Economic, health impacts of Cashew crops

By Bisola Adeyemo

Cashew is a multipurpose crop that is mainly cultivated for the nuts’ consumption, medicine and source of income for top producing countries of the world.

It is also one of the high export crops in Nigeria which is expected to add value to the food chains of the country.

The investment of cashew ranges between 30 to 40 percent within 3-5 years of cultivation, this shows that cashew farming is a profitable business, but the potentials of the Nigerian cashew nut value chain have not been fully utilized even though it is a profitable enterprise.

Speaking with NatureNews in a chat, Chairman of Cashew farmers Association in Nigeria, Mr Unekwu Edime said cashew nuts are one of the most neglected fruits in Nigeria that has very high export earners which boost the country’s GDP.

“The cashew fruits and the nutshell can add more if processed into another source of money.

“The cashew nut is expected to add value by generating employment opportunities for teeming Nigerian youth.

“Its application include dairy products, bakery products, snacks & bars, confectioneries, cereals, desert, Beverages, cosmetics products etc.

“Its industrial applications include various CNSL-based products such as fungicide, pesticide, insecticide, brake linings, paints and primers, foundry chemicals, lacquers, cement, speciality coatings and resin.

The shell of the cashew seed yields derivatives that can be used in many applications including lubricants, waterproofing and paints, he said.

“While most of its health benefit include: decrease in blood cholesterol level, reduction in risk of cardiovascular diseases, prevention of cancer & gallstone and also help in the promotion of healthy brain function.

While speaking on improvement, of cashew farms in Nigeria, Edime stressed that Nigerian farmers should be trained and there should be more availability of seeds.

“Farmers should have access to improved varieties with better quality and yield from research institutes in order to benefit from the growing cashew nut industry potential to increase production to 1,000kg/ha.

“There is need for more research funding in the use of cashew nut products and by-products as it can fetch more income to the nation.

He, therefore, called the Federal Government to support, improve and restructure the farm sector.

“Though Nigeria frames are dealing with unsafety ground from the herdsmen, with that the cashew market is unstructured leading to price distortion caused by middlemen depriving the farmers of earning a decent living from cashew cultivation.

“This alone distracts some youths in the country to go into farming” he added.