Post by Trade facilitator on Feb 6, 2012 20:32:23 GMT 1
The army of the unemployed will soon have cause to smile. About 300,000 jobs are coming in the cashew subsector of the agriculture industry. DANIEL ESSIET reports on the efforts of Bank of Industry (BoI), African Cashew Alliance (ACA) and Raw Material Research and Development Council (RMRDC) to optimise opportunities in the subsector to boost employment.
Soon, there will be job openings in the cashew subsector of the agrilcuture industry. About 300,000 jobs will be created in the subsector this year, says the President, National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN), Mr Tola Faseru. About 300,000 jobs are already in aexistence in the subsector.
The coming of these jobs raises hope of employment for the teeming population of the unemployed. Encouraging farmers to invest in more cashew plantations, Faseru said cashew nuts production is projected to increase to 400,000 tonnes per annum from 10,000 tonnes. This growth is expected to be actualised this year.
The boost is coming on the heels of a tripartite partnership between the Bank of Industry (BoI), African Cashew Alliance (ACA) and the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC).
This was made known when the Executive of African Cashew Alliance (ACA) paid a courtesy visit to the management of Bank of Industry (BoI) in Lagos.
ACA President, Mr Idrissi Kilangi, said Cote d’Ivoire has the highest production volume in Africa, with 350,000 tonnes per annum, but noted that with all the potential it has, Nigeria can produce 400,000 tonnes every year beginning from 2012. He said ACA in partnership with BOI will work together to ensure the country meets this record.
Kilangi said cashew nut is a major answer to the development of the non-oil sector, adding that the government has neglected the sector for so long. He said the development of the cashew industry needs to be included in the agenda of the existing international donor agencies committed to promoting agriculture and the Federal Government should also include the industry in its development and job-generating plans.
He said: “The African cashew industry has the potential to realise more than $300 million in raw nut sales by smallholder farmers and $300 million in added value from cashew processing, creating more than 200,000 new jobs for the poor in rural areas.”
The Executive Director, Operation, BOI, Alhaji Mohammed Alkali, said BOI is ready to support the production of the product, adding that it would create adequate fund for the production.
His words: “We have been there from the beginning and we are ready to work with you so as to make it work. One of our mandates is to promote the non-oil export sector and we are expected to evolve strategies for addressing production, processing and marketing problems in the cashew business.” Mohammed said the move was initiated not only to boost the foreign exchange earning capacity of the commodity, but because cashew cultivation, processing and export has the potentials to create jobs, especially for poor rural women.
The NCAN chief said if the cashew crop was processed locally, new direct jobs would be created by more than 1,000 businesses that would arise from the industry and millions of naira would be realised. This possible outcome is what is driving the campaign of the association to boost cashew production nationwide.
Cashew farming, Faseru noted, could lead to increased employment opportunities in the rural areas and generate income for vulnerable small farmers and women. All these opportunities, he maintained, would result in an improvement in rural living conditions, and hence contribute to poverty reduction.
On the whole, he said there are job opportunities through processing and packaging activities. This follows the process of converting it into plain kernels which are then exported in bulk to markets in developed and emerging countries.
He said further processing takes place with regard to roasting, salting/seasoning, packaging and labeling/branding.
“If the market is expanded, it would contribute to pro-poor economic growth by generating permanent and seasonal jobs, particularly for farm labourers and intermediaries,” he said.
Faseru further said that marketing, distribution and processing offer permanent and seasonal jobs annually in the cashew industry.
He said: “There are activities at different stages of the cashew value chain. This includes input suppliers providing producers with specific inputs such as seedlings, pesticides, herbicides, fertilisers, processing equipment and packaging materials.
“Seed dealers/nurseries are found only in a few cashew producing areas. Value chain addition to cashews is mostly carried out at the processing and packaging stage. Consequently, our association is promoting the cashew value chain to improve the competitiveness of locally produced cashew in national and international markets.”
The NCAN boss said adding value to the cashew industry will generate substantial profit and employment along the chain and contribute to poverty alleviation. He said a large quantity of cashew produced are exported rather than processed locally or consumed in the country.
He said in most parts of the country, women have shown significant interest in working in cashew processing companies. This type of employment is preferred to the hard labour associated with cashew production and other agricultural activities. By way of exporting the raw nuts, Faseru said the country not only loses its wealth in terms of profit but also ignores the potential of generating huge employment opportunities people could have cashed in on to generate income.
For this reason, he said his association is working to create new jobs across the industry. He is encouraging farmers to invest in more cashew trees.
He said cashew factories have created a reliable local market for tens of thousands of small-scale cashew producers. He urged the processors to train farmers to improve quality and yields, adding Nigeria has enough land to develop new plantations.
According to Procom, a British Department for International Development(DFID) funded programme, based in Abuja, more than 50,000 farmers are directly engaged in this sector and receive an important income annually. The programme said it provides seasonal employment to another 50,000 persons in harvesting and at different trading and transporting operations along the value chain. About 5,000 people are engaged in processing providing employment opportunities to more than 105,000 low-income persons connected to the sector.
