<p></p><p>Thousands of Nigerians are engaged in the cashew industry. Most of them are farmers who cultivate the crop, while others export the produce to countries, such as India and Vietnam. The nation’s annual production of raw cashew nuts stands at 144,000 tons. Approximately 50,000 persons are engaged directly in the processing of cashew, and another 100,000 are engaged in the growing of the produce. <br></p> <p>Experts say there is a prospect of the industry creating over 50,000 new jobs in four years and injecting over N2 billion into the economy. However, there are constraints farmers and exporters face that undermine the efforts to realise the full trade potential through cashew export.</p><p>The constraints include barriers that impinge on trading, lack of access to finance, information and capacity for growth is limited. Adding to the problem, is the fact that only 10 per cent of raw cashew production undergoes further processing. <br></p> <p>Despite these, the Executive Director, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Mr Segun Awolowo said cashew remains a big foreign exchange earner which has to be repositioned in the face of the declining crude oil price that is now more vulnerable to external shocks. <br></p> <p>Addressing the forum on cashew business competitiveness and environmental sustainability, co-sponsored by USAID Nigeria, (NEPC) African Cashew Alliance (ACA), in partnership with the National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN) in Ilorin, Awolowo, who spoke through the Deputy Director, Product Development Department, Mr William Ezeagu, said cashew has been identified as one of the major cash crops with huge export potentials for the country. <br></p> <p>The cashew industry as a whole, he observed is still dogged by issues related to quality. Much of the problem with quality and safety issues, he continued, related to the large proportion of smallholders within the industry who lack the finances and ability to invest in modern technologies and innovate. Aflatoxins contamination, he noted is a trade issue, which needs to be tackled with urgency. He said the contamination imposes an enormous economic cost as it prevents commodities from meeting international regulations and standards governing agricultural trade and food safety. He, however, said awareness on the deleterious effects of Aflatoxin is fast rising and there is increasing demand by country stakeholders for action. Awolowo said NEPC is working with the World Trade Organisation(WTO) on preventive measures to address the issue that has lead to rejection of the nation’s cashew export. <br></p> <p>He said as a country, post-harvest handling of produce should be taken seriously and farmers educated on how to mitigate Aflatoxin contamination. He said businesses must heed more attention to improving it for the industry to develop sustainably over the long term. <br></p> <p>Business Advisory Manager, African Cashew Alliance, Mr Sunil Dahiya, said while Africa currently produces 40 per cent of the world’s supply of cashew nuts, it operates just a handful of processing facilities. He said cashew farmers and processors face difficulties complying with market requirements and lack the technical and financial means to produce cost-effective goods inz sufficient quantity and required high quality. As a result, when profitable new market opportunities arise, they are unable to be accepted as suppliers. This, he noted has given the alliance great concern. To end, he said ACA is focusing on building the capacities of cashew farmers and exporters to meet international quality standards through training on good agricultural practices to increase yields and quality. He said ACA has developed a capacity building programme to enables suppliers to meet the internationally recognised requirements in terms of food safety and quality. Through a combination of strategies, he said the alliance has been able to reach thousand s of farmers and processors, leading to the creation of new jobs in cashew nut processing, with 70 per cent of them for women. He said ACA has implemented sustainable pilot projects in several countries, where suppliers have achieved considerable improvement in their performance and compliance with food safety standards and Good Agricultural Practices (GAP). As a result, the quality and volume of marketable products has improved. At the same time, consumers have benefited from better and safer products and can expect more stable food prices. <br></p> <p>He said start-up processors are provided with a range of advice on how to grow their business, keep up with current market developments, improve their use of technology and expand processing of cashew by-products. <br></p> <p>The Managing Director, KD Food Processing Company Limited,Mr Garba Dikko said the lack of adequate knowledge on cashew financing by officials of banking institutions and farmers seriously affected fund raising to support agriculture in the country. He said the lack of knowledge about the specific financial needs of cashew farmers made the financial institutions to offer the same financial package to all farmers which often led to the disadvantage of many. He called for the development of different financial packages for different farmers groups engaged in different types of agriculture to meet their specific needs. With high cost of infrastructure, maintenance and electricity, he called on the government to protect local cashew processors and producers. Dikko said so much is required to establish a functional cashew processing plant. Dikko called for support for cashew processers to bring down production costs. Urging the government to offer assistance to farmers to improve production, he said poor productivity of cashew plantations is one of the major reasons behind the cashew nut processing sector performing at below capacity. <br></p> <p>The President,National Cashew Association of Nigeria(NCAN),Mr Tola Faseru said the nation’s cashew sector has enormous potential for businesses seeking to invest in the crop. He disclosed,however, that the sector is however suffering from declining productivity and dwindling export earnings because of structural problems. As a result, Nigerian cashew is less competitive in the international market . He called on the government to establish a N50 billion cashew development fund to support the industry . With such fund, he said it would be possible for the industry to achieve the target of 500,000 metric tons per annum. Faseru said the association is sensitising farmers across the country on quality control to enable them to enhance their product quality. Faseru called for more support for farmers and for government’s assistance for to develop more cashew plantations. The NCAN chief said if the cashew crop was processed locally, new direct jobs would be created by more than 1,000 businesses that would arise from the industry and millions of naira would be realised. This possible outcome is what is driving the campaign of the association to boost cashew production nationwide. <br></p> <p>The Director, Real Sector Department ,Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC),Mr Reuben Kifasi said the cashew sector has many gaps and challenges, thereby providing opportunities at different levels for foreign investors to explore. He said there are some incentives and tax holidays for investors seeking to take advantage of investment opportunities which abounds across the agric sector. The need for high capacity processing plants, warehousing facilities, he said, are just some of the opportunities that investors can look at. He said NIPC is supporting sector players in developing coordinated efforts to mobilize domestic and foreign direct investment and enhance private sector development. <br></p> <p>The Director,Cluster Development Department,Raw Materials and Development Council,Mrs Haraja Tanko said cashew is a big business and that the government is supporting it because the potential of the industry has not been fully harnessed. Mrs Tanko said raw materials council is working towards boosting cashew nut production by the establishing three- processing plants and giving improved seeds to support farmers . The Acting Chief of Party, COP Nigeria Expanded Trade and Transport (NEXTT) ,Engr Isaac Adegun said the development of the industry would not only help diversify the agriculture sector and enhance the national economy but would also be a good way of tackling poverty. To this end, he said the project is aimed at improving and expanding Nigeria’s trade efficiency domestically, within the region and beyond, so that trade, particularly in agricultural products, supports inclusive economic growth and the development. With improved support of USAID|NIGERIA through the NEXTT project, he said assistance to the cashew sub-sector has been scaled up to the level of offering technical assistance at both the organisational and firm level. <br></p> <p>He reiterated that NEXTT is more committed to improving the processing arm of the sub- sector owing to its enormous potential of creating thousands of jobs and also contributing to macroeconomic stability through increased export earnings. <br></p> <p>He said USAID has concluded a study on the Nigerian cashew industry, adding that steps will taken based on it to improve cashew business competiveness and environmental sustainability.</p> <p>The SEAL Coordinator, ACA, Mrs Dorcas Amoh, said more demand for cashew, combined with buyer demand for product that is Seal-certified, is increasing sales. The certification, she said ensures quality for buyers, recognition for processors, and stability for farmers. <br></p> <p>According to her, ACA Seal offers returns for all cashew stakeholders. Mrs Amos said without adequate waste collection services, she said cashew waste can carry health risks for workers at processing facilities and local communities. She said the plan of the alliance is to assist farmers to use waste materials for their businesses and communities in other ways.<br></p><p></p>