over 300,000 families and has created over 600,000 jobs. Nigeria is home to 15 cashew processing factories with combined production capacity not enough to meet even the local demand. With a population of over 160 million people, the market for edible cashew kernel is very huge and this makes the case for serious move to grow cashew business in the country.”</p>