The Kogi State Government said on Friday that it had maintained a clear lead in the production of cashew in Nigeria, linking the feat to sound agricultural policies.
The Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Fanwo, who disclosed this to journalists in Lokoja, added that efforts were ongoing to make Kogi the cashew hub in Africa.
He said, “Today, Kogi State is the biggest producer of cashew in Nigeria because of our sound agricultural policies geared towards empowering farmers with improved seedlings, mechanisation, and agrochemicals as well as creating an enabling environment for the private sector to invest in cashew production.
Kogi has retained this position for many years and our ambition is to push Nigeria’s production level above that of Ivory Coast, which is the leading cashew producer in the world.
“The administration of Yahaya Bello is scaling up the gear to improve the value chain in cashew production in the state. We can only get value for money when we can add some value to our cashew before selling to the major buyers.”
