Insecurity has led many farmers to abandon staple crop farming for cashew plantations. But they only gather the nuts and abandon the main fruits to rot away on the farm.
Shielded from the scorching sun by the canopy of cashew trees, Felicia Akogun sat behind a heap of cashew fruits. Although some fruits were still fresh, she was only interested in the nuts: 10 kilogrammes would fetch her N9,000.
"No one is interested in buying the fruit," Mrs Akogun said in Yoruba language as she continued separating the nuts from the fruits.
The crushed juice of the cashew, mixed with dirt, flowed around her work area but she paid no attention. Her major concern was to pick as many nuts as she could and leave the farm before sunset. The day before, someone was kidnapped not too far from her farm.
"No one will buy the fruit here because everyone has cashew farms unless we send it to places in Ilorin, Osogbo, or Lagos. But the cost of the logistics makes that unattractive," Mrs Akogun said.
Her farm is located along the Ijara-Isanlu Road in Isin Local Government Area of Kwara State. That area has become notorious for kidnapping in recent times. The insecurity around the farm and the invasion of farms by herders and their cattle make other crops not appealing to her. Her cashew plantation is a major source of income, albeit for a very short period. Harvesting of cashews is between January and April.
In many communities in the area, Mrs Akogun's experience is the reality for cashew farmers. Insecurity has led to many abandoning staple crop farming for cashew plantations. But they only benefit from the sale of the cashew nut while the cashew apples are left to rot away on the farm.
The cashew apple is a tropical fruit that has a sweet aromatic taste but the tannic nature of the fruit is often considered too astringent. Experts believe that this property of the fruit is the major reason that Nigerian farmers like Mrs Akogun focus on the nut and not the fruit. Moreover, the fruit is seasonal and becomes abundant between January and April.
Cashew nuts have become one of Nigeria's largest non-oil exports. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, in the first quarter of 2023, Nigeria exported 'cashew nuts in shell' worth N15.13 billion to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and N10.20 billion to India. In total, Nigeria exported N27.1 billion worth of 'Cashew nuts in shell', and another N6.8 billion "cashew nuts shelled".
The data showed that in terms of major agricultural products, cashew nuts are only behind 'Superior quality Cocoa beans' and 'Sesamum seeds.'
The exported cashew nuts are the aggregation of produce from local farmers like Mrs Akogun. However, they could have earned more if they maximised the opportunities inherent in cashew farming as done in India, another country where cashew is grown and consumed in large quantities.
For over 500 years, local distillers in India have mastered the act of double distillation of the juice to produce the Cashew Feni liqueur, a 42 per cent alcoholic drink. With the use of local technology, distillers ferment the cashew juice to produce the liquor popularly referred to as Feni in India.
The money-making Cashew Feni of Goa, India
The double distillation process allows farmers in the Goa region and other places in India to earn money from both the juice and the nut. A 750ML bottle of Feni, as listed on liquor barn, sells for $28 to $42.
For over five centuries, communities in the Goa region of India have preserved the simple technology of extracting juice from cashew apples and taking it through the fermentation and distillation process.
The first step in making Feni is by crushing cashew apples manually on a hilltop rock shaped like a basin. Juice from crushed cashew apples flows out of the basin to an earthen pot or copper pot which is buried deep under the ground for fermentation.Following a three-day fermentation process, the resulting liquid undergoes boiling and distillation. Subsequently, fresh juice is introduced for a secondary distillation round, culminating in the production of a refined product. This process does not involve the use of high technology, just a simple procedure that produces a distinct drink that is now associated with India.
Despite the abundance of this fruit in many parts of Nigeria including Kwara, many farmers do not know any use for the fruit other than the little they eat fresh and the nut. The consensus among the farmers is that "demand is creating the supply" and as things stand, there is no demand for the cashew apple.
"If you and I are into business, and you look at the value chain of a particular commodity, it is the chain that brings in more money that you would focus your energy and resources towards more. Basically, in Nigeria - in the cashew value chain, it is the nut that brings in more money. Because there is an export market for the nut especially in India and Vietnam," Peter Popoola, an expert on Cashews at the Agricultural and Rural Management Institute, Ilorin, said.
Mr Popoola said the demand for the juice may stimulate investment in technology to aid the process of extraction and distillation. But there is no demand now, he said. In contrast, the demand for the nut is so high that some buyers even pay in advance of the harvesting period, he said.
The opportunity cost of not maximising the cashew value chain is staggering. Some farmers explained how they left staple crop farming due to economic and security reasons to go full-time into cashew farming.
This shift further exacerbates the crunching food crisis facing the country because due to cashew farming being seasonal, they end up using whatever money they make within the three months of harvesting to buy food in the market.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), food inflation has risen above 40 per cent in Nigeria on a year-on-year basis.
In recent years, food prices have been on the rise across the country. Experts believe that this is due to the impact of government policies such as the removal of subsidies on petrol and volatility in the FX market.
The rising prices of these staples and other products have weakened the purchasing power of citizens, making it difficult for many households in the country to afford daily meals.
David Okorafor, a professor of Economics at the University of Abuja, said the shift to cash crops could also exacerbate the food crisis facing the country.
Secondly, the nature of cashew farming makes the practice of mixed cropping impossible because, with staple crops, farmers could plant maize and yam on the same heap and even use the same heap for guinea corn afterwards. Mrs Akogun tried to grow pineapple on her cashew plantation but lack of sunlight due to the cashew trees acting like a canopy led to the stunted growth of the plants.
Aside from insecurity, rural-urban migration is another factor driving this shift as many of the farmers are old and cashew plantation provides a sort of "retirement plan" for them. Most young people in these communities are moving out to seek greener pastures in the cities.
