The Federal Government has unveiled the Nigeria Cashew Industry Roadmap aimed at transforming the country’s cashew sector through increased local processing, industrialisation, job creation and export expansion.
The roadmap was validated on Wednesday at a stakeholders’ workshop in Abuja, where the government reaffirmed its commitment to repositioning Nigeria’s cashew industry as a globally competitive, value-added sector.
Speaking at the event, the Minister of State for Industry, Senator John Owan Enoh, represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Chris Osa Isokpunwu, described the roadmap as a strategic blueprint designed to attract investment, expand local processing, increase farmers’ incomes and create employment opportunities, particularly for women and youths.
He noted that although Nigeria produces between 300,000 and 350,000 metric tonnes of raw cashew nuts annually, over 85 per cent of the produce is exported without processing, resulting in significant loss of economic value.
According to him, the roadmap aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the 2026 Nigeria Industrial Policy, while addressing challenges such as low productivity, ageing plantations, inadequate seedlings, poor infrastructure, limited access to finance, weak quality standards and underutilised processing capacity.
Enoh also announced plans to establish a Nigerian Cashew Project Office to coordinate the implementation of the roadmap in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, the National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN), GIZ and other development partners.
He said the success of the initiative would be measured by increased local processing, establishment of new processing factories, improved export earnings, better livelihoods for farmers and enhanced global competitiveness.
Also speaking, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, represented by the Director, Federal Department of Agriculture, Mr. Bukar Musa, described the validation exercise as a major milestone towards developing a comprehensive policy framework that would strengthen production, value addition, processing and export competitiveness.
The Director of Industrial Development Department, Mr. Bala Mohammed, who represented the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, urged stakeholders to support the development of an inclusive and implementable roadmap capable of accelerating industrialisation, export diversification and sustainable economic growth.
In a goodwill message, the Director-General of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), Princess Zahrah Mustapha Audu, described the roadmap as a critical step towards building a competitive and resilient cashew industry capable of contributing to President Tinubu’s vision of a one-trillion-dollar economy.
She reaffirmed PEBEC’s commitment to improving Nigeria’s business environment through reforms, including the Business Facilitation Act and the ReportGov platform.
The Commissioner for Agriculture in Osun State, Hon. Kola Fashoro, said the roadmap would unlock the enormous economic potential of the cashew industry and position Nigeria as Africa’s leading producer and processor of the commodity.
Representatives of key industry stakeholders, including the Cashew Processors and Allied Products Association of Nigeria (CAPPAN), the National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN), the National Apex of Cashew Farmers, Processors and Marketing Cooperative, and the Nigeria Commodity Exchange (NCX), called for investor-friendly policies, increased local processing, climate-smart production, digital farmer registration, improved quality standards, expanded access to finance and stronger commodity markets.
The stakeholders unanimously agreed that effective implementation of the Nigeria Cashew Industry Roadmap would transform the sector into a major driver of industrialisation, rural development, job creation, export growth and economic diversification.
