<p></p><p>The President of National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN) Mr. Tola Faseru, has announced that NCAN is embarking on a Special Cashew Production Scheme (SCP) in ten states of the country. He disclosed these pilot states as Abia, Cross River, Kogi, Kwara, Oyo, Nassarawa, Osun, Delta, Akwa-Ibom and Edo, adding that each of these states will be making available 1,000 hectares of land for the scheme.</p> <p>He said that under the scheme, a processing plant will be established in each of the states to be fed by the cashew plantations. e also pointed out that the scheme would be providing jobs and wealth creation opportunities for the country's teeming unemployed youths through 25,000 new job opportunities. He added that the scheme would not only provide new jobs, but would also promote entrepreneurship because it is structured to make the workers owners of the farms. </p><p>He disclosed that the Executive Governor of Kwara State Abdulfatai Ahmed has given the go ahead for the scheme to start off in Kwara state. Fasheru made the disclosure during the recent flag-off of the Nigerian cashew season in Kwara state, indicating the new cashew season. </p><p>Ahmed, who was represented by the Commissioner of Special Duties in the state, Aliyu Mohammed, said that Kwara was proud to be the largest producer of cashew in Nigeria. The Governor also stated that Kwara state will always support the development of agriculture in the state and the country in general. </p><p>The event also witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Nigerian Export and Import Bank (NEXIM), Ecobank Nigeria Plc, African Cashew Alliance, AIMS Limited and NCAN. Fasheru remarked that the signing of the MoU would assist in making funds available to cashew producers in the country. He therefore called on all participants in the cashew value chain from the buyer to the Local Buying Agent (LBA), merchant, exporter and processor in the country to take advantage of this opportunity and improve the cashew sub-sector. </p><p>He stated that cashew is a national crop which is mainly grown in 19 states of the Federation namely, Abia, Anambra, Akwa-Ibom, Benue, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Kogi, Niger, Kwara, Nasarawa, Ogun, Osun, Oyo and Taraba. He also said that NCAN's agenda is to take Nigeria from its current 120,000 tons capacity which makes it the fourth largest producer of cashew in Africa, to 400,000 tons capacity that will make it number one in the continent. </p><p>He added that NCAN also seeks to make Nigeria's cashew quality the best in Africa, through an effective regulation mechanism. He said that NCAN has provided an enabling environment for all cashew stakeholders in order to improve profitability of cashew business in Nigeria. He also said that the Association was making effort to effectively integrate all stake holders in the cashew value chain, adding that NCAN would continue to liaise with government and the international community to drive and engender growth in the cashew sector. </p><p>He therefore called on all participants in the cashew value chain from the buyer to the Local Buying Agent (LBA), merchant, exporter and processor in the country to take advantage of this opportunity and improve the cashew sub-sector. Also speaking, the Technical Adviser to the Managing Director of NEXIM Bank, Mr. Hope Yongo, said that the sub-sector needed to take more advantage of the available market to increase their capacity. </p><p> He said that NEXIM was poised to assist them financially in order to develop the subsector and improve the quality of their products. Also speaking, the Managing Director of African Cashew Alliance, Mr. Christian Dahm, said that his organisation is committed to providing stakeholders with relevant technical support adding that it will be good to see remarkable improvement in the quality of Nigeria's cashew nuts.<br></p><p></p>