‘Cashew has a lot of benefit to offer has a lot of health and economic benefit, and with governmental attention it’s a whole lot s of job opportunity …’

Mr. Stephen Aliasa, Chairman National Cashew Association of Nigeria Kogi State Chapter

With  the raging economic melt-down, the attendant unemployment and youth restiveness and the general gloomy atmosphere, cashew could turn out to be one of the saving grace for the citizens  and it could also be source be a source of foreign exchange says Mr. Stephen Aliasa, Chairman National Cashew Association of Nigeria Kogi State Chapter. Read his excerpt below.

Could you please introduce yourself?

I am Mr Stephen Aliasa, Chairman National Cashew Association of Nigeria Kogi State Chapter and the CEO St. Ahiaba Global Resources Nigeria Limited, and a stakeholder in cashew industry.

What is the importance of the cashew flag-off to the grassroots cashew farmers?

To me, flagging- off of cashew planting season is a way of showing governments’ readiness, to make the cashew sector work, it’s a wonderful move by the minister and it’s a whole lot of                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              opportunity. At this point if the government starts an intervention program, I will say they are well prepared to diversify the economy through agriculture.

What is the economic importance of cashew to the country?

Cashew is very important, it contributes 10% to our GDP and it’s also a wonderful produce, if it’s well expanded, although with the current flag off, it is expected that in a short period, we can depend on cashew to have a budget for a year and if the minister is committed to this program across the country, cashew production will create more jobs that will promote economic development. To me, cashew is very important because it has a lot of health and economic benefit, and if our government gives necessary attention to develop the cashew value chain, from input to, production, primary processing, marketing, it’s a whole lot s of job opportunity and a means of engaging the youths from unnecessary restiveness that we witness today in the country, and I think cashew is a sector that can deal with that if government does well.

How many people can the cashew industry employ?

The cashew industry can answer to the issue of unemployment of Nigeria to 50-70%, because most of the cashew activities involves  human practices, human labor, I think 70% of it, and with the number of the nut, it’s what people must touch, and process, it is a whole lot of work and there are value and prices for this job and it’s a source of foreign exchange to our rural farmers, stakeholders and investors in Nigeria, it’s a wonderful produce and I will encourage  Nigerian to invest  in the cashew industry.

How far has cashew development gone in Kogi state?

Cashew has gone very far in Kogi state. Naturally, Kogi is strategically positioned, the climate the weather and everything is favorable for cashew production, and one of the best qualities of cashew is what we have from Kogi state and today we have almost 50-60% of cashew production in Nigeria coming from Kogi state and it’s a whole lot of courage and quite interesting industry.

How is youth participation in cashew production in Kogi state?

Currently the  economic value of cashew has created so much attention, most of the youth in Kogi state who have abandoned agriculture for unsustainable jobs like commercial motorcycle riding, have seen reasons to come back to farming, especially cashew,  most especially that the price of cashew has risen from the then 5-6 thousand to today price of 25-30 thousand and above, so I think most of the farmers are doing well. If you visit Kogi state, farmers are even doing better than other people in other sector, because in the rural villages you will see new houses, you will see them being able to pay school fees, and also being able to fund a lot of projects through cashew farming, with community effort. I think it’s a wonderful thing and if the cashew mechanization programme is established across the states and it will go a long way to help create massive employment for the youths across Nigeria.

What have been your challenges so far, as an association?

The challenges are mainly bringing cashew back to its pride of place, because cashew is currently left in the hands of the small scale farmers, who have also been facing challenges  because it is difficult for them to adhere to good practices , like storage facilities, drying platforms, capacity building to modern technique in planting and harvesting are areas the small scale farmer has no technical know how to put them together, but with the intervention of government now we believe that all the challenges faced by the small scale farmers will be a thing of the past.

Looking at Kogi state, how has government been able to help the farmers?

Yes, in Kogi state, we have a new governor, but the former governor tried to support the industry, you know cashew on its own, is solely  based on quality, and the quality hasn’t been maintained properly, but the former governor appointed a consultant, who managed the quality of cashew and globally Kogi’s product is acceptable in all international markets, and that has helped us to get more value  and direct international price for our cashew, as against when we sell at discount and sometimes outright rejections, which the state has been able to overcome. Yes the new governor has also captured cashew on his blue print in the area of infrastructural development, like housing, drying platform, transportation and rural road network to assist the cashew industry expand.

Where do we see Kogi state in production, processing and exporting in the next 3 years?

We are hopeful that with this new development, we are getting to the next level of processing. Presently, Kogi State University is already processing the nut and myself, I have a company, St. Ahiaba Global Resources Nigeria Limited, we have made a research on technology that process cashew juice, and we have started the production of cashew juice, and extracting the cashew juice from the apple, the bye product is called the pulp, and the pulp is the best material for animal feed, and it’s a wonderful thing if you can have animal feed from cashew, because it’s a whole lot of support in the livestock production, and  I am happy that the nut, apple, pulp--- all the value goes to the rural farmer, its indeed a wonderful and a great achievement in the cashew industry.