Zakaria Iddi, the
National Coordinator of Shea Network Ghana (SNG), a civil society organisation,
has called on government to decouple the shea sector and its entire value chain
from the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) in order to give it the attention it
deserves and needs for growth.
This, he said, will
help fast-track issues to enhance the sector, which has seen its fortunes
dwindle.
According to Mr.
Iddi, shea-nuts have the potential to address poverty in the North, and it is
high time governments stopped paying lip-service to the sector and start to act
by giving it the needed attention to grow like the cocoa sector.
The industry, he
stressed, has engaged over 900,000 people, mainly women: “The sector can engage
still more if government heeds the call of stakeholders to act on separating
the sector from COCOBOD.
“Cocoa and shea are
quite different; they need different agencies and strategies to deal with their
issues. Putting shea under Ghana Cocoa Board makes the sector retrogress,” he
stated.
He stated that the
Ghana Cocoa Board Act puts cocoa, coffee and shea under one umbrella with equal
opportunities, but cocoa has dominated the economy as a cash crop because of
the attention and commitment governments have given to it over years.
“The shea sector
embedded under COCOBOD has made it difficult for this sector to get much-needed
attention from government and investors,” he said.
Mr. Iddi believes
separating the shea sector from COCOBOD will go a long way to increase
investment opportunities the crop deserves, as well as enhance the sector’s
development potential and that of the entire value chain.
Mr. Iddi stated
this at a two-day training and education programme to enhance the knowledge of
selected journalists across the country in Tamale, held to improve the shea
sector’s production in the Savannah ecological zone.
The workshop was on
the theme ‘The Ghana Shea Sector and the
Capacity of Media on Shea Reporting’, aimed at encouraging journalists to
take interest in reporting shea activities in the country.
The event was organised
by the SNG with funding from the BUSAC Fund, and also enlightened the media
regarding challenges confronting the sector and the view of media on the best
way to enhance the sector so as to improve the livelihoods of the pickers and
the rural dwellers.
‘Stop destruction of shea trees for charcoal’
The National
Coordinator also called for implementation of the Forestry Law to protect the shea
trees from being destroyed for charcoal. According him, neglect of enforcing
the law has led to high depletion of the shea trees which serve as food for the
rural dwellers, as well as dwindling the industry.
Joseph. A.
Yidana, a Lecturer at the University for Development Studies (UDS),
called on government to develop a national Shea Development Strategic Plan for
the sector.
This, he said, will
help to boost the industry and create more jobs to alleviate poverty in the
rural areas, as it has compelled the youth to migrate to urban centres.
He bemoaned the
rate at which shea trees are being reduced drastically in the forest reserves,
and therefore called on authorities to check the menace of hunters and chain-saw
operators.
He urged the youth
to venture into shea production to earn a living due to its high demand on the
global market.
Senyo Kpelly,
Executive Director of Sekaf Ghana Limited, said there is a need to sensitise
the media on shea’s value and enable them to disseminate this knowledge to the
public, since it is the power-tool for reaching out to the general public.
He said the network
has adopted new sustainability projects to improve shea tree planting
materials, parkland management practices, and conservation of resources to
sustain the industry.
Mr. Kpelly called
for support to industries that process the products in-country, since they
contribute to the economic growth. He reiterated that his organisation has been
able to engage more than 60 women in processing and about 100 on the farm to
pick the nuts. Source:B&FT
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