Thursday, March 8, 2012
NCAN embarks on special cashew production scheme
THE National President of National Cashew Association of Nigeria NCAN, Mr. Tola Faseru has announced that NCAN is embarking on a Special Cashew Production Scheme (SCP) in 10 designated states within the nation, even as he said NCAN would position the Nigerian cashew industry as a key revenue generating sector ranking close to oil.
He pointed out that currently NCAN members, who are generating over N23 billion in export revenue, are poised to raise cashew revenue to more than N250 billion annually.
Faseru stated that the pilot states are Abia, Cross River, Kogi, Kwara, Oyo, Nasarawa, Osun, Delta, Akwa-Ibom and Edo, adding that each of these states will be making available 1,000 hectares of land for the scheme.
The NCAN boss explained that under the scheme, a processing plant will be established in each of the states to be fed by the cashew plantations, pointing out that the scheme would be providing jobs and wealth creation opportunities for the country’s teeming unemployed youths through 25,000 new job opportunities.
He added that the scheme would not only provide new jobs, but will also promote entrepreneurship because it was structured to make the workers owners of the farms, disclosing that the Executive Governor of Kwara State, Alhaji Abdulfatah Fatai Ahmed has given the go-ahead for the scheme to start off in Kwara State.
Faseru made this disclosure during the recent flag-off for the Nigerian cashew season 2012 in Kwara State.
Flagging off the new cashew season, the Kwara State Governor, Ahmed, who was represented by the Commissioner of Special Duties, Alhaji Aliyu Mohammed said that Kwara is proud to be a major producer of cashew in Nigeria.
The governor also stated that Kwara State would play a leading role in the Special Cashew Production Scheme as presented by the National Cashew Association of Nigeria. He then declared open the flag-off.
In his goodwill address at the National Cashew Flag-Off event, the Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga called on the National Cashew Association of Nigeria to put in place machineries and work towards doubling the production and processing of the previous years as a way of enhancing cashew trade in the country.
Aganga, who was represented by a director in the Ministry of Trade, Omololu Opeewe, said further that the 2012 cashew season will indeed be the beginning of a paradigm shift in the history of cashew industry in Nigeria.
The 2012 cashew flag-off event was well attended by stakeholders in the industry and a host of foreign delegates.
Source: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/03/ncan-embarks-on-special-cashew-production-scheme/
Vietnam: Cashew exports to be limited to ensure quality
He says that, over the last two years he has received numerous complaints regarding the quality of cashews. He said some firms do not even have processing plants. They merely collected cashew nuts from small processes, disregarding quality standards, and ship the products as such, giving the cashew industry a bad name.
In 2011 296 companies were involved in the export of cashews from the country. Hoc said that, from now on, firms have to meet standards in processing, food safety, storage and quality to become a cashew nut exporter.
Source: www.saigon-gpdaily.com.vn
Tanzania Cashew Sales Hit by Reduced Demand in India, Vietnam
Total output for the season, which runs from September to April, is about 160,000 tons, Ayub Mbawa, acting director- general of the board, said in a phone interview today from Dar es Salaam, the commercial capital.
“The demand among processors in countries like India and Vietnam, where our cashew nuts are exported, has not been very good,” Mbawa said. “Our immediate concern is for the farmers to get paid, because they already sold the crop to cooperatives, but some have received part payment,” Mbawa said.
Tanzania is Africa’s largest cashew-nut grower after Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Guinea-Bissau, and is the world’s ninth-biggest producer, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organization.
Cashew nut farmers get 450m/- second payment
Impeccable sources from the ward and leaders of the cooperative society say the payment was effected on March 3, this year.
Speaking on the behalf of their fellow farmers, Kindamba Yusufu, Hemedi Ally and Mwanaisha Issa, said they had decided to push for the payment after seeing that there were unnecessary delays.
They said their financial situation had reached a critical point to the extent that they were failing to meet the basic requirements of their families including paying school fees and so they threatened to take stern measures against the leadership like locking in the office their leaders indefinitely.
“Our incomes depend on the sales of our crops, when no payment comes out of that, it's like our lives come to a stand still," said Yusufu.
