Enhance incomes of shea nut pickers. President Mahama charges industry stakeholders
President John Dramani Mahama has asked stakeholders in the shea industry to work at enhancing the incomes of shea nut pickers to protect the economic value of the shea tree.
Advertisement
He said the risk of not having fair returns had resulted in some people cutting the shea trees for charcoal.
Opening the 9th annual International Shea conference on enhancing farm value in Accra on Tuesday, the President said the very existence of the industry in Ghana rested on the many women who constituted the core of the industry and braved all the odds to do the picking.
Yet, the women who do the picking of fresh fruits and extract the healthy shea butter do not make any meaningful incomes, as the bulk of the profit is made by middleman and exporters who are mostly men.
President Mahama said he had asked the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) to set up 10 women’s cooperative centres in each of the five Savannah regions so that women could be given better prices.
He also stressed the need for dispassionate discussions on setting a producer guarantee price for shea nuts.
Focus
The three-day conference, which has a focus on women, is organised by the Global Shea Alliance (GSA), a non-profit industry association made up of 390 members from 30 countries.
The membership includes women’s groups, brands and retailers, suppliers and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
Through public-private collaborations, the GSA promotes industry sustainability, quality practices and standards and demand for shea in food and cosmetics.
Shea butter, which is considered a healthy vegetable fat, has been used in food and personal care for a very long time.
Nearly two billion shea trees grow in the wild in 21 African countries, stretching from Senegal to South Sudan.
Women constitute the biggest chunk of players in the industry, with about 16 million of them living in rural areas.
They are engaged mostly in the collection and processing of the fruits.
With about 600,000 tonnes collected each year, the shea industry provides a critical source of jobs and incomes to many people mostly from the poor and underserved communities.
Savannah region
Shea plays a great role in the lives of the people of the Savannah area yet the people of the area remain poor.
President Mahama quoted the Ghana Living Standards Survey which states that the poorest person in Ghana is a woman in the Savannah area of the country and living in a rural area.
Stressing that the role women played in the shea industry could not be overemphasised, the President said: “So it means that shea can be used as an instrument to improve the income levels of many of our women in the rural areas. That is why the government takes the shea industry very seriously.”
Value addition
President Mahama stated that as part of the government’s plans to improve value addition to the produce, the first of three processing plants it promised had been built at Buipe in the Northern Region, while two others would be constructed in the Upper East and Upper West regions.
He also stressed the need for researchers to look at shortening the gestation period of the shea tree to encourage people to go into its cultivation.
He welcomed the improvement in the packaging of shea products and said “some of them are world-class”.
Other speakers
The President of GSA, Mr Moumouni Konate, said the alliance was poised to do more to make the industry grow.
He said very important questions would be raised at the conference with the view to promoting growth.
The European Union (EU) Ambassador to Ghana, Mr William Hanna, said the EU market was crucial to advancing the industry.
The USAID Mission Director for West Africa, Mr Alex Deprez, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Alhaji Mohammed Muniru, the Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, and the Deputy Minister of Finance, Mrs Mona Helen Quartey, all made contributions at the conference.
