In a recent exclusive with The Point at Fass Njagga Choi, Ebou Sarr said his company process cashew nuts into various products such as cashew cake, pepper sauce, cashew chocolate, cashew biscuits and cashew vinegar, cashew ‘cherreh’ among others.
The initiative, he added, is anchored on the ultimate objective of promoting food security and help to scale-down the unemployment rate in the country.
“We also process cashew nuts into cashew milk, cashew chips, and mangoes to juice,” he added.
A country of almost 2 million, The Gambia cultivates about 20,000 hectares of cashew nut. Out of this figure, very few people specialise in cashew processing.
With the much-needed financial support and time, The Gambian entrepreneur remains upbeat that his company can create employment opportunities for several youth, thus promoting food security in the country.
The Resilience of Organizations for Transformative Smallholder Agriculture Project (ROOTS) supported Keita Farming and Processing Company to participate in the last Trade Fair, during which the company was able to network with customers, colleagues in the trade industry and other potential business partners.
He thus appealed for additional funding to establish a standard processing factory, which will employ Gambian youths and help curb irregular migration.
“We are urging the government to empower us so that we reduce the number of young people losing their lives on the back-way journey to Europe. We will also promote food security and nutritional value.” he reiterated.
Moving forward, Sarr, a 20-years experienced entrepreneur in processing cashew nuts to edible food items has expressed readiness to share his skills and knowledge with the youngsters.
“We are also willing to train young Gambians on processing cashew nuts into several consumable items.” he said.
He noted that the cashew tree has numerous benefits including food, health, economics, among others.
“The government should bring experienced cashew nut processors and give them loans so that they expand their business. If this happens, cashew farming will greatly benefit the country and cashew processors would as well be financially stable.” he opined.
