The 16th edition of African Cashew Alliance Conference to be held in Nigeria will attract foreign investors and grow the nation’s economy.

This was the position of the President, National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN), Joseph Ajanaku.

At a news conference on Friday in Abuja, Mr Ajanaku said the cashew summit would be held from September 12 to September 15, in Abuja.

One thing that stands out for Nigeria in this big event, Mr Ajanaku reckoned, is that there will be significant opportunities for growth in cashew nuts processing and production and businesses that will strengthen synergies.

Mr Ajanaku said that it was going to be the biggest cashew summit ever held in Africa because it will harmonise delegates and major stakeholders and attract a lot of business opportunities and influence some policies in the sector.

The Conference is with the theme “strengthening sustainable kernel and by-products marketing in the African cashew industry.”

Speaking earlier, Ernest Mintah, Managing Director, African Cashew Alliance (ACA) said that the conference was being held annually.

“In different African Countries, we have held 15 editions and I am happy to see that this time it’s coming to Nigeria for the first time and holding in the capital city of Abuja.

“Government and the private sector will be exchanging ideas, learning from experts globally to expand production in the sector,” he added.

Mr Mintah explained that while processing is growing in Nigeria, with about 10 per cent, it was still too little and still needs to be explored in order to generate more revenue and create employment for the youths.

According to him, the largest volume was going to Vietnam and India, and a lot of jobs were also being exported.

“If we are exporting the primary products we are getting one dollar 20 cent per kg to cover the farmers’ services, transport and export.

“If we process, we stand about three times of the amount accrued to the Government, we are also growing jobs,” he said.

He stated that for every thousand metric tonnes exported, Nigeria was losing about 300 jobs of processed cashew depending on the technology used which can create about 250-300 jobs.

“The crop and production is here, during the conference, we won’t only be listening to experts speak, we will also do field visits to the various factories here and people will know how they are set up and opportunities to invest in.

He called on the government to support investment in the sector in Nigeria and increase the processing of cashew in the country.

Africa produces about 57 per cent of the total world production of cashew, yet Nigeria processes only about 10 per cent.

(NAN)