Farmers in the cashew subsector are demanding for special local processing agro loans, that will support farmers and processors to produce more, while warning that any move by the government to ban the export of raw cashew nuts, will put over five million Nigerians out of jobs.
The warning came as the National Cashew Association of Nigeria, NCAN met to review the state of the sector and policy options for growth.
Nigeria was once a global leader in cashew production, recording about 700,000 metric tonnes annually, However, in recent years output has dramatically declined as the sector now records between 350,000 and 400,000 metric tonnes.
NCAN says it is not acceptable as the development is hurting millions of farmers and weakening the country’s competitiveness in the global market.
For them, there’s the need for the government to address structural challenges in the subsector, and provide targeted funding to support local farmers.
They insist that Nigeria may face massive unemployment, collapsed farms and a crippled agro-export economy if the Federal Government proceeds with the ban of cashew nuts export.
Another issue discussed at the meeting was the deepening leadership tussle, in the organisation, where a faction is claiming legitimacy, and creating confusion.
This raises the question about the stability of the cashew industry in Nigeria.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
