Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, Nigeria’s leading engineering and construction company, has diversified its investment portfolio into the agricultural processing sector of the nation’s economy.
According to a statement made available to Daily Trust by Barr Moses Duku, Media Relations Officer of JBN, the company is set to commission its first ever cashew processing plant in Epe, Lagos State.
The statement said the plant would be responsible to the environment as it is committed to implementing a no-waste operational practice.
The cashew project’s commodity and marketing Manager, Oyindamola Asaaju, made this known during the Agricultural Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) conference, held at the NAF Conference Centre, Abuja, recently, the statement added.
“Clear national occupational standard and demand-driven international product quality would define and drive the company’s operations and productivity in the cashew processing industry in Nigeria, where only 5% of Nigeria’s production is currently locally processed,” Asaaju said.
A pioneer initiative between the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Delegation der Deutschen Wirtschaft in Nigeria (Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Nigeria), the conference attracted both local and international corporate and research organisations in the cashew production and processing value chain. It also attracted a high government presence, including the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and other directors and heads of departments.
According to the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Nigeria has untapped potential of $3.4 million USD from exports of cashew kernels. The top five markets with the highest potential for exports are EU, Japan, Canada, and UAE.
