<p>RANCHI: With the prospects of cashew cultivation growing in the state, the horticulture department is now planning to cash in on its byproducts this time. Within few years, the state will not just grow cashew nuts but also cashew apple juice, jam, jelly and vinegar.Director of horticulture department, Jharkhand, Prabhakar Singh said, "Earlier cashew cultivation was restricted to three districts in the state, however, in the last few years, we have extended its production to 10 districts. Cashew is cultivated across 16,000 hectares in the state at present."</p> <p>At present, five processing units have been installed across the state. However, as the cashew cultivation gains pace, the department is planning to expand the business here.Singh said, "At present only the nut is cultivated in the state while the cashew apple gets wasted. We plan to utilize this cashew apple to produce juice, jam, jelly and vinegar. However it is a time taking process and might take around two to three years to surface."</p> <p>According to Singh, cashing in on cashew by-products will also increase state revenue and increase job opportunities. "Residents of Jharkhand migrate to other states as they are unable to find a proper job for themselves here. Once the cashew industry flourishes we will try to rope in as many people as possible," he said.The department is also planning to solve the problem of waste land in Jharkhand by converting them in cultivation land. Singh said, "Jharkhand has around eight lakh hectares of barren land. We are planning to utilize at least one lakh hectare for cashew cultivation</p>