Agriculture
Minister Urges Stakeholders To Explore Shea Nuts Potentials
The Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Mrs Aisha Abubakar has advised stakeholders in the Shea sub-sector to add value to the nuts through processing to access the international market.
The minister gave the advice at the 11th Annual International Shea Conference organised by the Global Shea Alliance (GSA) and National Shea Products Association of Nigeria (NASPAN) in Abuja on Monday.
The theme of the 2018 Conference was “Going Further Together”.
According to her, the country’s ability to tap the benefit from the sector depends on how well we develop the capacity of stakeholders, especially women to produce highly competitive Shea butter.
“Practitioners will agree with me that the price differential of Shea nut in the international market when compared to that of Shea butter is huge.
“We must, therefore, emphasise the importance of adding value to our nuts through processing at this conference and other products that meet safety and quality requirements of the international market.
“It is unacceptable that about 80 per cent shea is exported in raw form.
“For us to derive maximum benefit from the sector and ensure its continued sustenance, we must develop our ability and capacity in creating diversified products from Shea.
“In this way, we can achieve expanded market access for the Shea and Shea products, “she said.
According to the minister, this must be achieved if the country must embrace continuous research and development in the sector toward the development of new diversified products and engaging consumers.
She said that as the theme of the conference implied, as ‘togetherness’ connoted greatness, it was imperative for all stakeholders to articulate common position and agree on sustainable approach towards the development of the Shea sector.
She urged Nigerians to use this opportunity to explore the huge potential available in the Shea sector for the benefit of the country at large.
Mr Jibril Bokani, the President of NASPAN, said that the country produced 57 per cent of the world production of Shea, adding that this would in turn create lot of jobs, wealth and opportunities.
He said that the challenges facing the sub-sector were enormous, calling on the Federal Government to assist the association to compete favourably at the international world.
“Some of the challenges are inconsistency in the quality, there is no uniformity and Nigeria is vast. Niger state is doing its best in Shea. We need other collaboration from other Shea producing states.
“Without uniform in quality across board, there are serious challenges. We want all the Shea producing states to be involved. We have only three to four states in the country that are serious with Shea production.
“We are pushing on the other states to come on board. With the percentage of Shea produced in the country, this means, we can equally determine the price if we are really serious.
“There has been support from the Federal Government, but there is need for more”, he said.
Bokani, however, added that in the next few years, he expected to see a refined Shea butter in the country, adding that some companies had indicated interest.
“We should not be exporting the nuts, but the butter and other potential from the nuts. This will help us grow faster and generate income to our economy”.
Earlier, Mr Aliyu Abdulhammed, the Managing Director, Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), said Nigeria was losing about 60 to 70 per cent value of Shea nuts through collection process and called for training on that.
“The quality of Shea nut itself is collected by women that is why we lose 60 to 70 per cent of the value.
“These women do not know how to collect it well, store it well, how to create grade one, two and three stages.
“If the primary processing is not done well, it affects the quality of oil or butter they will produce downstream.
“Our primary intervention here is on how we can organised these women to train them down and create a business module whereby they will collect and earn more from the beginning.
“It is left for the association, value chain actors to collaborate with NIRSAL. We are going to invite them and sit with them.
“We will do value chain analysis by breaking down the value chain of Shea into its component parts and create business Module around each component and that will allow finances into it, “he said.
Abdulhammed said that the government had put policies in place, noting that it was now left for the actors in the sub-sector to take advantage of the policies on ground.
Federal Government and the Ogun State Government, on Wednesday, distributed farm inputs to farmers as part of effort to address food security challenge.
The State Director, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Toyin Ayo-Ajayi, during the flag-off ceremony of Inputs Redemption Under The National Agricultural Growth Scheme-Agro Pocket (NAGS-AP), in Ogun State, disclosed that beneficiaries of the gesture were primarily rice, maize and cassava farmers across the State.
