The Cashew Nuts Association of Nigeria (CNAN) has urged the federal government to support its cashew regeneration plan to enhance quality production. The CNAN President, Mr Tunji Owoeye, made the plea in Lagos on Monday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). He said the association was collaborating with cashew farmers nationwide to ensure the cultivation of hybrid seedlings.
Owoeye said that cashew regeneration would enhance the nation’s commodity trade as well as stamp-out old cashew trees in estate farms and in the wild. He said that most of the cashew trees in the wild which constituted a high percentage of the nation’s production had gone sterile, leading to poor quality production.
Owoeye said that most of such trees were planted in the early 1960s, noting that because they had aged, they yielded poorly and lowered farmers’ incomes. The CNAN chief recalled that government had assisted the cotton and cocoa sectors and pleaded that similar assistance be extended to cashew farmers.
Owoeye noted that the association had embarked on a sensitisation campaign to educate farmers on the essence of regeneration and adopting best farm practices. He urged the Federal Government to distribute cashew seedlings, nuts and nursery plants through the association to credible stakeholders.
The CNAN president noted that the association was unable to achieve its set goals of adopting best farm practices and reducing post-harvest waste in 2009.
Owoeye said that cashew regeneration would enhance the nation’s commodity trade as well as stamp-out old cashew trees in estate farms and in the wild. He said that most of the cashew trees in the wild which constituted a high percentage of the nation’s production had gone sterile, leading to poor quality production.
Owoeye said that most of such trees were planted in the early 1960s, noting that because they had aged, they yielded poorly and lowered farmers’ incomes. The CNAN chief recalled that government had assisted the cotton and cocoa sectors and pleaded that similar assistance be extended to cashew farmers.
Owoeye noted that the association had embarked on a sensitisation campaign to educate farmers on the essence of regeneration and adopting best farm practices. He urged the Federal Government to distribute cashew seedlings, nuts and nursery plants through the association to credible stakeholders.
The CNAN president noted that the association was unable to achieve its set goals of adopting best farm practices and reducing post-harvest waste in 2009.
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