Confirming
this development recently was the Executive Director/Chief Executive, NEPC, Mr. Olusegun Awolowo, who gave a
keynote address during the Equipment Presentation and Training on Best
Practices in Cashew Processing for value addition and Food Safety in Ogun
State.
While
justifying the need for the programme, Awolowo said it is part of concerted
efforts by the federal government to support and enhance
technological/technical skills of smallholder producers of agricultural produce
using cocoa, cashew and sesame seed to complement the NEPC collaboration with
the Centre for the Promotion of Import from Developing Countries (CBI) of
Netherlands on value chain processes in the three products subsectors. Besides,
he said the collaboration with the CBI will also ensure exposure to the Europe
market.
The
NEPC boss who was represented by Mrs.
Evelyn Obidike, Director, Policy and Strategy, NEPC, while justifying the
support for smallholder farmers said, “The NEPC has
established that the SMEs are the future of this country and that if we get it
right from the base they are the people that would provide the ingredients, the
finished products, the will be acceptable and will be a premium product of the
niche market. So we want to start and tap it from the base.”
On the
possibility of creating over 6, 000 jobs from the initial pilot scheme, she
said: “Definitely, cashew when you are talking about
value addition in cashew, it’s a job spinner right from the cracking of the
nuts, the gathering and the processing into kernels, and then the finishing is
a whole chain that needs a lot of hands. And to let you know that about 85 per
cent of the jobs are done by women. And you see that it is a sector that
supports the vulnerable groups, and the bottom of the pyramid.”
On the
modus operandi being deployed, she said, the Council is doing it on a
need-basis. “We are taking three sectors as a pilot.
Cocoa which we did last week in Akure, Ondo state and cashew in Ogun and sesame
seeds in Nasarawa. These are all pilots and we are looking at the states to key
in and then we will be able to expand to the rest of the 36 states and the
Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.”
An
elated Obidike who spoke overwhelmingly of the economic potential of the cashew
subsector, said: “Best economic practices and the
equipment are very critical in getting premium products for the niche market
and that is why we are collaborating with the CBI, Netherlands to teach us
about the processing and the way to do it in terms of certification, as well as
exposure.”
Also
speaking at the occasion, Ogun state Commissioner for Commerce, Otunba Bimbola Ashiru, who was
represented by the Director, Commerce, Chief
Ogunti Kayode, while lauding the organisers of the event, said such could
have multiplier effects, especially in Ogun State which is gradually becoming
the nation’s industrial hub as evidence in the growing level of businesses,
especially foreign direct investment was enough motivation for the state
government to continue to lend all necessary support.
Also
speaking in an interview, Tunde Odunuga,
MD/CEO of Abod Investment Limited, a
company that has pioneered innovation in cashew processing in the country, who said
he was inspired to go into cashew processing observed that: “The Indians were buying cashew nuts raw and taking it to
their country and they now process and re-export to the US. And I just said
let’s try and see what we can do in Nigeria. I’m an agriculturist and I also
have engineering background too. I have done this for 20 years. I stated small.
Now we have over 40 staff. We export to China, other distributors sell in
Angola. We have distributors nationwide. In a year we do as much as 1, 000
tons, which is in excess of N200million.”
The
highpoint of the occasion was the official unveiling of the cashew processing
machine by the NEPC boss. (Nation)
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