By Our Reporter
The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) says its aim is to export cashew nuts directly from the South-East in line with the diversification policy of the Federal Government.
The Executive Director of the council, Mr Olusegun Awolowo disclosed this on Thursday in Enugu during a workshop organised by the council for stakeholders in the cashew value chain.
Olusegun was represented at the event by the South-East Regional Coordinator of NEPC, Mr Arnold Jackson.
The executive director said that the council had developed what it called ‘Zero-Oil Plan’, an initiative for boosting foreign exchange earnings through the non-oil export sector.
He said that the initiative had set a long term goal of earning 20 per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product from non-oil exports.
“The initial target is to exceed US$30 billion in non-oil exports over the next 10 years, add extra US$150 billion to Nigeria’s foreign reserves and lift at least 20 million Nigerians out of poverty,” he said.
Olusegun said that the council also had the One-State One-Product programme developed to ensure that each state focused on at least one product to develop for export.
He said that under the programme, Enugu State indicated cashew and palm oil as its main and alternate products respectively.
The executive director said that cashew remained an important agricultural commodity in the state.
“We, therefore, require the collaboration of the state government and other stakeholders to develop exportable products from cashew,” he said.
He said that cashew had the potential to significantly affect Nigeria’s foreign exchange as the country was the second largest producer of the nut with an annual production of 350, 000 metric tons.
“We have a long way to go to be able to meet local demands and export,” he said.
He called for the establishment of an aggregation centre in the South-East where cashew nuts could be graded and checked for quality assurance.
“The quality issues have to be resolved because what sells products is quality assurance,” Awolowo said.
In a lecture, the National Auditor, Cashew Farmers Association of Nigeria, Mr Ferdinand Eze, said that Enugu State was producing 20, 000 metric tons of cashew per annum.
Eze said that the figure was a far cry from the capacity of the state considering the huge cashew investment made in the area by former Premier of Old Eastern Region, Dr Michael Okpara.
He said that most of the cashew trees were getting old as they were over 40 years, adding that new ones needed to be planted.
In a goodwill message, the Enugu State Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr Mathew Idu, said that the state had comparative and competitive advantage in cashew production.
Idu, however, said that cashew farmers in the state were yet to reach their optimum potentials in cashew production, adding that the state government was willing to assist the farmers and other stakeholders along the value chain.
