Julius Berger moves into agriculture with the opening of its Epe cashew processing plant

NIGERIAN construction giant Julius Berger has moved ahead with its long-planned diversification into the agriculture sector with the planned opening of its cashew processing plant at Epe in Lagos State.

By far the most accomplished constriction firm in the country responsible for the construction of most of Nigeria's infrastructure, Julius Berger has a presence in all 36 states of the federation. Seeking to spread its operation to other parts of the economy, the company said that its internationally benchmarked processing plant would implement a highly efficient no-waste operational practice.

Any moment from now, the facility is due to be commissioned and it is expected to turn Nigeria into a producer of end products rather than just a supplier of primary agricultural goods. Currently, Nigeria is one of the largest producers of cashew but processes only about 5% of its production locally.

Nigeria's inability to process much of its raw cashew nuts has deprived the country of a good share of the over $6bn global cashew trade. Oyindamola Asaaju, Julius Berger’s cashew project’s commodity and marketing manager, said clear national occupational standards and demand-driven international product quality would define and drive the company’s operations.

A recent Nigerian cashew roundtable summit recognised the benefits of bringing together all the stakeholders across the sector. It proposed matching producers with potential off-takers, promoting investment, identifying skill gaps in the value chain and introducing innovative training delivery and competency-based training approaches.