(Ecofin Agency) - Nigerian cashew farmers plan to make the nation the second largest producer of the crop in Africa, by 2020, with a forecast output of 500,000 metric tons, Vanguard reports.

An achievable goal according to Tola Fasheru, president of the naitional cashew association of Nigeria. “Virtually all the states in the country have the potential to grow cashew,” said Fasheru.

However, to achieve this target, he told Bloomberg, area dedicated to the cultivation of the crop must be increased by 340,000 ha. With this, the total area dedicated to the crop will stand at 500,000 ha.

Moreover, increasing the cultivation area will, according to the official, bring up annual cashew exports revenues to $650 million, by 2020, against $253 million in 2015. “Our sights are even beyond the 2020 target, as we seek to make cashew one of the country’s biggest exports,” he added.

Presently, Nigeria is the sixth African cashew producers with an annual output of 150,000 Mt.