Ayo-Ajayi commended the Ogun State Government for partnering with the government at the centre for the effort in supporting farmers with inputs that would bring about yieldings for local consumption and likely exportation.
She noted that government is supporting rice, cassava and maize farmers with inputs worth N212,000; N189,000 and N186,000 respectively.
The Permanent Secretary in the State Ministry of Agriculture, Mrs Kehinde Jokotoye, who represented the Commissioner in the Ministry, Bolu Owotomo, stated that traditional farmers are critical in food production, hence the need to encourage and support them with inputs that would bring about desired results during harvesting.
Owotomo said: “Let us make good use of this opportunity, so that the success of this phase will make farmers benefit more from the state and federal governments of Nigeria.”
Earlier, State Coordinator, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Oluwatoyin Ayo-Ajayi, appreciated the present administration for partnering with the federal government for the initiative, adding that the programme is designed to support farmers at the grassroots level in cassava, rice and maize with inputs such as, seeds, pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers, to boost their production and enhance their livelihood.
The Niger State Government has mapped out 10,000 hectares of farmland in Gbapo Community of Katcha Local Government Area of the State for smallholder farmers to benefit from the state government’s agricultural intervention programme.
Two thousand out of the 10,000 holders of the farmlands have already received inputs.
At a flag-off ceremony in Yinti Village, the facilitator of the programme, Shinkafan Nupe, Malam Idris Usman Makanta, assured the farmers of increased distributions to the mapped-out ten thousand (10,000) farmlands if farmers respond positively.
He explained that the commencement of the two thousand is to measure the positive response of farmers before obtaining full-scale support.
Malam Makanta stated that this initiative aligns with the farmers’ initial commitment through Niger Foods, whose mission is primarily geared towards establishing efficient and profitable agricultural businesses to support the present administration of Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago’s quest to boost agricultural productivity in the state.
He also commended Niger Foods for their steadfastness and resilience in the effective implementation of the input financing scheme.
Makanta reiterated the commitment of the State Governor in making judicious use of the arable land in the state.
Shinkafan Nupe, therefore, urged the farmers to support the Governor by using the inputs wisely so that the dream can be actualised.
The Gombe State Government has empowered a total of 573,429 farmers and entrepreneurs under the 4th phase of the GO-CARES programme.
The programme was officially flagged off by Governor Inuwa Yahaya in another major step towards alleviating poverty and supporting the state’s vulnerable populations.
The Governor, while inaugurating the disbursement in Akko Community of Akko Local Government Area, restated his administration’s commitment to the welfare of vulnerable citizens in the state.
He was represented by the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Salihu Baba Alkali, who is also the Chairman of the Steering Committee on GO- CARES implementation.
“The 4th phase of GO-CARES will directly and indirectly impact a total of 573,429 citizens across the state. Of these, 152,429 individuals will benefit directly through cash transfers, livelihood grants, agricultural inputs, and operational grants to small businesses”, he stated.
The Governor added that, “421,000 people will be indirect beneficiaries through infrastructural projects such as classroom blocks, healthcare facilities, WASH services, and rural infrastructure projects like culverts and drainages”.
Yahaya, reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring that the state’s most vulnerable citizens are not left behind in the state’s development.
According to him, “Earlier this year, on June 25, 2024, we flagged off the distribution of improved seedlings, fertilizers, and herbicides to less privileged farmers in Malam Sidi, Kwami Local Government Area, signaling the commencement of the 4th phase implementation of GO-CARES under Result Area 2”.
The Governor reiterated that these initiatives have had a significant impact on the livelihoods of beneficiaries and the overall agricultural sector.
He explained that, “Today’s ceremony marked the simultaneous launch of activities under all three GO-CARES Result Areas for the 4th phase. These areas include: State Cash Transfer Grants: 2,500 direct beneficiaries; Labour Intensive Public Works: 2,700 direct beneficiaries; Livelihood Grants: 10,000 direct beneficiaries; and Basic Services: 405,000 indirect beneficiaries”.
