Cashew Cultivation & Its Great Compatibility With Nigerian Agriculture
Cashew cultivation was introduced to Nigeria between the 15th and 16th centuries by Portuguese explorers, and the culture quickly spread to all agro-ecologies throughout the nation. Cashews are well adapted to the country's humid and seasonally dry tropical climates and have the ability to grow and produce satisfactorily on well-drained, light-textured soils with minimal inputs. This implies that the cashew nut has very good adaptability to constantly changing environmental and ecological fluctuations. Prior to being cultivated in Nigeria in 1950, the plant had survived in the wild for over four centuries. Research into the cultivation uses, and economy of cashews actually began in 1972 by the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN). Currently, in Nigeria, the cashew nut grows successfully in virtually all agro-ecological zones, including semi-arid zones, but with a high concentration in areas of the middle belt (particularly the state of Oyo and the city of Ogbomosho) of smallholder farms and plantations. Cashew production currently takes place in twenty Nigerian provinces or states, including Benue, Kwara, Nassarawa, Ondo, Imo, Kebbi, Anambra, Sokoto, Plateau, Kogi, Cross River, Osun, Oyo, Edo, Enugu, and Ogun, to name a few. The heightened knowledge of the tremendous economic benefits of cashew cultivation has led to the astronomical increase and renewed interest in it.
Diverse Ways In Which Nigerians Put Their Cashew Crops To Use
Cashew has been used for many years for food and income generation. Trees are usually grown for their beans, which, when roasted, have a very pleasant taste. The raw cashew nuts, which are in high demand in industrialized countries, are processed into grains, which are a valuable export product for confectionery. They are used as an ingredient to make fruit paste, candied fruit, canned fruit, cashew apples, raisins, jams and jellies, chutney, fruit juice, alcohol, and vinegar. Cashews rank third after almonds and hazelnuts in the international nut trade. The wine and pulp are produced from the cashew apple. The apple is eaten as a raw fruit or is fermented to produce a delicious alcoholic drink. The pulp is the fibrous part obtained after extracting the juice from the apple and could be used as animal feed or dried and made into a dietary fiber biscuit.
Another product of the cashew nut is the cashew nut shell liquid. It is highly appreciated in the international market as a raw material for brake and clutch linings, paints, and thinners. It is also used in lacquers, binders, insecticides, and fungicides. Besides, apple juice rich in vitamin C and sugar, which can be fermented to produce an alcoholic beverage. Nigerian cashews are also known to contain fat-soluble vitamins A, D, and K, as well as vitamin E.
Nigeria Ranks Fourth Amongst Top African Cashew Producers
Marketing is one of the vital aspects of agriculture since agriculture involves the production of goods and services, and production is not complete until the product reaches the end consumer. So there is a need for an effective marketing channel as well as a system. Lack of knowledge on the marketing of certain crops has partly lead to the poor agricultural product markets inherent to Nigeria. Market structure refers to the organizational characteristics of a market that exert strategic control over the nature of competition and behavior within markets. Market structure is important because the structure determines quality industry performance. Market performance is how well the marketing process is carried out and the success of its goals. Specifically, market performance relates to technological progressivity, the direction of agricultural enterprise growth, the efficiency of resource use, as well as the product's maximum improvement and service of the market at the lowest possible cost.
Among the thirteen countries included in cashew production in the African zone, Nigeria ranks fourth. Tanzania, Ivory Coast, and Guinea Bissau, with a total area of ten thousand hectares and an average annual production of eighty thousand tonnes, represent almost sixteen percent of the total production of this particular area.
In The Global Context
Its contribution represents five percent of the world's overall production. Over the past decade, Nigeria has been one of the suppliers of raw cashews exported to India. Almost eighteen thousand to twenty-three thousand tonnes of raw nuts per year were exported. The exported nut is negligible compared to its total production.
Nigerian Cashew Market Has Not Reached Its Full Potential
Cashew is an important industrial and export crop whose potential is not yet fully exploited in Nigeria. This aspect could contribute to efforts to improve Nigeria's economic situation upon careful observation, taking into account the fact that Nigeria has been classified as a developing country with nearly two-thirds of the population among the poor countries of the world. It is necessary to study the problems and establish the prospects for improvement of the marketing of cashew nuts in the country. If the structure, conduct, and performance of the market are well applied, they could help shape the marketing system in the country, goals and bring desired returns.
Ogbomosho In Oyo State Produces Superior Quality Cashews That Meet Global Retail Standards
Oyo is a Nigerian state that can be found in the southwestern part of the West African nation. It's precise geographical location lies between 7 ° 3 and 9 ° 12 North of the Equator (latitudes) and 2 ° 47 and 4 ° 23 East of the Meridian (longitudes). The average temperature is 27 ° C. Oyo State has thirty-three local government zones. The Oyo State Agricultural Development Project divided the state into four agricultural zones and twenty-eight blocks for administrative convenience. The agricultural areas are Ibadan/Ibarapa (nine blocks), Ogbomoso (five blocks), Oyo (five blocks), and Saki (nine blocks).
Hurdles To Better Marketability Of Ogbomosho Cashews
Amongst the challenges that cashew cultivators in Nigeria, particularly in the cashew rich region of Ogbomosho, fluctuating market prices for cashew nuts seems to be the foremost challenge to better marketability. Then comes the issue of the lack of information on the market. An overwhelming majority of Nigerian cashew cultivators also consider transport as a challenge. Lastly, another serious obstacle is the lack of market coordination amongst cultivators, harvesters, warehouse operators, shippers, and importers.
All in all, the Nigerian cashew market structure suggests that the market does not operate in a perfectly competitive atmosphere. The major challenge for cultivators is the fluctuation of market prices. Cashew cost price, shipping costs, and fixed cost items are the most important variables affecting the growth of the cashew trade in Nigeria. Perhaps the forming of registered unions by cashew traders through which a solution could be sought out the challenges of fluctuating market prices, lack of market information as well as lack of market coordination could prove to be a feasible solution to better marketability.
A Cash Cow For Indian Cashew Retailers
Cashew retailers in India are taken by the superior quality and competitive pricing of African cashews. Most of these retailers have begun to seek out cashews from large and popular African cashew producing nations, including Ghana, Guinea, Togo, Benin, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Mali, The Gambia, and Senegal. While cashews from these nations are no doubt of superior quality, possessing incredible taste and high shippability, they do fall behind cashews from Ogbomosho in terms of pricing.
As seen above, the lack of coordination between cashew cultivators, crop harvesters, importers, warehouse and storage facility managers, shipping companies, logistics firms, and others, along with the frequent fluctuation in prices, lack of interest (which can be attributed to the absence of awareness amongst global cashew retailers of the increased profitability of Ogbomosho cashews) combined with other minor factors, has resulted in the poor marketability of Nigerian cashews. What cashew retailers have to come to grips with is the fact that, while differences in the quality and taste of cashews from different African nations do exist, these differences are minuscule. Therefore, cashew retailers who are adamant about selling cashews only from certain African nations ought to think about changing their stance in order to increase their profit margins further. By doing so, they will not only be able to realize that Ogbomosho cashews are equally as tasty and shippable as cashews from other African nations, if not more, but also far cheaper to procure.
Interested In Ogbomosho Cashews For Your Retail Business? Reach Out To SCashews
After getting to know about the many advantages that procuring cashews from Ogbomosho presents to cashew retailers, if you are eager to get the ball rolling on your Ogbomosho cashew procuring journey, but don't know a reliable cashew supplier with an extensive network of shipping and warehousing partners, then you should get in touch with us at SCashews, right away!
