In this piece, ELEOJO IDACHABA notes that a major component of cash crops in the country is being allowed to waste due to the absence of proper regulation, processing and marketing thereby increasing an already- entrenched poverty index in the rural areas.
It is the joy of every farmer, especially the commercial one, to smile to and out of a banking hall at the end of every harvest season; however, it is not so with many cashew farmers in the country, particularly those in states like Kogi, Benue, Niger and Nasarawa where they have unpleasant stories of losses either due to exploitation by middlemen or losses incurred as a result of what is now the outcome of climate change.
This is probably what has brought the fortunes of cocoa and palm oil to their knees in Nigeria amidst exploits of similar crops in other countries. While many non-cashew farmers see the crop as one of the lucrative cash crops, investigations revealed that all is not well with that agriculture sub-sector.
Farmers gradually losing interest
In a frank interface with Edime Unekwuojo, a cashew farmer in Kogi state and parts of Benue state as well as president, Cashew Farmers Aggregators and Processors of Nigeria, said there is no motivation in cashew farming as, according to him, there is practically no local market for it as the only market is through what he called “off-takers who act as middlemen for foreign nationals like Chinese and Indian businessmen that take undue advantage of the unsuspecting farmers by buying off the nuts in poor prices.”
He said, “We are hard pressed on every side. I can tell you in categorical terms that every cashew farmer is merely slaving for the Chinese companies operating in Kogi and parts of Nasarawa states. This is because the price they offer through the middlemen to farmers who work themselves out to plant and collect the nuts is too poor. How I wish the government could go back to the days of marketing boards so that farmers can get the reward for their labour.”
Speaking further, he said the “only benefit farmers derive from cashew farming is the sale of the nuts; otherwise, the fruits have no serious market anywhere in Nigeria now.”
“There is no part of Kogi and Benue state that has a factory that processes the fruits wholly as we speak. The Benue state government tried to do so, but for inexplicable reasons, it’s yet to be a reality. So, the only reward from cashew farming presently is the sale of the nuts; otherwise currently, there is no part of it that is in high demand locally yet.”
Unekwuojo also said because of the anticipated benefits farmers expect from cashew farming, almost every available plot, especially in Kogi state, has been converted into cashew plantation. He said, “It’s a story of disappointment because of the poor yields and the lack of attractive markets. Go round everywhere in Kogi and Benue states and you would be amazed at the volumes of cashew plantation everywhere but no market even where they produce, “he said.
Better prospects
Another farmer, Chief Gabriel Egwu, whose farm is located in Adoka in Benue state, told Blueprint Weekend that if only the government could look in the direction of the envisaged benefits from cashew farming, a good number of farmers, especially in rural areas, would be taken out of poverty.
He said, “Although I reside in Abuja, every month, I travel to Benue because besides cashew, I have other crops on a large scale. I have realised that there are prospects for cashew, but yet to be tapped. The Indians, Chinese people and other foreign nationals have seen those benefits. For instance, why should cashew farmers rely only on the nuts? What happens to the fruits? Apart from the fruits, the bark of cashew plant is highly medicinal for the treatment of various illnesses.
“Although the water from it is highly acidic, it can however be useful in producing chemicals of various kinds. These are industrial requirements that peasant farmers cannot dabble into. For them, what they know is simply the sale of the nuts. At best, they consume the fruits, but it has limits. Establishing on-site factories in rural areas as done in China, Malaysia, India, and Pakistan would help to reduce poverty in rural areas.”
Dour business
For Mr. Bulus Yohanna, another cashew plantation farmer in Tunga Maje area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it is a case of business-gone sour. According to him, with a large plot occupying over 100 hectares, he has not benefitted from it in the last three years due to climate change.
“The last time I harvested from it was in 2017 but since then, the crops would produce flowers, but just when it’s time to bud, the flowers would all fall off. Usually, the harvest season for cashew is between January and April when the harmattan would have reduced, but as it were, in the last three to four years, strange whitish diseases would suddenly appear on the leaves and spread to the flowers. Some do not even produce flowers at all unlike before.
“I have used chemicals to fight these strange diseases, but amazingly the fruits/nuts would be so tiny, if at all there is any production. All these are beside the challenge posed by Bush fire and illegal poachers who pick the fruits and nuts such that I would be left with nothing to harvest and sell. The motivation I had before I went into planting them is gone. I may have to sell off the land, collect the money and use it for something else,” he said.
In Kogi state in particular, cashew farmers under the aegis of National Cashew Farmers Association of Nigeria had in the past complained through a protest letter to the federal government against what the group called multiple taxation by the state government on its members and buyers. This development, it said, made the business expensive compared to other states.
According to the chapter chairman, Mr. Sule Ochala, “Kogi state cannot be an exception from other cashew producing states in the country.” He said cashew dealers in the state were made to buy Kogi Jute bags for as high as N1000 per bag instead of N470. Others, he said, include local government departmental levy, local government environmental levy, grading fee, haulage fee and others not known in the industry.
Tax exemptions
A few years ago, the minister of industry, trade and investment, Niyi Adebayo, said during the 16th edition of African Cashew Alliance (ACA) conference in Abuja that any company that would be involved in processing of cashew would enjoy five-year income-tax exemption as part of the federal government’s effort to boost the sub-sector. But long after that, may be due to the difficulty in doing business in Nigeria, it’s not clear if there is any company in that regard.
Available data from the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) showed that between 2010 and 2019, Nigeria’s cashew production is in the neighbourhood of 255,416 tonnes annually. It stated further that on a yearly basis, the total output of cashew production though declined from 2010 but has better prospects. It however noted that 2010 remains the year the country recorded the highest output so far.
“Nigeria at the moment has about 600,000 surviving cashew trees spread in all parts of the country; however, 75 to 80 per cent of cashew nuts produced in Nigeria are exported, as only a very few companies are involved in the local processing of the produce.,” it stated.
According to Industry Watch, the sub-sector could also be a vibrant employer of labour by providing at least 600,000 jobs and an annual trade worth N24 billion thereby becoming a major contributor to the nation’s non-oil sector GDP.
Research has therefore shown that cashew can be used for jam, cooking oil, biscuits, bread, bio-gas, jet fuel, hydraulic, brake fluid, paints, shoe polish, and many more finished products.
As it is, if the government really wants to eradicate poverty, especially from the rural areas, attention should be focused on improving the agricultural value-chain of cashew crop so that farmers can derive maximum benefits from it as it was with cocoa, cotton, and palm oil.
