The Ivorian Minister of Sustainable Development, Kobenan Kouassi Adjoumani, pleaded on Thursday for a local transformation of the cashew sector, as being a vector for the emergence of a national and continental agro-industry. Kobenan Kouassi Adjoumani was speaking at the opening of the 4th edition of the International Exhibition of Cashew Processing Equipment and Technologies (Sietta) which is being held from April 6 to 8 in Abidjan on the theme "Contribution from the cashew industry to the resilience of African countries in the face of global economic challengesâ€. The minister called for making this sector a major sector of the national economy, capable of creating jobs and wealth to improve the living conditions of the populations. "By processing our cashew on site, we are promoting the emergence of a national and continental agro-industry," he said. “This translates into an increase in the added value of agricultural sectors. This guarantees fairer remuneration for producers and all players in the value chain,†he added. Indeed, with more than one million tons of production in 2022, Côte d'Ivoire ranks first among raw cashew nut producing countries. However, the fact remains the low rate of local cashew processing, estimated at 22%. A relatively low rate, especially since the country has become, in the last ranking of cashew producing countries, 3rd processor and supplier of cashew kernels behind Vietnam and India. These countries which represent 45% of the world's agricultural cashew production and of which 90% of this production is processed locally. According to the Minister of State, Kobenan Kouassi Adjoumani, it is this paradigm shift that allows the promotion of Sietta. Because according to him, the local processing of Cashew conceals an inestimable potential. “What Southeast Asia is doing today is what it is now up to us to do. Let's transform our African natural resources here in Africa, here in Côte d'Ivoire and export finished products, while ensuring their marketing,†he encouraged. During the first edition of Sietta in 2014, Côte d'Ivoire was only at 6% processing rate of its production of 560,000 tons of raw cashew nuts. In 2022, the country reached nearly 22% of transformation rate, for a production of raw nuts which exceeded the million tons. Which is just over 224,000 tonnes of raw cashew nuts processed and almost 8 times more in volume than in 2014, generating more than 15,000 direct jobs, 70% of which are held by women.