They said it was their stand that forced the society clerk, Bakari Kiamba, to go to Lindi and get the money for their payment.
This reporter contacted Kiamba over the phone who confirmed that he was forced to follow up on the money in Lindi.
The clerk said 350/- per kilo was the second payment to complete the price of 1,200/- per kilo of cashew sold under the arrangement of 'receipt on the crops stored in the warehouse for 2011/12.
Source: THE GUARDIAN
Cashewnuts stranded at co-ops
The Cashew nut Board of Tanzania (CBT) Acting Director General, Mr Ayub Mbawa, told the 'Daily News' on Wednesday that farmers were now desperate because only one third of the 67 licensed buyers have purchased about 70,000 tonnes.
Mr Mbawa noted that the rest of the buyers had not bought even a single tonne, adding that about 160,000 tonnes were produced this season, as compared to 120,000 last season.He said much of the crop is piled up at the primary cooperative societies because farmers often conduct their business through the warehouse receipt system.
"Farmers are desperate. They sold the crop to cooperatives for 1,200/- per kilo but the problem is no one is interested in buying from cooperatives," he said. He also said the cooperatives are in trouble because they buy from farmers using borrowed money from banks.
Under normal procedures, farmers are paid 70 per cent of the value of their crop by the cooperatives. The rest is paid after auction bids form buyers that are expected to be above 1,200/- per kilo (farmers' selling price).Reports from Tunduru District, Ruvuma Region say that some desperate farmers have decided to sell their produce to smugglers at a throw-away price.
A Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation (TBC) reporter, Gaston Msigwa, told the 'Daily News' that farmers had decided to take a different course of action because they needed money badly.When contacted for comment, Minister for Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives, Prof Jumanne Maghembe said on Wednesday that the government was aware of the cashew nut problem and will announce remedial measures soon.
He said he was aware that cashew nut buyers are not in favour of the warehouse voucher system and would rather purchase the crop directly from farmers at a lower price." We'll not allow our farmers to be exploited by greedy people, we will make sure they get competitive prices," Maghembe stressed.
President Jakaya Kikwete recently ordered the minister to revoke licences of traders who deliberately refused to buy crops. Efforts to reach some of the licensed buyers proved futile on Wednesday as they were not reachable. Tanzania exports 80 per cent of its raw cashew nuts to India, Vietnam, Middle East countries and roasted nuts are sold to Europe.
Source: http://dailynews.co.tz/index.php/local-news/2690-cashewnuts-stranded-at-co-ops
Cashew stakeholders target N250b yearly export revenue
The President of NCAN, Mr Tola Faseru, said at the annual cashew season inauguration and workshop in Ilorin, Kwara State, that it was imperative that cashew stakeholders put in more effort to lift the revenue from N23 billion to N250 billion soon.
He said with ongoing capacity expansion, improved processing and packaging procedural skills being imparted and the willingness displayed by the government and sector operators, the target would be achieved.
The workshop had the theme, “The New Cashew Order.” It was organised by NCAN, and featured the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding( MoU) on the facilitation of cashew cluster financing.
Faseru said if the production base and processing capacity of the group were developed, NCAN could grow earnings to more than N250 billion
He said it is also important to accelerate the implementation of existing incentives, such as the Export Expansion Grant scheme, and improve on research and development in plant technology.
According to him, it was also needful to increase farmers’ extension programmes and energise competitive processor, trader and farmer financing schemes. He said there should be promotion of domestic consumption.
Faseru said NCAN planned to boost production of the crop to 400,000 tonnes in five years from the current production volume of 120,000 tonnes per annum.
According to him, the association plans to improve the regulation of cashew trade and provide an enabling environment for all cashew stakeholders.
He stated that NCAN’s aim was to improve the profitability of cashew business and to effectively integrate all stakeholders in the cashew value chain.
Faseru added that the association would liaise with the government and international community to drive and engender growth in the sector.
In his goodwill address at the occasion, the Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr Olusegun Aganga, said there were ample investment opportunities in the cashew sub-sector.
He, therefore, urged investors to avail themselves of the investment opportunities in production of cashew fruit juice from cashew apple, activated carbon from cashew nuts shells as cashew nut shell liquid as well as in kernel processing.
