Kogi set to reduce N12bn cashew losses

The Kogi State Governor, Capt. Idris Wada, has said that the state government is making efforts to reduce about $75m (about N12bn) cashew’s post-harvest losses in the country.

He said the state government   had begun the upgrading of warehouses in the state to standard cashew handling centres equipped with modern grading and quality assessment equipment.

Wada spoke in Lokoja on Wednesday at the cashew improvement training programme themed, ‘Promoting cashew sustainability in Kogi State.’ The event was organised by the state government in collaboration with the Colossus investments Limited and the National Cashew Association of Nigeria.

He says the state is the largest producer of cashew in the country, accounting for 40 per cent of the total commercial production of the nation.

According to the governor, having standard cashew centres across the state will go a long way in tackling the problem of storage usually encountered by farmers.

He stated that it would also provide the necessary drying platforms to properly dry the cashew adding that this would reduce to the barest minimum and eventually eliminate the problem of high moisture and lack of storage facilities that had plagued the sector for so long.

He also said the government’s investment would further position the farmers and indeed all the stakeholders across the value chain to realise better returns on their cashew production.

The governor also mentioned the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Kogi Sate Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria with respect to the N2bn loan for Kogi farmers and expressed the commitment of his administration to the development of the cashew industry in the state.

Earlier, the President of the National Cashew Association of Nigeria, Mr. Tola Faseru, said the laudable project, if implemented in Kogi state, the largest producing state in the country, would drastically increase the farmer’s income.

He noted that cashew would then be better stored and preserved, thereby forestalling wastage and quality deterioration.

He enjoined other state governments to do the same by investing in such projects that would alleviate the pains of our farmers and boost agricultural output.

The Kogi State Chairman of the National Cashew Association of Nigeria, Mr. Ahiaba Stephen, said the cashew improvement training was a welcome development as it was aimed at the complete value chain development in line with the Agricultural Transformation Agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan.

Source: punchng.com