By Thompson Yamput
Gov. Ahmed Ododo of Kogi on Friday stated that the state is focusing on N86.8 billion in 4 months from the manufacturing of cashew alone.
The governor made the disclosure on the Inauguration of the 2026 Cashew Season and Unveiling of the Kogi Cashew Procurement and Commerce Coverage, 2025, held on the Authorities Home, Lokoja.
Ododo revealed that from findings on the large values therein in Cashew and the demand thereof each domestically and internationally, the state might generate about N86.6 billion between the months of January and April alone if correctly harnessed.
In line with him, the true financial worth doesn’t lie in manufacturing alone however in processing, packaging, branding, and structured commerce.
“This is the reason our administration is firmly dedicated to the institution of cashew processing amenities inside Kogi.
“Processing is the place worth is created, jobs are multiplied, and prosperity is retained and shared.
“By supporting investments in processing vegetation and inspiring the manufacturing of value-added merchandise equivalent to kernels, packaged nuts, and industrial by-products, we are going to scale back post-harvest losses, enhance farmer earnings, and be certain that extra wealth stays inside our native financial system.”
The governor additionally stated that the initiative aligned seamlessly with the broader financial imaginative and prescient of diversification, youth empowerment, girls inclusion, and shared prosperity.
“We see alternatives for our younger folks and ladies throughout each phase of the cashew worth chain, from farming to processing, packaging, logistics, advertising, and export.
“As we formally flag off the 2026 cashew season right now, we’re planting 5 million cashew bushes in anticipation of bumper harvest.
“We’re planting hope. We’re planting prosperity. We’re planting resilience. And we’re planting the way forward for a stronger, extra productive Kogi.
“The time to make Kogi sources work for Kogi folks is now, and we should be part of fingers as brothers and sisters to make this imaginative and prescient an enduring actuality,” he stated.
Earlier in his welcome tackle, the Director Common of Kogi State Commodity Change, Export Promotion and Market Improvement Company (KOSCEPA), Mr Victor Omofaiye, described the inauguration as a “turning level within the historical past of Kogi.
Omofaiye stated that the initiative was the Ododo’s administration’s deliberate drive to make sure that the state takes its rightful place among the many main cashew producing states in Nigeria.
He stated that Nigeria at present ranked because the fourth largest cashew nut producer on this planet, with an annual manufacturing of about 450,000 metric tonnes and export worth exceeding 700 million {dollars}, with “Kogi as a serious driver of this efficiency.” (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Modupe Adeloye/Ugboma Chioma
