Nigeria could earn up to $10 billion annually from the cashew industry if the right policies, investments, and value-addition strategies are put in place, according to the National Cashew Association of Nigeria. The sector is increasingly being positioned as a major growth driver for agribusiness SMEs across the country.
Speaking in Abuja ahead of the 2026 Nigeria Cashew Day, NCAN President Dr Ojo Joseph Ajanaku said the initiative was created to bring together farmers, processors, marketers, exporters, and service providers across the cashew value chain. He noted that the event, previously held in Benin, Enugu, and Lagos, will move to Abuja to enable direct engagement with federal policymakers on reforms critical to SME growth in the sector.
Ajanaku stressed that Nigeria has the natural and human resources to become a global leader in cashew production and processing but is constrained by weak policy frameworks, poor industry data, and limited local processing capacity. He pointed out that millions of hectares of arable land remain unused, while countries with smaller landmass continue to outperform Nigeria due to stronger value-chain coordination and policy support.
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According to NCAN, scaling local processing could unlock massive opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises in farming, aggregation, logistics, packaging, and export services. Ajanaku warned that continued export of raw cashew nuts deprives SMEs of higher margins, job creation, and foreign exchange earnings that come with value-added processing.
He added that with the right policy environment, the cashew industry could generate jobs for more than 50 million Nigerians, positioning agribusiness SMEs as a central pillar of inclusive growth, rural development, and non-oil export expansion.
