Kogi state governor, Yahaya Bello, has declared his administration’s resolve to collaborate with the National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN) to boost job creation, boost revenue and enhance food security in the country.
Governor Bello declared this at the flag-off ceremony of the 2020 cashew trading season titled, “Repositioning 2020” on Wednesday in Lokoja.
Represented by the Permanent Secretary, state Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Emmanuel Idenyi, the governor described agriculture as the mainstay of the nation’s economy.
He noted that in view of the dwindling earnings from crude oil sources in the international market, agriculture remained the only reliable alternative for the survival of the nation’s economy.
“We have no option than to go back to land under the current economic challenges facing Nigeria,” he said.
Bello challenged the stakeholders in cashew business to strive towards attaining high quality of the product, to enable the Nigerian cashew compete favourably in the international market for profit maximisation.
Earlier, the national president of the association, Joseph Ajanaku, described NCAN as an umbrella body for operators in the cashew value chain spread across 24 states in the federation.
The association, according to him, is saddled with the mandate of coordinating and monitoring production, processing and marketing of cashew products along the value chain.
In his remarks, chairman, Kogi state chapter of the association, Duche Isiaka commended Governor Bello’s administration for giving priority to the development of agriculture in general and cashew production in particular and assured of the union desire to compliment where necessary.
The flag-off also featured the presentation of merit award on Governor Yahaya Bello for his feat in repositioning the agriculture sector as well as issuance of certificates of membership to the state executive council.
Credit: Blueprint
