How Nigeria can make billions from shea butter value chain

Shea butter, mainly used in Africa as waterproofing wax, cooking oil,  hairdressing, in candle-making, and as an ingredient in medicinal ointments, is derived from shea nuts, which Nigeria is known world-wide as its major producer. Experts including the Director-General of the Raw Material Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Professor Hussaini D. Ibrahim  agreed that Nigeria […]

Shea butter, mainly used in Africa as waterproofing wax, cooking oil,  hairdressing, in candle-making, and as an ingredient in medicinal ointments, is derived from shea nuts, which Nigeria is known world-wide as its major producer.

Experts including the Director-General of the Raw Material Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Professor Hussaini D. Ibrahim  agreed that Nigeria has the largest Shea belt in the world, and  it is recognized as the world’s leading producer of Shea nuts with a global production of about 45%.

According to them, the documented annual production is between 330,000mt – 350,000mt while the potential production is estimated at 800,000mt as at 2016.

However, the RMRDC boss said that out of the 800,000mt of Shea nuts produced in Nigeria, only 20,000mt is processed into butter while the rest are exported to neighbouring West African countries.

Our Agric Editor, who has been monitoring the development in the country’s Shea butter value chain, observed that the nation’s processing inability may not be unconnected to the inability of Shea butter produced in Nigeria to meet international standards.

But Madam Docars John, who processes shea butter manually at Garam, an agrarian community in Niger State told Daily Trust on Sunday that the country’s shea trees had the potential to contribute to the economic development of Nigeria, considering the wide range of industrial applications of the shea tree, especially, the nuts.

How Shea butter value chain can fetch the country billions

Shea extract has been traditionally employed for butter production from time immemorial. Shea butter has tremendous skin care, healing, and medicinal properties which makes its demand in various industries very high. Shea butter is being used and exported since the ancient time from Africa.

According to Professor H.D Ibrahim, the oil from the shea butter has low-fat content and hence, it is popularly being used as a substitute for cocoa and palm oil, and this drives its market demand globally.  Apart from this, he said, shea fruits are also consumed directly.  It also provides good quality vitamins and energy to rural dwellers.

“As a result, there is high demand for shea butter in the international market, mainly as a substitute for cocoa butter in the production of chocolate. There is also increasing demand for it in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries. The high proportion of unsaponifiable matter which consists of about 60 – 70% triterpene alcohols, gives shea butter creams good penetrative properties that are particularly useful in cosmetics,’’ he said.

According to him, the Nigerian shea industry has the potentials to contribute significantly to the economic and industrial development of the nation. Nigeria can generate up to $600 million annually from the use of shea butter by the cosmetics industry alone.

Activities along the value chain could provide employment and business opportunities to Nigerians mostly in the shea tree belt.

‘’Approximately, 16 million rural women in Africa contribute to their livelihoods and support their families and children’s education by collecting, processing, and selling shea kernels and butter for local consumption or export,’’ he said.

Why Nigeria is yet to tap from the shea butter value chain

Unfortunately, despite these, the potential of shea butter and its industrial applications have not been fully exploited in the country.

In Nigeria, shea tree is not planted or cultivated as other domesticated crops but occurs naturally in the wild with adaptation to survive bushfire and other harsh conditions. The shea occurring in the wild could take up to a decade to mature into fruit bearing trees. Shea trees do not usually yield fruit until they are 20 years old, and do not reach full maturity until they are 45 years old. However, once productive, they will continue to bear fruits up until their 200th year, Professor H.D Ibrahim said.

However, the long period taken to reach maturity has discouraged its planting in organized plantations.

Up till date, because of the absence of relevant technologies that can develop the traditional shea butter processing method,  people still export the raw nuts which yield very low dividends to the pickers, who are usually not equipped with the supporting infrastructure and machinery to process the fruits into butter and effectively be a part of the more profitable end of the supply chain.

What is the way forward?

Agricultural experts generally believe that with availability of processing equipment, shea butter production will not only be a profitable activity in the rural areas, but will also liberate many from poverty grip. Thus the federal government, through the Raw Material Research and Development Council(RMRDC) has begun promotion of shea butter development locally, the effort, the observers in the sector believe, is already leading to increased production levels and shea butter extraction for export.

RMRDC’s DG said the Council initiated projects aimed at developing the shea industry to produce sustainable raw materials for local industries, provide employment and improve the standard of living of the shea nut growing communities.

One of the areas the Council intervened in the development of the sector was to upgrade the traditional method of shea butter production. The upgraded technology has reduced the drudgery and laborious nature of the traditional processing method with respect to the processing time, quantity and quality of the final product; thus improving the efficiency of the production process. The upgraded equipment was deployed to a rural community in Agbakueji, Kwara State, as a result of the existing cooperative association processing shea nut in the area.

This, he said, has catalyzed the establishment of several processing Centres around the area.

To reduce the long gestation period associated with sheanut trees, he said RMRDC in collaboration with the National Centre for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology (NACGRAB), Ibadan embarked on the exploration and collection of shea tree germplasm from five selected states of Oyo, Kwara, Kogi, Niger and Benue. The exercise was carried out to aid the domestication and improvement of seed handling techniques of shea tree. In addition seed handling training workshops were held for shea nut farmers and processors associations in the five states.

He said recently, the Council acquired eight hectares of land for the establishment of a model shea nut processing Centre in Gawu village, Abaji Area Council of the FCT.

“A feasibility report has been produced for the project.  The Centre would be used as training centre for Shea nut processors in the FCT and surrounding states,’’ he said.

He said till date over 350 women and youths have been trained on best practices for shea kernel production and processing, butter production and production of Shea-based cosmetics and cosmeceuticals in the North West and North East geopolitical zones of the country and the FCT.

According to him, in 2016, improved shea nut seedlings which have 5-7 years gestation period (instead of 25 years for those in the wild) developed by the National Institute for Oilpalm Research (NIFOR) was obtained and planted on the perimeter fence of the land acquired for the establishment of a shea nut processing centre in order to demonstrate to farmers the possibility of domesticating the shea tree.

Daily Trust on Sunday gathered that in an effort to promote the export of shea butter produced in Nigeria, the Council has conducted detailed analysis of locally produced shea butter obtained from various locations. The result of the shea butter produced using the Korean machine was used to provide technical advice to African Women Agri-business Network (AWAN) on the choice of machinery for the establishment of a shea nut processing plant at Gwagawlada. The plant has since been installed and it’s in operation.

According to him, this year, the Council has concluded arrangements to carry out a detailed survey of shea trees population in Nigeria and establish a shea tree plantation to further promote the domestication of the plant.

“Also one of the major plans of the Council is to promote investment in the establishment of a shea butter refining plant in the country and in addition, promote products diversification locally.

“Other major areas our activities will focus on include but not limited to the establishment of mechanized processing centres, facilitation of certification of Nigerian shea butter and production of a directory  of shea nut  producers, pickers, processors, marketers, exporters and suppliers in the country,’’ he said.