“It is also a source of income to rural women. Women are mainly engaged in harvesting and drying of nuts, among others. Others in the villages who may not own cashew farms are engaged in picking or harvesting the nuts during seasons, for which they are paid daily wages ranging from N300 to N400 depending on the area and time of the season such as before or during the rains.
A female collector collects about 30 kilogrammes daily. The urban poor, particularly the women folk are engaged in factory processing work, such as shelling, peeling, grading and packing cashew kernels and earn a stable income. For example, shellers in a processing factory visited in Ikorodu, on the outskirts of Lagos, receives N40 per kg and can shell a minimum of 10 kg per day, making a monthly income of N12, 000 ($90).
Similarly, peelers, graders and packers in this factory earn between N9,000 and N12,000 monthly. This processor has a monthly wage of over N1.5million paid to about 100 workers, 80 per cent of whom are aged and illiterate women. “For watchers, developing a competitive private sector processing industry would create jobs and reduce dependence on India as the market for raw nuts. These growth opportunities are unlikely to happen without public-private sector roles.
Prof. Abel Ogunwale, a lecturer in Agricultural Extenstion and Rural Development, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, said cashew has to meet national and international quality standards to be competitive in national and global markets. According to him, training on quality standards is of crucial importance to project success.
He said there must be concerted efforts by NCAN to implement training in order to ensure quality standards and norms are maintained. He said most farmers export their nuts raw, which is a missed opportunity to generate income and jobs locally. As long-term demand for cashews is growing worldwide, there is an opportunity for Nigeria to capitalise on this trend by doing more local processing instead of exporting most of its crop for processing in other countries.
Ogunwale said there is great potential for increasing value for the sector. He said it was time Nigerians establish a competitive cashew-processing industry given firm demand and pricing on international markets. According to him, if local processors meet international health and safety standards, they can assure themselves of a reliable market and top prices, which will help expand the sector, create more jobs and considerably increase the incomes of cashew farmers.
He said selling raw cashew nut rather than processed ones represent a significant loss of potential wage and profit revenues.
Industry watchers said almost all raw cashew nuts are exported to Vietnam for processing at half the value of locally finished, processed nuts. Lack of processing know-how means that the nation’s population and economy do not realise the immense employment benefit from processing cashew.
Ogunwale said training for farmers and processors would help promote proper harvest and post-harvest handling of raw cashew nuts. The United States Aids Agency (USAID) through the West Africa Trade Hub is teaming up with African Cashew Alliance (ACA) to grow the processing industry in West Africa.
Source: www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/business/jobs/35797-300-000-jobs-coming-in-cashew-subsector.html
Soon, there will be job openings in the cashew subsector of the agrilcuture industry. About 300,000 jobs will be created in the subsector this year, says the President, National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN), Mr Tola Faseru. About 300,000 jobs are already in aexistence in the subsector.
The coming of these jobs raises hope of employment for the teeming population of the unemployed. Encouraging farmers to invest in more cashew plantations, Faseru said cashew nuts production is projected to increase to 400,000 tonnes per annum from 10,000 tonnes. This growth is expected to be actualised this year.
The boost is coming on the heels of a tripartite partnership between the Bank of Industry (BoI), African Cashew Alliance (ACA) and the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC).
This was made known when the Executive of African Cashew Alliance (ACA) paid a courtesy visit to the management of Bank of Industry (BoI) in Lagos.
ACA President, Mr Idrissi Kilangi, said Cote d’Ivoire has the highest production volume in Africa, with 350,000 tonnes per annum, but noted that with all the potential it has, Nigeria can produce 400,000 tonnes every year beginning from 2012. He said ACA in partnership with BOI will work together to ensure the country meets this record.
Kilangi said cashew nut is a major answer to the development of the non-oil sector, adding that the government has neglected the sector for so long. He said the development of the cashew industry needs to be included in the agenda of the existing international donor agencies committed to promoting agriculture and the Federal Government should also include the industry in its development and job-generating plans.
He said: “The African cashew industry has the potential to realise more than $300 million in raw nut sales by smallholder farmers and $300 million in added value from cashew processing, creating more than 200,000 new jobs for the poor in rural areas.”
The Executive Director, Operation, BOI, Alhaji Mohammed Alkali, said BOI is ready to support the production of the product, adding that it would create adequate fund for the production.
His words: “We have been there from the beginning and we are ready to work with you so as to make it work. One of our mandates is to promote the non-oil export sector and we are expected to evolve strategies for addressing production, processing and marketing problems in the cashew business.” Mohammed said the move was initiated not only to boost the foreign exchange earning capacity of the commodity, but because cashew cultivation, processing and export has the potentials to create jobs, especially for poor rural women.
The NCAN chief said if the cashew crop was processed locally, new direct jobs would be created by more than 1,000 businesses that would arise from the industry and millions of naira would be realised. This possible outcome is what is driving the campaign of the association to boost cashew production nationwide.
