Ogbomoso-based entrepreneur, Debo Thomas is one of the young Nigerians who has found agribusiness lucrative, despite the many challenges of living in the rural area. He is encouraging Nigerians to invest in cashew business, DANIEL ESSIET reports.
Ogbomoso, Oyo State-based agro entrepreneur, Debo Thomas, is a quintessential rags-to-riches story, a compelling tale encapsulating struggle, hard work and undying optimism that led the man to where he is. He has travelled wide in search of new and exciting experiences.
He was astonished by Ogbomoso’s breath-taking beauty. Rich vegetation, dense jungle and rugged hillsides are home to a rich, complex culture and a vibrant community.
But, he discovered that behind the beauty is an impoverished region of cashew farmers, who sold raw cashews to traders, who shipped them abroad for processing.
The entrepreneur saw an opportunity that would bring livelihood and educational opportunities to the region. At the core of his idea was a business that created jobs and improved the quality of life for the community.
He envisioned a globally responsible company that made honest food through genuine, transparent and sustainable cashew business.
He founded a cashew production company which focuses on exporting high-quality nuts.
He has established an estate to farm high-quality cashews. He started with a few acres. Today, the business has expanded to over 500 hectares. This has made it possible for him provide 400 jobs to youths and women who now have a source of income and access to education and professional development.
As the business has achieved commercial success, he plans 1000 hectares of cashew trees to ensure a healthy foundation for the cashew-growing communities.
Research showed that Nigeria exports 90 per cent of its unprocessed cashew nuts. This is almost like selling cocoa beans in their pod.
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While this fetched lower prices for the economy and farmers, countries, such as Vietnam, made fortunes off processing most of Africa’s cashew, and passing on the finished high-value products to markets in Europe and the United States.
The situation didn’t make sense to Thomas. He is determined that more value could be derived from the cashew for everyone – farmers and the government – if more cashews were processed in Nigeria.
He decided that to succeed at a global scale, he’d have to outperform the best performers in his field. So, he decided he would use better processing technology, which was fully automated and produced the best quality processed nuts.
With demand for cashew on the world market rising, he said any investment in cashew processing exports would be good. He is building a processing centre to handle 3000 tonnes of cashew yearly.
He said there is room for ultra-high density cashew farming as the domestic demand for cashew nut exceeds the production.
The global cashew market is worth $7.8million and is projected to grow by 15 per cent this year.
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