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By Chinyere Anyanwu [email protected]
In a bid to transform the country’s cashew value chain and boost its contribution to the economy, representatives from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the US Embassy in Lagos, international nonprofit TechnoServe, ISF Advisors, Nigerian cashew processors and the investment community gathered in Abuja, yesterday under the auspices of the Prosper Cashew project to identify areas of partnership for a more sustainable cashew processing industry in Nigeria.
Since cashew was introduced in West Africa as an agricultural crop in the 1960s, the region has grown to become the world’s number-one producer and exporter of the nut. Nigeria’s share of global production has doubled as raw cashew nut production volumes tripled over the last 15 years to 210,000 metric tonnes annually.
However, only 20 per cent of the country’s production volume gets processed where it is harvested while hundreds of thousands of metric tonnes of raw cashew nut each year are taken overseas for processing.
The Prosper Cashew project expects to create more than 4,500 new jobs (at least 50 per cent for women), facilitate $61 million of investment in the cashew sector.
The event in Abuja was designed to help address this challenge by spurring collaboration between stakeholders in Nigeria’s cashew processing sector. It also presented the progress and objectives of the five-year Prosper Cashew project, which will act as a catalyst for the sector, strengthening and reviving existing cashew processing facilities, facilitating access to critically needed working capital, demonstrating the business case for additional investment flows into the sector and bringing together high-quality investors.
The convening included remarks from USDA Agricultural Counselor, Gerald Smith, senior officials from TechnoServe, representatives from the cashew processing sector and the Prosper Cashew team.
It took place at the tail end of the African Cashew Alliance’s 16th annual conference, which was held in Abuja between September 12 and 15. A key investor in the West African cashew industry, USDA, was the title sponsor of the conference. Team members from Prosper Cashew led conference sessions focusing on kernel and byproduct processing to create a more sustainable industry in Africa, marketing of kernels and cashew by-products, and blended finance for catalysing investment in the sector.
“Nigeria has enormous potential to grow its cashew processing sector, creating high-quality jobs and economic activity right here in the country,” said Krishanu Chakravarty, Prosper Cashew’s chief of party. “This meeting was an exciting step in realising that potential and we look forward to working with stakeholders across the industry to create a sustainable, inclusive and profitable cashew sector.”
Over five years, the Prosper Cashew project expects to create more than 4,500 new jobs (at least 50 per cent for women), facilitate $61 million of investment in the cashew sector and support processors to sell more than $200 million of cashew products into domestic, regional and international markets.
