IMF and World Bank parliamentarians visiting a cashew processing unit
The government of Côte d’Ivoire, with the support of the World Bank Group, launched the Cashew Value Chain Competitiveness Promotion Project (PPCA) in the various production areas of this crop.
To see the effective execution of this project, a delegation from the Network of Parliamentarians of the World Bank Group and IMF visited the factory of the Center for Cashew Innovations and Technologies (CITA) located in Yamoussoukro . Factory built as part of this project.
At the end of this visit led by the director of the Cashew Cotton Council, Dr. Adama Coulibaly, Marlène Forte, Minister of Justice of Jamaica and parliamentarian, also vice-president of the Network and head of this delegation, did not hide her satisfaction. “We are a network of parliamentarians from the World Bank Group and the IMF. We are here to touch on the project which was financed by the World Bank through the International Development Association (IDA). We know that cashew is a commodity that Côte d’Ivoire exports massively. We believe that this project shows the competitiveness of the cashew value chain financed to the tune of $200 million. We saw the processing process from cashew to products. We found that many women are employed in this factory and are well paid. We are happy to see the good performance of the factory, which is clean. For me, it is a factory with very high standards. People are often concerned about the quality of the products they consume. Fortunately, the products from this factory are beyond reproach. This project is really important for Ivory Coast. We also saw the incubator which is functional with a clean sanitary environment. We are really happy to have seen this project,” she said.
For his part, doctor Adama Coulibaly, general director of the Cotton-Cashew Council, highlighted the quality of hygiene of the installations of this factory. “We note that the delegation of parliamentarians is satisfied with the health and hygiene conditions. In fact, sanitary conditions at the factory are very important, because products are needed that do not endanger the lives of consumers. We emphasize food conditions and safety,” he said. The future challenge, according to him, which presents itself to CITA is the popularization of the almonds produced by this factory and commercialization on a large scale. Continuing, he said: “After the factory, we visited the training center (factory-school) whose mission is to train human resources. We say that it is up to the State to train the personnel necessary for the cashew sector, and that is what CITA does. We also visited the incubator which aims to train artisans in the sector,” confided the CEO of the Cotton-Cashew Council. He also said that this factory processes 6,000 tonnes of cashew per year and employs around 390 people, 70 to 80% of whom are women. Contrary to rumor, the director of the cotton-cashewash sector is firmly in place and has not moved.
JEAN PRISCA
In Le Nouveau Réveil / Thursday June 27, 2024 – N°6639
