Cashew export ban will trigger massive job losses – Kogi stakeholders

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Stakeholders in the cashew value chain have warned that Nigeria may face massive unemployment, collapsed farms and a crippled agro-export economy if the Federal Government heeds recent calls by the Cashew Processors and Packers Association of Nigeria to ban the export of raw cashew nuts.

CAPPAN, in a recent advert signed by Air Vice Marshal Tunde Awoyoola (rtd.), Managing Director of Nutslink Limited, had claimed that foreign buyers were dominating the farm gates and starving local processors of raw materials, thereby justifying a proposed ban.

However, the Chairman of,  Kogi Cashew Dealers and Stakeholders Association, Alhaji Makama Ademu warned that the country lacked the processing capacity to handle more than five per cent of its annual production.

He said, “If the government bans raw cashew export, 95 per cent of what we produce will be left to rot. We don’t have the processing capacity to handle even a fraction of Nigeria’s output. This will destroy the farmers, destroy the value chain, and eliminate three major segments — sub-buyers, licensed buying agents, and merchants.”

Ademu added that such a ban would immediately trigger massive unemployment, especially in rural communities.

“This value chain employs farmers, women, rural youth, and thousands of workers who dry, bag, and prepare cashew.

“Once exports stop, these jobs disappear overnight. A lot of businesses will be destroyed, and many farms will fold up because it will no longer be economical to farm cashew.”

He accused processors of pushing a self-serving agenda, stressing, “They want prices to crash so that they can buy cheaply. How does a farmer survive on prices that do not even cover the cost of production? Their agitation is selfish, short-term, and myopic.”

The Vice Chairman of the Kogi Cashew Dealers and Stakeholders Association, Dr Idrisu Yakubu, said the implications of the proposed ban are “enormous and dangerous.”

He pointed out, “All the cashew processing factories in Nigeria combined can not process what Kogi State produces in just one day of cashew season. If they can not handle one day’s output in a whole year, what happens to the remaining 364 days? Should farmers burn their harvest?”

Yakubu also dismissed the claim that processors were ready to absorb local production.

“Some of the people calling themselves processors don’t even have factories. They are just politicians within the industry being sponsored to bring the business down. They want the federal government to peg prices so that farmers can be shortchanged. We will not accept that.”

He warned that the policy could aggravate insecurity, insisting that “In the current security situation, discouraging farmers from going to their farms can trigger new unrest. A ban on export will have serious social and economic consequences.”

Similarly, the Board of Trustees Chairman of the Kogi Cashew Dealers Stakeholders Association, Alhaji Mohammed Demo, observed that the processors’ demand threatens livelihood.

He said, “Because of their lateness or inability to establish viable factories, they now want to suffocate the entire industry. Farmers will suffer. We can not allow people who don’t have functioning processing plants to dictate policies that will destroy a major economic hub.”

Mohammed insisted that stakeholders from major producing states would resist the move, even as he maintained:

“We will disassociate ourselves publicly. If anything goes contrary, it could lead to tension and with the security challenges in the country. This is not the time to provoke farmers.”

The stakeholders who questioned why CAPPAN singled out cashew when Nigeria also exports other products like cocoa, sesame seed, ginger, soybean, and other agro-products queried, “Have they banned the export of cocoa? Have they banned sesame or coffee? Why cashew? It shows their agenda is not in the national interest.”

Yakubu added, “Before exporters came into the market, cashew had no value. Farmers were burning it on their farms. Export revived the industry. Killing that market now will reverse all progress made.

“We support industrialisation, but not by destroying farmers and traders. You don’t build factories by killing the market,” Yakubu said.

The Kogi  Cashew Farmers Association spokesperson, Nuhu Adaji, said the organisation is committed to transparency and accountability, noting that every decision taken is aimed at improving public trust.

He explained that the ongoing reforms are designed to strengthen internal processes, enhance service delivery, and ensure that stakeholders receive timely and accurate information.

Thus, Adaji urged the public to remain calm and assured them that further updates would be provided as developments unfold.

The group urged the federal government to ignore the recommendation and instead invest in power, infrastructure, and incentives that can help processors build real capacity over time.

They insisted that adopting CAPPAN’s proposal would throw thousands into unemployment and crash a thriving export market that brings foreign exchange into the country.

The PUNCH Senior Correspondent, Grace, has over 17 years experience covering education, arts, business and health sectors. She’s a graduate of Sociology

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