15 Nig"tlian9 Tribune August, 2011 Tu~ay.
T
here are many crops, either food or cash that Sl'PPOSM to be good sources of income for us _ in Nigeria but whien we are often ~erlook. Tht'5(' crops ,In! what other nations of the world focused on to bring appredaule incume for tm-m as ""lions. E,'«"Ul11'1e a,f such a IlY.lney-spil1ning oup is cashew tree. C~le\\' rOlmllPg and prtJCe5s ing. acmrding to agriculture experts, cmlld be used by both fedel"3 1 .md slille governlllenl5 I~I ~Ilt'ra reernployment for an anny of unemployed
youths
In
dl';! COl !Jllry
Some agriculture t'X~ food proressing specialist<; and fin,lllCe ~nalli'lgers have also identified cashew mmting and pmcessll1g as one area of agrkullure that st.,te governors In the South.. \ 'Iest axis could use to pru ...ideemployment
for Iht'ir jobless indigenes. On€! of the cardinal f"l'gmmrnes/ agenda of gO"Ct1lOfS in the South-West slates is 10 errole,o\·er 10,lXXl job opportJ.mitics for their people. According 10 advOCi1lcs of cashew farming and processing. the dimllte in theSouth-W('Sf rPgion of the monti}, fan)ulS cashew fam lillg. therefure, investmenl in this crop \~c uld be of both nMional and inlemationlll importanre sm\"e Q shew nuts has become a hot cake in the intematlo.",j rnmt.et. In fact. a stale like Oyo. accurding to llgriculture experts, does nol r~ to stiU1 a fresh ",shew farming since the p<K't'St!tter state r5 known a.<; one (If the few stlltes in the CO\mlry w;Ur large planlatiolls of cashew farotS in towns like Iwo ilnd some parts of Oke-OglU\. Although n",ny or U\eSC cm;hew plantations are rlOW in a SQfT)' state due to loogyearsof neglect,. agrirulture experts Wen! .. Iso ~f the opinion tNt whal Oro Stale go~t duces. and Ule nut is shaped like a large bean whidl is exported quality rnshew nuts come from the w1'5tern ;rnd need to do rs !(I resuscitate, revitalise the large hectarage of sometimes two centinletre$ ( I inch) long ",iUI its end sunk eastern parts of the country. cashe w faml Ul thest.1te. tr this is done, it would bring life into the rnlyx end of a pear shaped /swoJ1en stem calied - Grading for processing and export - Cashew back tolh~Gt5lle\Y nuts process industry al E1eye1e,lbadan. cashew appJe,CashcI" IlilS n\i'lny local names. lheYoruba5. llUls all!gr.'lded according to the market requirements. 1111:': PUI1\PI~ of furK\ to the compo,ny, as weU as servicing Igbos and H .. usas a iled it Kasunuts are graded into two by visualising them and deter~ replaang some cashew nuts processing machines in·HanIe!ting -C'lSlleW "utsettingnfh:!nbeginsintl~middle mining tile grade by surfuce appei\r.\nce and size. Side the mctory at Eleyele, Ibadan, wouk! ha\"C positi\"C of dry sea5OI\ while h.,t\'CSling romrTll.'llCl'S £rom r-ebru.,ry to . (k::es:. The cashew apple is used 1oca1ly as be\·eragcs. effect OIl U'e lntemallyCcncmJRevenue(JGR)ofthcstale.lfMarth.Theentireharvestperiodtakesabout I6\.~.pOlSandjellies.ltllho Sl'f\"eS as fruits. The Glshew nut has 0)1) State gOI,(>ffilnl!l,t can do it. UleI1 the slate would beHowever. to ensure high quality, the nuts s hould be two walls or shclIs. lhe outer CU\'ef is smooth and g1asstIke r U~ surf~ and this SCf'Ye as a refreshing edible nut, come an enviable state in teml5 of Internally ~ratcd allo":ed Iod~tothegroundbefoll!theyarecoUected, This Re\'enue (JCR) and the slate government would have also pr"ctlre accordmg to ornamental plant experts is to ~ which IS sometimes used as a substitute 10 groundnul opened doof-cf employment for IlUndrt!ds of jobseeker.s in th~tonIY,ripe nuts .. rccollected. Nuts that fall to the ground Cashew contain oil which i!l brown in rolour and iL'i the sItIle. wl~h thor apple altached are normally separated with a within Ul(' shell 11'1011 blis ters human skin. TIl(' oil is UR'd as According to Dr Patrick Adebola. an ornamental plant tWIsting action during collection. ' lubricnnt or insecticide and can also be lL"ed in lhe produ('o ex~ i~ SouUl-Nrica, U'lt' abilndoncd cashclv nuts pron-.e remnants ol the apple nesh adhering 10 the nuls all' lion of plastia. ~rng mdustry III Eleyele. lbadal\ Oyo State, is an asset rel'ncwetl wi U,a sharp knife. Nler picking. the nulsare dried Cashew bft is ill90 illlpor1ant as it pruduO$ wood used 10 the s lilte i( well managed. 111e company s hould not in Ihe sun (or Iwo to Ihree days to reduce the moisture for .shi,~ng crates, IxIats. d'llrro.1l etc. II a lso produces iI be alluwcd to go moribound if the stille government is content .to.about 12 JX'I' ccnL Properly dried nuts can be gum similar to Gum Ararne. seriO~IS wilh.agriC\l ltural developmen t and employment parked In rule brigs and kept for six to 10 months in a suit-Types of processed commercialised products Th:re ~re ~ree types. 