Tree Aid, an International Development Organization working in Northern Ghana has commissioned and handed over three shea butter processing centres to women groups at three different communities in the Kassena-Nankana area of the Upper East Region.

The beneficiary communities are Nyangua and Biu in the Kassena-Nankana Municipal and Chiana-Abolo in the Kassena-Nankana West District.

The International Development and Environmental Organization under its ‘Grow Hope Project’ supported women groups who had started the construction of processing centres to complete them and install equipment needed to aid the processing of quality shea butter. The project, which started in 2018 is being facilitated by the Organization for Indigenous Initiatives and Sustainability (ORGIIS) and financially supported by the Jersey Overseas Aid.

Speaking at the separate commissioning of the projects, Mr Jonathan A. Naaba, the Country Programmes Manager of Tree Aid explained that while the women groups began the construction of the processing centres, Tree Aid provided and installed all the necessary processing machinery including crashers, kneaders, miller, roasters, accessories and motors for the powering of the equipment which amounted to GHC108,000.00.

Giving the background of the project, the Country Programmes Manager explained that the Grow Hope Project aimed at improving livelihoods and increasing household income from sustainable forest product supplies for 1,508 rural households while reducing the threat to the ecosystems across the two districts.

“The project seeks to reach this goal through the development of viable non-timber forest product (NTFP) enterprises and cooperatives; through sustainable NTFP utilization, firewood management and the increase of tree cover on farmland. The project seeks to help vulnerable rural communities to take full advantage of opportunities for commercial trade in NTFPs whilst protecting forest resources.”
Mr Jonathan A. Naaba, Country Programmes Manager.

The Programmes Manager of ORGIIS Ghana, Mr Clifford Amoah Adagenera, also noted that over the years, ORGIIS in collaboration with Tree Aid and its partners had built the capacities of women to take advantage of the potentials of economic trees to improve their livelihoods and reduce poverty. He further expressed optimism that the processing centres would help the women increase production and meet market demand both in supply and quality. He also promised to continue to provide market links to their products.

Mr Alhassan Abdul-Baqi, the Development Planning Officer of the Kassena-Nankana Municipal Assembly, who spoke on behalf of Mr William Aduum, the Municipal Chief Executive, encouraged the women to maintain the machines to keep them in shape for continuous production. A member of the Buru Cooperative Union of the Nyangua Community, Madam Mary Baduriwo then expressed gratitude to ORGIIS Ghana, Tree Aid and its partners for the support and pledged to use the facilities to increase productivity.

Background

Ghana is West Africa’s largest exporter of unrefined shea butter, with exports currently valued at USD66 million. There are around 94 million shea trees in the country, which produce around 60,000 tonnes of shea nuts a year. According to the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), the country wants to double its shea butter exports by 2023.

Traditionally, shea butter – the fat extracted from the fruit of the shea tree – has been processed by women. The processing, much of which is done by hand, is laborious and slow. In recent years, local women have formed cooperatives to coordinate the production and sales of their product more efficiently. They have gained the support of Non-Governmental Organizations that provide finance for new mechanical processing and warehousing facilities to scale up production levels, thereby providing the opportunity to take advantage of the growing cosmetic industry.

According to Global Shea Alliance, around 90% of shea butter production is used in food and cooking (widely used as cooking oils) whiles the rest are used in personal care products. Shea butter has unique properties and a wide range of applications, making it an attractive ingredient to cosmetic companies. The demand for shea butter in the cosmetic industry is growing, driven by increasing demand for natural personal products. With Europe being the main export market for shea products and European consumers willing to pay more for high-quality personal care products, the global shea butter market is estimated to reach USD 2.9 billion by 2025.