Experts in the cashew industry have lamented that production will be poor this year because of the excessive harmattan. They said that this will affect the major growing areas in the country and they will experience slight decline in the production of the crop. They expressed worry that the excessive heat will not allow flowers bud properly to produce the cashew fruits.
The Chief Executive Officer of Hastom Nigeria, a cashew growing and exporting firm, said that because of the excessive heat, flowers that were supposed to transform to fruits had all dried up in most trees in Ogbomosho; a top growing community of the nuts in Oyo. He said that the harmattan has been characterised by dry wind, cold at night and hot during the day, transporting dusty particles that strongly contribute to the destruction of the cashew flowers. In the same vein, the President of the African Cashew Alliance (ACA), Tola Faseru, said that the harsh harmattan season has affected cashew trees in major producing states at the most critical stages of production, resulting in the withering of flowers during the reproductive stage.
He said although the weather has supported the quality of the nuts, particularly in Oyo, Ogun, and Kogi. Faseru, who is also the Commissioner for Agriculture in Osun State, said that the quality of the Nigerian cashew had improved tremendously in recent years. He noted that work was ongoing to boost local production of cashews in the country, and that farmers are currently supported to switch to the use of high-yield varieties while governments at the federal and state levels are making possible the availability of large areas suitable for the cultivation of the nuts. “The weather has supported the quality of the nuts, particularly in Oyo, Ogun, and Kogi states. The quality of the Nigerian cashew has improved tremendously in recent years”, he added. Meanwhile, Cashew in Nigeria is usually harvested between February and June, though farmers stock the crop and export it all-year-round.
