Nigeria: Cashew farmers want government to serve as buying agent

THE Cashew Farmers Association of Nigeria, Oyo State Chapter, on Tuesday appealed to the government to assist farmers in selling and exporting of cashew nuts, in order to avoid post-harvest losses.

Mr Sodiq Adebayo, the association’s chairman told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, that sourcing for market for harvested produce had been a major challenge to cashew farmers.

Adebayo also appealed to the government to serve as buying agent to ensure the exportation of the commodity.

``We are appealing to Oyo State Government to create a medium where local farmers can sell directly to government agents at a regulated price to ensure price stability in the international market.

``The Ministry of Agriculture owns farmland in Eruwa and Iseyin, where cashew is grown, but the production from these farms is not enough for exportation.

``So, we want government to buy from local farmers to have large quantity for exportation.

``Farmers usually sell to private agents at unregulated price, which leads to loss of profit to farmers most time;  we sell to them at about N72,000 per tonne,” the chairman said.

He said that the association’s production capacity for the previous harvest season in February was 466,000 metric tonnes, compared to 452,000 tonnes in 2013.(NAN)