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The National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN) has said Nigeria will soon top the chart in cashew production globally.
NCAN National President, Ojo Joseph Ajanaku, who stated this yesterday in Abuja during the 4th Edition of Cashew Summit, said Nigeria was number one in 2010 with about 800,000 metric tonnes, but wondered why the country dropped.
“We want to grow the Nigeria cashew industry capacity in production so that we can go back to the number one position that we used to be. Nigeria has the largest population of the black race of the black race in the world.
“What started almost as an experiment has today become a globally recognised export commodity capable of earning Nigeria significant foreign exchange.
“We are driving hard to correct the wrongs in the sector. We understand that meaningful reform sometimes requires stepping on toes, even those considered untouchable.
Ojo disclosed Nigeria’s vast agricultural potential, noting that the country has over 92 million hectares of land, with about 34 million hectares of arable land still unused.
He argued that operators within the industry are best positioned to proffer solutions.
“We are farmers, processors, and marketers. We understand the challenges better than anyone observing from the outside,” he said.
He emphasised that a thriving cashew industry could lift millions out of poverty, revive rural communities, and help address Nigeria’s security challenges by reducing rural–urban migration.
“We do not all have to live in Abuja, Lagos, or Kano. If the cashew industry is properly developed, it can create tens of millions of direct and indirect jobs,” he said.
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He expressed concern that despite being Nigeria’s leading cashew-producing state, Kogi state has no functional cashew processing factory.
He listed funding and energy costs as major challenges facing domestic processors, noting that these concerns have been presented to the federal government.
“If we process what we produce locally, we will earn at least double our current revenue,” he said.
Also, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole, said the celebration of National Cashew Day, was not only an opportunity to reflect on past achievements but also a moment to reaffirm the collective commitment to transforming the sector for the benefit of all Nigerians.
According to Oduwole, the Nigerian cashew industry remains an economic powerhouse with deep agricultural roots spanning several decades.
The minister noted that Nigeria currently ranks among the world’s leading producers of raw cashew nuts, with significant annual output, underscoring the sector’s potential to drive economic growth, create jobs, and boost non-oil exports.
Furthermore, President of Africa Cashew Alliance (ACA), Ibrahim Sanfo, said it would collaborate with NCAN to make the cashew sector grow and to build our industry.
He said: “You know, in Africa we are the first producer but we consume less, very less, less than one person. And we are also a big market like India and we need now to process and to consume our own product. Because of that we are with INCAN to let them improve themselves to produce more and better quality and to process more for our local consumption.
“We need good policy. We need to grow together with the government because the government needs to take a decision to make processing in Africa good. If the processing is good, if we process more we can process for our local consumption. Because we are not processing more.
“Our processing is less than 10% and we export all 80 to 90%. We need to process more for our local consumption and we need government support for that. Without the government we cannot resolve this problem.”
