The National President of the National Cashew Association of Nigeria, Babatola Faseru, has said Nigeria has the capacity to produce 500,000 tons of cashew annually.
Faseru said this on the occasion of his election as the Vice -President of the African Cashew Alliance.
According to him, international cashew kernel demand is active; hence the need to sustain the campaign for improved farming and processing techniques to ensure that the country presents higher cashew grades.
He says Nigeria can only achieve high volume production of the crop if cashew cultivation is encouraged, post-harvest losses minimised and new high-yield breeds are introduced. “These will more than double the current national output of about 200,000 metric tons,” he said.
He added that further sector development had however been hampered by low production levels and low cashew quality.
This, according to him, has weakened international consumer confidence which has in turn left the nation’s cashew value chain at a disadvantage.
He added, “Besides, limited access to financing and high interest rates continue to hinder investments in local cashew processing.
“The industry may not be able to reach its full potential of delivering sustainable and inclusive growth without a strong and coordinated action around export strategies that take full account of the different policy frameworks governing cashew exports.
“The huge potential of the subsector should justify a greater share of trade-related development assistance. More funding should also be allocated to the industry.”
Faseru who is the first Nigerian to occupy the position of Vice President on the Executive Committee of ACA, the association’s governing body, said his election would open doors for more Nigerians to make inroads into the continental cashew market and also better position Nigeria as a strategic cashew producing and processing country in the world.
Faseru announced that Nigeria is expected to host the ACA World Cashew Conference in 2017.
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