He was speaking at the joint opening of the 7th edition of the World Cashew Convention and Exhibition and the 4th edition of the National Days of Cashew Exporters of Côte d'Ivoire (JNEC-CI). “In Côte d'Ivoire, the cashew nut has asserted itself over the years as a major strategic base for our agriculture, but more broadly for our national economy. The cashew nut indeed represents today our 2nd agricultural export product, both in volume and in value behind cocoaâ€, declared the Prime Minister. The potential of this sector, according to Patrick Achi, really took off with the implementation of the reform initiated in the agricultural sector, and in particular in the cashew sector, in 2013, by the President of the Republic, Alassane Ouattara. This reform has enabled Côte d'Ivoire to become the world's leading cashew nut producer, going from a production of 400,000 tonnes in 2011 to 968,676 tonnes in 2021. It also enables the country to become the world's leading exporter of raw cashew nuts, with more than 800,000 tons, or more than 40% of the world supply. Thanks to this reform, Côte d'Ivoire is now the world's third largest exporter of cashew kernels. The cashew sector achieves a turnover of more than 600 billion FCFA per year. The reform allows the sector to generate an annual income of more than 300 billion FCFA for the 400,000 Ivorian producers. According to the Prime Minister, the government is working to create a relevant and efficient ecosystem, in terms of infrastructure and reforms, to facilitate and promote the installation of industrialists in the sector. This, "to radically increase the rate of local transformation of raw materials, in order to create more income for the brave peasants, more jobs for the talented youth, more wealth for all the Ivorian people". The ceremony was held in the presence of the Ambassador of India to Côte d'Ivoire, the Honorary Consul of Vietnam, the Executive Secretary of the International Cashew Advisory Council (CICC), the Director General of the Coton Anacarde Council and several other personalities. The 7th edition of the World Cashew Conference which ends on February 18, 2022 is organized by the Association of Cashew Exporters of Côte d'Ivoire (AEC-CI), in collaboration with the World Cashew Convention (WCC), around the theme: “Supporting the growth of the cashew sector in Africa through the transformation of production and the export of raw cashew nutsâ€. Côte d'Ivoire organized in February 2020, for the first time, the 6th edition of the World Cashew Conference.