Prioritise value addition to shea for economic growth - Vice-President urges African countries

The Vice-President, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, has urged African countries to prioritise value addition to shea to unlock its full economic potential.

She said although global demand for shea continued to rise, particularly in the food, confectionery and cosmetics industries, Africa risked losing significant economic value by exporting unprocessed shea nuts.

“To fully benefit from this opportunity, we must move beyond exporting raw materials and focus on greater value addition,” she said.

The Vice-President said transforming raw shea nuts into butter and refined inputs for industrial use would generate higher revenues, create sustainable jobs and strengthen rural economies.

She was speaking at a Global Shea Alliance conference in Accra yesterday. In attendance are trade ministers and delegates from over 21 African countries and some global industry players. 

The Global Shea Alliance is an NGO coordinating shea sector activities across West Africa, and increasingly expanding into East Africa.

The conference marks its 15th anniversary, bringing together stakeholders from across Africa and the global market to explore strategies for advancement of the sector.

Shea parklands

Prof. Opoku-Agyemang said a long-term success of the shea sector depended on sustainable practices, and therefore, called for the protection and restoration of shea parklands.

The participants

Parklands are unique agroforestry systems that support biodiversity, improve soil fertility and enhance climate resilience across the savannah.

“Protecting them is both an economic necessity and an environmental responsibility,” she said, adding that sustainable management was key to meeting rising global demand while preserving environmental integrity.

Prof. Opoku-Agyemang said expanding processing capacity and improving efficiency along the shea value chain would not only increase output but also ensure that a greater share of profits remained within local economies.

“And by increasing local mobilisation and encouraging investment in processing, we create more jobs for women and young people while ensuring that the greater share of the value generated by this industry remains within our economies,” she added.  

Prof. Opoku-Agyemang also observed that women dominated the shea value chain from nut collection to primary processing, while supporting families and communities across the country.

“Women need to benefit more from the value they create. Addressing this imbalance is not only a matter of equity, but essential for improving productivity and ensuring the sector’s long-term sustainability,” she said.

Challenges

The President of the Global Shea Alliance, Ali Saidu, said ongoing challenges in the industry, particularly policy inconsistencies and supply shortages necessitated closer collaboration between key producing and processing countries.

He said Nigeria was the largest producer of shea nuts, while Ghana remained the leading processor of shea butter.

“This engagement is important for both countries to explore how bilateral cooperation can help address concerns around the supply of shea nuts across the region and globally,” Mr Saidu said.

He said disruptions in supply and varying government policies across countries posed challenges to the industry, making it necessary for leading players to align strategies.

Mr Saidu said anticipated talks between Ghana and Nigeria would examine how to ensure a more stable and efficient flow of raw materials and finished products within the sector.

“The focus will be on how supply chain activities across the region can be better coordinated to support both regional and global demand,” he said.

Support

The French Ambassador to Ghana, Diarra Dimé-Labille, said in collaboration with the European Union, his country had been providing financial and technical assistance to Ghana’s shea sector.

He highlighted the role of the private sector, and called for stronger partnerships to drive investment, innovation and long-term sustainability of the industry.