EXPLORING THE POTENTIAL OF CASHEW PROCESSING IN AGUOBU IWOLLO COMMUNITY
We’re excited to explore the emerging potential of cashew processing in Aguobu Iwollo, an agrarian community rich in agricultural heritage. This initiative brings together federal, state, and local stakeholders to establish a Domestic Agro-Processing Zone with export capacity; a cashew factory expected to directly employ over 1,000 people and create more than 10,000 indirect jobs.
A high-level delegation led by the Honourable Commissioner for Agriculture, Hon. Patrick Nwabueze Ubru, visited the proposed site; the permanent campus of Enugu State Polytechnic, Iwollo (formerly the College of Agriculture); to assess readiness and mobilize support. Accompanying the team were legislators from both state and federal levels, and key sector players including the National Cashew Association of Nigeria, represented by its National President, Dr. Ojo Joseph Ajanaku.
The visit included robust community engagement. The community leader of Aguobu Iwollo, Engr. Charles Aliozo, gave a historical overview of the community’s rich agricultural legacy, including 24 farm settlements heritage that have suffered neglect due to rural-urban migration and lack of enabling infrastructure like the one about to be established. He led a tour of existing community-driven initiatives addressing seasonality and post-harvest losses through the energy-agriculture nexus; projects carried out in partnership with Enugu State Polytechnic, the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-Industrialization, and other local and international partners.
One such pilot is the Enugu State Refrigerated Aggregation Center and Greenhouse Farm, commissioned by His Excellency, Barr. Dr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, under the Tomorrow is Here agenda. The project is already being demonstrated within the school and community as a practical model for integrated agricultural transformation.
Visuals in the above video include community tours and an exclusive interview with Dr. Ojo Ajanaku, who emphasized the socio-economic and socio-cultural impact the proposed factory will have; not just on Aguobu Iwollo and Ezeagu LGA, but across Enugu State.