Nigeria gets over N200b from cashew in 2 years – minister

The Minister of Agriculture, Sabo Nanono, has disclosed that the cashew sub-sector of agriculture generated over N280billion for the country’s foreign exchange earnings between 2015 and 2017. Nanono spoke through a director in the ministry, Mrs Karima Babaginda at the recent Cashew Stakeholders/Export Summit, organised by the Association of Cashew Farmers, Aggregators and Processors of […]

The Minister of Agriculture, Sabo Nanono, has disclosed that the cashew sub-sector of agriculture generated over N280billion for the country’s foreign exchange earnings between 2015 and 2017.

Nanono spoke through a director in the ministry, Mrs Karima Babaginda at the recent Cashew Stakeholders/Export Summit, organised by the Association of Cashew Farmers, Aggregators and Processors of Nigeria (ACFAP).

While lamenting the less involvement of farmers in the cultivation of the crop in recent times, the minister noted that the sector had become a major alternative to the oil sector. He assured both the farmers and investors of government’s support.

She said, “The cashew sub-sector we are discussing today is one of the commodities Nigeria has comparative advantage in its production, processing and marketing. Unfortunately, the advantage has not been fully harnessed.

“In Nigeria, cashew is increasing in its importance as an export-oriented cash crop since the 1990s, and it is becoming an important source of non-export earnings. The contribution of cashew to non-export earnings has been on a steady increase since 2015. Nigeria has earned about $813million, which translates to about N284.5billion between 2015 and 2017 as foreign exchange from the export of cashew.’’