Cashew farming, Faseru noted, could lead to increased employment opportunities in the rural areas and generate income for vulnerable small farmers and women. All these opportunities, he maintained, would result in an improvement in rural living conditions, and hence contribute to poverty reduction.
On the whole, he said there are job opportunities through processing and packaging activities. This follows the process of converting it into plain kernels which are then exported in bulk to markets in developed and emerging countries.
He said further processing takes place with regard to roasting, salting/seasoning, packaging and labeling/branding.
“If the market is expanded, it would contribute to pro-poor economic growth by generating permanent and seasonal jobs, particularly for farm labourers and intermediaries,” he said.
Faseru further said that marketing, distribution and processing offer permanent and seasonal jobs annually in the cashew industry.
He said: “There are activities at different stages of the cashew value chain. This includes input suppliers providing producers with specific inputs such as seedlings, pesticides, herbicides, fertilisers, processing equipment and packaging materials.
“Seed dealers/nurseries are found only in a few cashew producing areas. Value chain addition to cashews is mostly carried out at the processing and packaging stage. Consequently, our association is promoting the cashew value chain to improve the competitiveness of locally produced cashew in national and international markets.”
The NCAN boss said adding value to the cashew industry will generate substantial profit and employment along the chain and contribute to poverty alleviation. He said a large quantity of cashew produced are exported rather than processed locally or consumed in the country.
He said in most parts of the country, women have shown significant interest in working in cashew processing companies. This type of employment is preferred to the hard labour associated with cashew production and other agricultural activities. By way of exporting the raw nuts, Faseru said the country not only loses its wealth in terms of profit but also ignores the potential of generating huge employment opportunities people could have cashed in on to generate income.
For this reason, he said his association is working to create new jobs across the industry. He is encouraging farmers to invest in more cashew trees.
He said cashew factories have created a reliable local market for tens of thousands of small-scale cashew producers. He urged the processors to train farmers to improve quality and yields, adding Nigeria has enough land to develop new plantations.
According to Procom, a British Department for International Development(DFID) funded programme, based in Abuja, more than 50,000 farmers are directly engaged in this sector and receive an important income annually. The programme said it provides seasonal employment to another 50,000 persons in harvesting and at different trading and transporting operations along the value chain. About 5,000 people are engaged in processing providing employment opportunities to more than 105,000 low-income persons connected to the sector.
“It is also a source of income to rural women. Women are mainly engaged in harvesting and drying of nuts, among others. Others in the villages who may not own cashew farms are engaged in picking or harvesting the nuts during seasons, for which they are paid daily wages ranging from N300 to N400 depending on the area and time of the season such as before or during the rains.
A female collector collects about 30 kilogrammes daily. The urban poor, particularly the women folk are engaged in factory processing work, such as shelling, peeling, grading and packing cashew kernels and earn a stable income. For example, shellers in a processing factory visited in Ikorodu, on the outskirts of Lagos, receives N40 per kg and can shell a minimum of 10 kg per day, making a monthly income of N12, 000 ($90).
Similarly, peelers, graders and packers in this factory earn between N9,000 and N12,000 monthly. This processor has a monthly wage of over N1.5million paid to about 100 workers, 80 per cent of whom are aged and illiterate women. “For watchers, developing a competitive private sector processing industry would create jobs and reduce dependence on India as the market for raw nuts. These growth opportunities are unlikely to happen without public-private sector roles.
Prof. Abel Ogunwale, a lecturer in Agricultural Extenstion and Rural Development, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, said cashew has to meet national and international quality standards to be competitive in national and global markets. According to him, training on quality standards is of crucial importance to project success.
He said there must be concerted efforts by NCAN to implement training in order to ensure quality standards and norms are maintained. He said most farmers export their nuts raw, which is a missed opportunity to generate income and jobs locally. As long-term demand for cashews is growing worldwide, there is an opportunity for Nigeria to capitalise on this trend by doing more local processing instead of exporting most of its crop for processing in other countries.
Ogunwale said there is great potential for increasing value for the sector. He said it was time Nigerians establish a competitive cashew-processing industry given firm demand and pricing on international markets. According to him, if local processors meet international health and safety standards, they can assure themselves of a reliable market and top prices, which will help expand the sector, create more jobs and considerably increase the incomes of cashew farmers.
He said selling raw cashew nut rather than processed ones represent a significant loss of potential wage and profit revenues.
Industry watchers said almost all raw cashew nuts are exported to Vietnam for processing at half the value of locally finished, processed nuts. Lack of processing know-how means that the nation’s population and economy do not realise the immense employment benefit from processing cashew.
Ogunwale said training for farmers and processors would help promote proper harvest and post-harvest handling of raw cashew nuts. The United States Aids Agency (USAID) through the West Africa Trade Hub is teaming up with African Cashew Alliance (ACA) to grow the processing industry in West Africa.
Source: www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/business/jobs/35797-300-000-jobs-coming-in-cashew-subsector.html
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