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Vice President says shea
industry will be overhauled
From Nathaniel Glover-Meni, Ouagadougou,
Burkina Faso
Ouagadougou, March 25, Ghanadot/GNA – Vice President John Mahama
has said the government would overhaul the shea industry as part
of sweeping moves to transform the industry into a priority
sector.
As part of the move, a Sheanut Development Board would be
established to help Ghana tap into the fast expanding global
shea trade which is projected to gross some 500 million dollars
per annum within the next five years.
The Vice President, who announced these measures in the
Burkinabe capital, Ouagadougou, on Tuesday, said the shift
reflected the government’s “recognition of the crucial role that
the shea crop plays in the socio-economic development of the
savannah area of the country”.
“Government has made the development of the shea industry a
priority in its national development agenda” so as to “harness
the resources in the Savannah belt of Ghana for accelerated
development.”
Vice President Mahama was speaking at the second International
Shea conference aimed at optimizing the global value chain and
use of the product to promote improved rural livelihoods for
women in West Africa.
Organized by the West Africa Trade Hub, the conference brought
together policy makers, researchers, producers and financiers to
dilate on steps that must be taken to increase shea trade and
promote quality.
Vice President Mahama said premium would be placed on the
development of Shea nuts into a cash crop as was done for the
cocoa industry in the past.
“The understanding of government with these commitments is to
make the shea nut industry the major driving force in the
accelerated development of the savannah areas of Ghana”.
Already, government has received funds from the International
Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) and the African
Development Bank (ADB) to commence the transformation process,
he said.
Despite its propensity to provide all-year-round employment to
producers, the sector is grappling with some challenges
including poor processing and the difficulty in domesticating
the crop, which remains largely a wild crop.
As a result, just about half of the expected produce is
harvested annually.
Vice President Mahama said the challenges would be tackled
holistically to encourage a higher percentage in production in
the coming years.
He said government would provide the farmers with protective
clothing to guard them against snake and insect bites.
The Burkinabe Prime Minister, Mr Tertius Zongo, appealed to West
African governments to take advantage of shea trade to
drastically reduce poverty in their countries.
Mr Samuel Laeuchli, Charge d’Affaires of the United States
Embassy in Burkina Faso, pledged the US government’s support in
transforming the sector into a major source of foreign exchange
for West African countries in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and
food industries.
GNA |
