The National Association of Mango Producers, Processors, and Marketers of Nigeria (NAMPPMAN) says it will establish six juice processing plants in the country.
The National President of the association, Alhaji Abdulkadir Nasir, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja.
Nasir said that the association would partner with stakeholders in the mango value chain to establish the fruit processing plants in the six geo-political zones in the country.
He expressed concern over the present low production level of 800,000 metric tonnes annually and stressed that the juice plants would address the enormous post-harvest losses recorded in mango production in the country.
“We want to see that we establish at least six mega juice making factory across the country.
“That is why we are talking to various stakeholders that are into processing or manufacturing juices and the concentrates so that through the association they can become off takers that our famers are churning out.
“That is what we want to do this year; we want to promote six mega juice processing plants for off-takers to process mangoes.
“Already, there is a very big mango production window but not without challenges because most of the mangoes we have are wild mangoes that can only be consumed in Nigeria,’’ he said.
Nasir, who emphasised the need for increased extension services in the production of competitive mangoes, urged government agencies to show more interest in the role of extension workers.
He also solicited support to overcome challenges of certification and standardisation.
“During production, care is not taken to standardise and before you export you have to standardise, you have to sort and maintain a good level of good agricultural production practices to agree with international certification standard,’’ Nasir said.
He said that the association would also engage a total of 3,600 women in the country in producing mango chips or small-scale mango juice-making factories.
According to him, 100 women will be selected from each state.
Nasir pointed out that Nigeria had the capacity to increase production from the present level through constant training of farmers and other stakeholders at the value chain of the produce.
“Mango is not a new crop; I have not seen anyone that does not like the fruit.
“It might not be your favourite fruit but I have not seen anyone that has phobia for mango and we want to see that every part of the country gets on board with mango production, processing, and marketing,’’ Nasir said.
