Abidjan - The Cashew Nut Innovations and Technologies Center (CITA) of Yamoussoukro officially opened on Thursday October 1, 2020, presents itself as a technological pole dedicated to the processing of cashew nuts, according to the Director General of the Cotton Council and Cashew, Dr Adama Coulibaly.
The inauguration of CITA by the President of the Republic Alassane Ouattara, thus marks for the Cotton and Cashew Council, an important step in the achievement of the government's objective which is to raise by 2025, the local processing rate of raw cashew nuts of 10% 0 50%.
"The Yamoussoukro CITA, housing a modern processing line of 6,000 tonnes per year, will also serve as a public-private partnership platform, with a view to carrying out concerted actions for the benefit of all actors in the cashew sector", explains Dr Adama Coulibaly.
The design of this center is the result of a south-south partnership between the Council of Cotton and Cashew, the Houphouêt Boigny National Polytechnic Institute of Yamoussoukro (INP-HB) and the Technological University of Ho Chi Minh City from Vietnam.
"The financing of infrastructure and equipment for CITA in the amount of 3.9 billion CFA francs was provided 90% by the Cotton and Cashew Council and 10% by the World Bank through the IBRD Enclave window. through the project to promote the competitiveness of the cashew value chain (PPCA), he said.
The Cashew Innovation and Technologies Center (CITA) in Yamoussoukro has several missions, including the training of managers, entrepreneurs, supervisors and operators of cashew industrial units. It aims to improve the employability of young people and women by opening up new practical training niches that provide the labor market with a source of skills for the processing industry.
In the cruising phase, the CITA will employ 150 people including 120 people, he stressed.
This integrated space of 4.8 Ha, which includes both an industrial site that can be used by cooperative societies for the production of cashew cashew nuts, a training center for all operators of the tr and a place of cashew nut processing and a place of application internship for students of the Houphouët Boigny National Polytechnic Institute of Yamoussoukro (INP-HB) and other schools and finally, a center for innovation in technologies and processing processes.
Ruling on the proceedings of the 2014 International Cashew Processing Equipment and Technologies Fair (SIETTA), the Council of Ministers of March 15, 15, under the senior leadership of the President of the Republic, Alassane Ouattara, authorized the creation of a factory-school to address the competitiveness problems which hindered the development of local cashew processing.
(AIP)
