The National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN), the statutory apex body for the country’s cashew value chain, has reaffirmed that Nigeria’s cashew industrialisation can only be achieved through incentives and supportive policies rather than punitive export bans. In a statement signed by its President, Dr. Ojo Joseph Ajanaku, NCAN outlined a farmer-first industrialisation framework which is to incentivise processors, not penalise farmers: FX rebates, VAT/duty relief on equipment, and energy support. Others are creation of a Special Agro-Processing Loan Window (SAP-LW) at less than 5%, tied to verified processing contracts via NCAN’s Farm Mapper. “Minimum offtake schemes to guarantee farmer markets while supplying processors. Use of NCAN’s Farm Mapper to ensure accountability, curb smuggling, and regulate trade and maintaining farmers’ legal access to global buyers while domestic capacity expands. The association recalled the negative impact of past commodity restrictions, particularly the shea-nut export ban which was followed by pleas for a 90-day grace period, describing it as evidence that blanket bans create “chaos and instability, not solutions.”