Recently, the Executive Director of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, Mr. Segun Awolowo, stated that about N350 billion is lost annually to smuggling of Shea products from Nigeria because of the non-existence of proper structure for the value chain in Nigeria. JOHN OBA AND BINTA SHEMA write on tapping this potential to reduce poverty vis-à-vis the forthcoming FG, stakeholders summit
Statistics on the global demand for Shea butter shows that it is worth about $10 billion with expectation that it would increase to about $30 billion by 2020, just three years away, yet Nigeria is said to have the largest Shea nut belt in the world and is recognized as the world’s leading producer of Shea nut, contributing about 45% of global production. While Director-General of the Niger State Commodity and Export Promotion Agency and a member of GSA, Mohammed Kontagora at a conference also affi rmed that Nigeria, which presently accounts for 57 percent of the global shea with a value of $3.8 billion, could address its challenge of poverty through shea butter export.
Th e implication, according to expect is that investing in this subsector of the agricultural value chain can successfully fund over 50% of Nigeria’s annual budget, corroborating Awolowo’s assertion that becoming a competitive global player in Shea production is one key step in Nigeria’s push to industrialize, lifting millions out of poverty and bringing the country closer to realizing its full economic potential.
Th e documented annual production is said to be between 330, 000mt-350,000mt while the potential production is estimated at 750,000mt. However, because the country has not eff ectively harnessed the potentials of the endowment, it has not benefi tted from the Shea industry. Shea trees in Nigeria grow naturally in the wild and thrive almost exclusively in the North. About 45 percent of Nigeria’s land area is suitable for the growth of the plant. It currently grows in the wild in many states including: Niger, Nasarawa, Kebbi, Kwara, Kogi, Kaduna, Adamawa, Gombe, Benue, Edo, Katsina, Plateau, Sokoto, Zamfara, Taraba, Borno and Oyo. Th e Nigerian Shea industry has the potentials to contribute signifi cantly to the economic and industrial development of the nation, especially with the wide range of industrial application of Shea butter in the confectionery, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Th is potential therefore, needs to be tapped to lift the Shea industry into a major foreign exchange earner for the nation, in order to displace the much troubled and turbulent oil economy.
It therefore certain that Nigeria leveraging on this nature-endowed comparative advantage in shea butter production and developing the large-scale production of shea butter, will enhance the government’s diversifi cation plan. Th is succinctly explained the strategic importance of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council’s forthcoming National Shea Summit to the development of the lucrative sector. Collaborating with National Shea Products Association of Nigeria (NASPAN), Niger Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, the Summit is expected to help create a platform for stakeholders in the Shea value chain to come together and discuss issues, challenges and strategies to transform the Nigerian Shea industry.
Th e summit with the theme: “Developing a strong Shea sector for national economic development,” is expected to help sensitize players in the industry on the modalities for increase Shea nut processing, provide a framework for development of storage and packaging facility and defi ne a pathway for entrepreneurship, poverty reduction and promotion of cluster development amongst value chain actors. It will also be an avenue to sensitize stakeholders on the need to regulate the activities of middle men and other market segments in the sector, create awareness on the need to adopt best practices in the Shea value chain. Actors in the sector are also expected to be brief on the importance of the Shea tree with a view to domesticating and conserving the trees, create synergy amongst fi nanciers, investors and off takers in the industry and kick start the process of the development of the Roadmap for the Nigerian Shea industry.
It is planned that as part of the benefi ts of the summit, investors will be encouraged to invest in the sector, which will lead to increased Shea nut processing and production capacity, improved quantity and quality of Shea products that compete favourably with other Shea products in the international market. Th is will also make shea butter become a major contributor to the domestic economy, in direct terms while encouraging sustainable Shea resource management. According to report, RMRDC, under the Ministry of Science and Technology saddled with the responsibility of promoting and developing local raw materials for industrial utilization has taken appropriate steps to promote and develop the Shea industry in Nigeria for domestic industry and export.
“Th is culminated in the identifi cation of Shea development as one of the strategic projects under the Council’s Strategic Plan. “Th e Council in its eff orts geared towards the promotion and development of the Nigerian Shea Industry has initiated the upgrading the Indigenous Technology for Shea Nut Processing Plant, Agbaku-Eji, Moro Local Government Area in Kwara State,” the statement reads. Shea nut processing in Nigeria is mostly done traditionally by women in the rural areas. Th e procedure is quite tedious and time consuming, from collection of the Shea fruits to the production of the fi nal product. RMRDC in it report shows that the introduction of process equipment improved the traditional methods of production by reducing the energy dissipated and time involved thereby increasing the yield.
Th e council initiated a project to upgrade the traditional method of shea butter production with the aim of upgrading and standardizing the process techniques employed by the local processors to enhance production in terms of quantity and quality Th is will also develop, design and fabricate machines for the upgraded Shea butter production plant and transfer the upgraded technology to small and medium scale entrepreneurs. Th e upgraded technology reduced the drudgery and laborious nature of the traditional processing method with respect to the processing time, quantity and quality of the fi nal Shea butter product; thus improving the effi ciency of the production process. Th e upgraded equipment was deployed to a rural community in Agbakueji, Kwara State, Nigeria.
Th e Shea nut processing plant has catalyzed the establishment of several processing Centres around the area. Th is has helped in creating several Shea nut processing SMEs with attendant job creation along the entire value chain. Experts in the industry has further corroborated Th e Council’s assertion that investment in the Shea butter industry will lead to poverty reduction among the rural women, generate more employment and income for the rural co-operatives, generate foreign exchange and contribute to GDP.
Th e federal government through the council has also commenced the establishment of a “Protocol” for Shea nut extraction at pre, present and post extraction management levels aimed at transforming the Nigerian Shea sector into a multibillion naira industry. In line with this, the federal government has establish a Shea nut processing Centre in Abaji Area Council of the FCT, organize capacity building workshops on best practices for quality improvement for Shea nut pickers and processors in the Shea producing zones of in the NE, NW and SW zones of the country. Th is is in order to produce competitive products to meet Local and international specifi cation, train processors on improved packaging methods and branding, promote Shea plantation establishment in collaboration with NASPAN and state governments for raw materials sustainability. It has also commenced organisation of sensitization workshops to enlighten Shea producing communities on the economic importance of the Shea tree and the need to stop felling it for fi re wood and charcoal production.
