By Joy Onu
The Federal Government has taken a major step towards transforming Nigeria’s cashew industry with the validation of a national roadmap expected to boost local processing, create employment, attract investment and increase the country’s export earnings.
The roadmap was endorsed at a stakeholders’ validation workshop in Abuja attended by government officials, industry players and development partners, who agreed that its implementation could reposition the cashew sector as a key contributor to industrialisation, rural development and economic diversification. The development was disclosed in a statement issued on Wednesday by the Head of Press and Public Relations of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI), Obilor-Duru Augustina Okechi.
Addressing participants at the workshop, the Minister of State for Industry, Senator John Owan Enoh, represented by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr. Chris Osa Isokpunwu, said the Nigeria Cashew Industry Roadmap provides a long-term strategy for building a globally competitive, value-added cashew industry.
He said the initiative aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the 2026 Nigeria Industrial Policy by promoting domestic processing, increasing farmers’ incomes, creating jobs for women and youths, and strengthening Nigeria’s position in regional and global markets.
Despite producing between 300,000 and 350,000 metric tonnes of raw cashew nuts annually, Enoh said the country exports more than 85 per cent of its output in raw form, leaving much of the potential economic value to be realised abroad instead of within Nigeria.
He identified low productivity, ageing plantations, inadequate improved seedlings, poor infrastructure, limited access to finance, weak quality standards and underutilised processing capacity as major obstacles the roadmap is designed to address.
As part of the implementation strategy, Enoh announced that a Nigerian Cashew Project Office would be established to coordinate activities in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, the National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN), GIZ and other partners.
“The success of this roadmap will be measured by increased local processing, the establishment of new processing factories, higher export earnings, improved livelihoods for farmers and enhanced global competitiveness,” Enoh said.
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Hon. Abubakar Kyari, represented by the Director of the Federal Department of Agriculture, Mr. Bukar Musa, described the validation as a major milestone in efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s cashew industry.
According to him, the Federal Government remains committed to developing a comprehensive policy framework that will drive increased production, processing, value addition and export competitiveness across the cashew value chain.
Also speaking, the Director of Industrial Development in the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Bala Mohammed, who represented the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, urged participants to ensure the final roadmap is practical, inclusive and capable of accelerating industrialisation, export diversification and sustainable economic growth.
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 more competitive and resilient cashew sector capable of contributing to President Tinubu’s vision of a one-trillion-dollar economy.
She reaffirmed PEBEC’s commitment to improving the business environment through reforms, including the Business Facilitation Act and the ReportGov platform, noting that investment, value addition, local processing, non-oil exports and job creation would be central to achieving that goal.
Osun State Commissioner for Agriculture, Hon. Kola Fashoro, said the roadmap would unlock the industry’s enormous economic potential and position Nigeria as Africa’s leading producer and processor of cashew.
The Cashew Processors and Allied Products Association of Nigeria (CAPPAN) called for consistent, investor-friendly policies to revive local processing and restore investor confidence, while the National President of the National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN), Mr. Ademola Adesokan, described the roadmap as a timely opportunity to reverse years of missed opportunities and restore Nigeria’s competitiveness in the global cashew market.
Also contributing, the National President of the National Apex of Cashew Farmers, Processors and Marketing Cooperative, Mr. Yinusa Gabriel, advocated greater investment in climate-smart production, digital farmer registration, traceability systems, structured markets and local processing, with farmers at the centre of implementation.
The Managing Director of the Nigeria Commodity Exchange (NCX), represented by Dr. Khadijat Abdulaziz, said the roadmap would strengthen commodity markets by improving quality standards, expanding access to finance and enhancing value addition across the cashew value chain.
Stakeholders unanimously agreed that effective implementation of the roadmap would transform Nigeria’s cashew industry into a major driver of industrialisation, job creation, export growth, rural development and economic diversification.
