Nigeria can earn $10bn annually from cashew – NCAN president

Nigeria’s cashew industry has the capacity to generate more than $10 billion in annual revenue and create over 50 million jobs if properly developed, the President of the National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN), Dr Ojo Joseph Ajanaku, has said.

Ajanaku spoke in Abuja on Wednesday during a press briefing to mark the maiden National Cashew Day celebration.

He also announced that the 2026 National Cashew Day Conference would hold in Abuja to facilitate direct engagement with the federal government and other key stakeholders.

He said Nigeria remains far below its potential in the global cashew market despite having about 92 million hectares of arable land, noting that the country trails Ivory Coast, which has just 32 million hectares.

“Nigeria is part of the global economic competition. We need a national cashew policy that reflects our own interests, so we can own the industry rather than remain slaves to what we produce,” he said, adding that global demand is increasingly shifting towards organic cashew, an area Nigeria is well positioned to exploit.

According to him, Nigeria currently produces between 400,000 and 500,000 metric tonnes of cashew annually, generating about $700 million.

He said raising output to two million tonnes and prioritising local processing would significantly increase earnings.

Ajanaku lamented the absence of processing factories in major producing states like Kogi, saying this forces young people to migrate to cities in search of jobs.

“If we process where we produce, jobs will return to rural communities,” he said.

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