The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has said it will harness the cashew value chain to generate over 500,000 jobs for Nigerians unemployed youth.
The Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr. Abdulkadir Mu’azu, said this would further improve the economy.
Mu’azu stated this at a two-day national cashew stakeholders’ meeting and farmers’ field day in Zaria, Kaduna State on Friday.
Represented at the occasion by the Deputy Director in the ministry, Mr Bernand Chukwuemeka, the permanent secretary said cashew value chain was among the top priority commodity value chains being promoted by the ministry.
He said the promotion of the commodity by the ministry was due to the cashew’s enormous potentials for employment generation for the youth and foreign exchange earnings.
According to him, Nigeria’s current national output is 175,000 metric tonnes on a hectares of 150,000, with an average yield of 350 kilograms per hectare as against the global average yield of 1,230 kilograms per hectare.
He said, “Increasing Nigeria’s raw cashew nuts production of between 175,000 metric tonnes by 20 per cent will give rise to more than 500,000 new jobs and $10m additional income.
“This indicates that the cashew industry can be grown sustainably in Nigeria if all hands are on deck, this is why we are gathered here today,” he said.
Mu’azu also said that the meeting was to create awareness on the socioeconomic benefits accruable from the cashew value chain and give effect to the successful implementation of the cashew value chain.
Earlier, Director, Cashew Research Department, Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, Dr Ibiremo Samuel, said the institute had the mandate for the genetic improvement of cashew in the country.
Samuel said the institute had developed high yielding and early bearing cashew varieties, and also developed protocols to mitigate pest and diseases for cashew.
Samuel said the value addition department of the institute had developed cashew juice, and other protocol of training women and youths on juice and wine making from cashew.
Similarly, the National President, National Cashew Association of Nigeria, Mr Ojo Ajanaku, urged the participants to brainstorm and come out with a blueprint that would be adopted for the implementation of the National Cashew Master plan.
