The Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment has said it is sustaining efforts and working closely with the National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN), relevant agencies of government and the Organised Private Sector towards creating a robust cashew sector that delivers globally competitive value-added products in one hand, while striving also, to secure high profits for all actors through right programmes and activities aimed at enhancing the respective value chains. This was stated by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, in his address at the National Cashew Day/Flag off Ceremony organised by NCAN in Lagos. Represented by Mr. Akeredolu Toyin Johnson, Oduwole said the ministry has taken into account, the need to create the right environment and platforms to spur investment across the cashew value chain, create market linkages and provide technical support, especially towards strengthening the domestic production and processing and marketing capabilities. “The major focus has always been to support smallholders’ farmers, by building their capacities on best practices, which encourages market access, support value addition and processing, which encourage industrialisation and ensure that Raw Cashew Nuts (RCN) and other products from cashew are highly competitive at the international market. “These can be achieved, only if the actors, especially, members of the NCAN remained resolute among themselves and also, work closely with the government at all levels for the development of the sub sector,” she said. The minister lamented the country’s inability to add value and export high volume of processed cashew kernel as against the continued exportation of raw cashew nuts. “We are not unaware of the numerous challenges we are beign confronted, which bothers on high cost of processing, as well as limited availability of credit for processors to support their capability to procure high volume of RCN to enable processing at optimal and installed capacity level as a precondition to remained in business and make profit.” In his address, the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who commended NCAN for its dedication to advancing the cashew industry, said over the years NCAN had achieved remarkable success in transforming the industry into beacon of hope for economic diversification. Represented by his Special Adviser on Agriculture and Food Systems, Dr. Rotimi Fashola, Sanwo-Olu said the yearly cashew demand grows by an average of seven to 10 per cent owing to increasing interest in healthy snacks, plant-based diets, and high-value products such as Cashew Nut Shell Liquid (CNSL) oil, used in multifunctional applications. “Reports showed that the export price of cashew kernels from India and Vietnam to the EU and America is roughly 3.5 times higher than the price paid to Nigerian cashew farmers after semi-processing. “When roasted in Europe or America, the value increases to about 8.5 times more than the farm gate price in Nigeria. This represents a loss of wealth and opportunities, as the benefits of value addition are transferred abroad rather than retained locally,” he said. Governor Sanwo-Olu said with cashew having the potential to inject over $3.7b yearly into the Nigerian economy, it is imperative to develop policies specifically tailored to the industry. He added that the policies should promote the holistic development of the cashew value chain, with a special focus on increasing production and significantly processing cashews within Nigeria. The National President of NCAN, Dr. Ojo Ajanaku, who expressed concern over the significant decline in Nigeria’s cashew production, said the country, once Africa’s leading cashew producer, has drastically dropped in the global rankings. He expressed optimism that the programme, which signals the beginning of new cashew season and also a day set aside to promote and to bring cashew and its potential into the minds of all Nigerians, which will the beginning of good things to come into the industry. He, therefore, called for urgent measures to revive the sector and harness its vast economic potential. On how to reverse the trend, he said that the association is encouraging producers to produce more, noting that NCAN has also engaged some development partners to support in setting cashew nursery across the country. He said: “We have a particular variety that is very popular, which is the Ogbomosho variety and we believe that if we are able to spread this across the nation, we will have a uniform product in Nigeria. We have also decided to engage nursery farms in Nigeria to produce more to increase our production in the country.”