However, the recent boom in the price of cashews has attracted some youths to engage in cashew farming. Muritala Ayan is one such young person.
He left Ijara-Isin years back to seek greener pastures in Lagos but returned home recently to engage in cashew farming.
"After my secondary school, I went to Lagos. The news of the economic viability of the cashew nuts got to me in Lagos. So I decided to return to Kwara and I have no reason to regret it. I beg God not to allow me to see anything that would make me go back to Lagos. This business is better than the hustling in Lagos," he said.
However, insecurity has discouraged Mr Ayan from growing other crops.
Juice sellers in the city have little awareness of the fruit
Back in the Kwara state capital, Ilorin, young people, drawn to a healthy lifestyle, flock to relaxation spots around the city for fresh fruits and juice. Some of these spots offer mixed fruit juice using fruits largely sourced from outside Kwara. None of them sells cashew apples or uses the apple for juice.
Sitting behind the counter at Foodster Cafe, Helen Babatunde explained some of the challenges with using cashew apples for fruit. Her main concern is the handling of the fruit by farmers. She explained that more than mango and orange, cashews are delicate and must be handled with extra care.
"It's going to take a lot of cashew apples to make one bottle because we don't add water. So how much is it going to cost to make a bottle?"
When she was informed that the fruits were rotting away in some of the farms outside Ilorin, she explained that because of the perishable nature of the fruit, it was going to cost a lot to bring it from the farm to her shop.
She further explained that awareness of the fruit is very low, but agreed that the fruit would make a nice drink if blended with other fruits.
Most of the spots visited in Ilorin also excluded the fruit from their recipe despite the abundance of the apple just some kilometres away.
When our reporter posed the idea of selling cashew apples to juice makers, Mrs Akogun, the farmer, said the process would involve climbing the trees to carefully harvest the fruits, whereas, in the case of the nuts, all they need to do is wait for the fruit to drop on its own.
"It's going to be hard. Look at some of the trees, and imagine climbing all these trees to pluck the fruit. We can only target some of the fruits that are close by. The idea of safe handling is difficult," she said.
When pressed on selling the fruit at the local market, Mrs Akogun said: "Even I cannot pay money for the fruit."
Taking the risk for the high reward
Alayande Debora and her three girls were just leaving the farm in Isanlu-Isin when PREMIUM TIMES arrived. The fear on their faces was visible as they weighed their options. It was after an exchange of pleasantries and introduction that the tension was reduced.
"We thought the thing in your hand was a gun", one of the girls pointed to the mini tripod as they laughed after discovering that it was photographic equipment.
In the middle of the pleasantries, Mrs Alayande's husband arrived on his motorcycle, having initially stopped some meters away to examine the men speaking with his family members. That shows the level of insecurity around farms, he said.
"They kidnapped someone not too far away," Mrs Alayande said.
Just like other farmers in the community, she sees no economic value in the fruit. After over five hours of labour on the farm, they had gathered over 50kg of the nuts and dealers were waiting to buy at the rate of N9000 per 10kg.
The crash in the exchange value of the Naira around February has led to a rise in the price of cashews. Last year, 10kg of cashew nuts sold for N3,500.
This price increase provides the incentive for farmers in these communities to go to their farms and harvest their cashew nuts despite the insecurity.
There is also the tension between the farmers and herders.
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"If we plant casava, the Bororos (nomadic Fulani herders) would invade the farm and destroy them. We abandoned stable crop farming because we didn't get to see anything from it due to the activities of the herders. That is why we are hungry," Mr Ayan said.
"This little one I have picked, by the time I get to the house-my kids and wife are at home- we pay for rent, food and others. Not that we save much, just to sustain."
The same view was expressed by Mrs Akogun and her husband. The activities of the herders and their cows are making farming a dangerous venture. Mr Akogun doubles as a worker and protector on the farm.
"We cannot leave only the women at the farm. These Bororos are disturbing us. We appeal to the government to intervene with these Bororos. This suffering is too much. Because of them, we don't have food again aside from this cashew. Even they are damaging the cashew trees. They cut down more than 200 trees last year alone. They destroy pineapples, cassavas and yams. We are unable to plant other crops again," he said.
In the middle of the interview, a herd of cattle invaded the farm. The cows, over 100 of them, trooped into the plantation, raising dust in their wake. The tension at that moment was palpable as the women stopped what they were doing to observe the scene.
"We are hoping that our government could help with research into how to process fruit into juice. I like the fruit but there is no market here," Mrs Alayande said.
Lawmaker speaks on cashew farming
The consensus among experts and farmers is that there is a need for government intervention to stimulate the development of technology for the processing of cashew apples to end the wastage.
During a phone interview in March, Monsurat Shittu, a member of the Kwara State House of Assembly, said she was willing to support any bill or motion to spur investment in the sector.
"The Kwara State House of Assembly would certainly consider any bill or motion related to developing the fruit aspects of cashew trees for farmers to benefit from, which is a way to ensure we benefit from all the value chain. This could include initiatives to promote more sustainable farming practices, improve the quality and marketability of cashew fruit products, or provide support for farmers to access markets and value-added processing opportunities," Ms Shittu said.
She added that "the goal would be to help farmers maximize the economic potential of cashew trees by harnessing the value of both the nut and the fruit or extending it to juice items."
For farmers like Mr Akogun and others, the lack of awareness and technological limitations means that they continue to earn only about half the revenue they should from their crops.
Support for this report was provided by the Centre for Journalism, Innovation and Development (CJID)