111e first one is cottage products creal.ron . It IS on ~rd that the proa>ssing company able and appropriate storage condition. was mcorpornl~. U1 1986 as a limited liability compo,ny" . • Areas. of production - Milior cashew growing areas wlndl IS marnly for 10011consumption. The second is faeand WiIS commiSSIoned for operntion on Wednesday. 25th - 'n ord~of Importance include. Enugu, Abia, InlO, An;\mbrn, tory pnxcsscd for exports. This includes; W-24D, W..J2O,. July. 1990. HoweyCf, the industry becall'lt' a Public Liabil- Ebonp, Cross River slate; on theeasl1!m parts of the COWlW-450, LWP. WSP, Butts, and S\'VP p(lckaged in jute ityCflmpany (pLq ill August, 1990. But it is a well known try. Dyo. Osun. Ondo, Ekili. and ()glm s\.,tcsin thewcstem bags or LD.P.E/PP bags and melat tins for the e.'''port fact, to 1Th1ny ;ogricuhure experts and food technolOgists that ~rt.... as well as Kwar.l, Kogi, N~rnwa. .llenue. Tllrnb.,. markets. all 15 !lot well pr~ntl)~ in the compo,ny. The question Nrger and fer in the Middle Bell ~oand Kebbi states . TIK?lhird t}1'C is a fla\·oured kemel for middle and highpeople arc now aski~g 15; why should the s tate ·govem - in the North-West part of the C'OUnlry are also areas of mcome COIlSUrTIt'rS in the domestic In.1rkcts. ·n'll! rnost.ecmt ment al'ilndoll.a l~nta'U that was supposed to l.e iI rt!\.. production, However, it should be. noted that most of tlK? phcnomenm is brnnding of flavoured and So.Uro kernels for
ave.
~~~l:::::"::n,';:,:~: Agency: begms· training· of rural .&armers =~~~uc:: f T WENTY AmJrdinglO~ lhelarg-
ljaJ reve:nue earrung COD'\JnOClity . Cashe w tree is a aopofronsidembleeco-
nomic importance 10 Nige-
ria and oUlt'f" tropical count ' A t f be' nes. paT rom IIIg a source useful products d b of_~ , an y-p"..... ucts or food. medicina l and indust rial .pplirnli.....-w. ~...... cashew is ill..... a useful shade, ornamental and alley trees suitable for the control cor soil erosion. p.1rticularly for Ule protectlonofwllter.;hed ,ndd • , 1I0'Is. -Growth. tree produces a JUICY fnul usuI[ !tid' h 110 vish :b:~ IS or ye \ in r.lnet1l!eisdlrellyimportant for lire nut it pro-
JV
-.Caslle~"
permilrkts and sup'" stons.
five farm ersfromsi,,:statesof the (ederatlon have com"'.enced, a .one-week capacity buddmg workshop organised by Communitj'-Based N.lu,.1
Resou rce Managment Programme (CBNRMP). The News Agency of NIgeria. (NAN) reported the training is ongorng at the at the Centre at Bunu-Tal m Tm I~al go\·emmcnt area of Rivers state. The participants were drawn from Abia, Akwa
~h1lt
S:o~gha!
loom, Delta. Bayelsa. Imo ~nd Rivers. Speaking at the com-
mencement of the trilin- portunity (or the Songhai ing. Mrs Irene Jumbo- faml to provide techriical Ibeakuzie, Ihe CBNRMP s upport to IFAD/ National Programme Co- CBNRMP in the Niger ordinator, expressed the Delta. hope that the ".,·",·ng -S I I '1 1 ' suppor WI 11\would help redure poYerty cludeUCI resou rce deYelopand create employment in ment. ski ll acquisition the rural areas. and personnel trainin!\; 5 1Ie sar'd t h e training estab lis Ilment of qui c fo llowed the Memoran- win and high value agridum of Understanding cu ltural enterprises o f (MoU) between CBNRJo.oIP quick return on investand the Cotonou-based ment," she said. Songhai Cen tre of ExcelNit is im'lF,rtant to nole I E!nre and nirned lit build- that the AD/FGN I ing the cllpadty of com- NDDCCommunity Based munity-based famers in Natura l Resource the Niger Delta. Programme fo r the Niger According to her. the Delta n>Oion is a proactive Mo U II'ill provi'de the op- slep b·-· y government to in-
ter\.ene in rura l po\'erty and stem youth unem plol,mellt. It therefore has the goal of improvin~ the Ii\,,ntstand ..... I' a.\.I an qua Ity of 'fe ofatleasI40Q,lXXlrural ho useholds in the N;,er lJtolta urn b o-Ibea uzie said the emphasis o f the programme was on women and you th empowerment. S he said thai the C BNRMP was currently working in 39 local go\'o ernrnent areas find 108 communities across the region on various as.......-t.. . Iture. 0 ,-,agncu
~·on."
.
·lmporting countries ·
forca~;hew
cst n'lo1rite\ kerrfto; istl.eUnitedStatcsof America (USA). which accou nts for about 61 nrr rent of kcmcI ~......ot:._ r ...-
OJ
~
) (78 m...;or are; 1IpruI C p'" drent; cent). (6 UK (7 per Netherlaana a per (Elt} nds (5 1--e- cent) and Taiwan, Honk-Kong and Singapore. - Exporting counmesIncfu ' .. .<llSu'II! ... rgcstgkhllsupplieril1tod'll!EuropeanUnioo (EU)\\;dl consistenllyqualily anddeli\'t'r~as\,"cllasa\"ast _..L of pIng agGIts. elCJX·rt and ship-
Germ:m)'(5pet"rent~
t'~~~ ~>twv....