Abubakar Sani Bello became the fifth elected governor of Niger State at a time recession was threatening to rip Nigeria apart. Not long after, recession actually came. Money from the Federation Account plummeted. States ran into problems.
In Bello’s enclave, however, lies a natural resource (like “Vibranium” in the Black Panther’s Wakanda) that has been christened the ‘money tree’ and is capable of raising the state to achieve its 3:20:20 developmental plan. That resource is the shea tree. Niger State has the largest collection of Shea trees in the world. It controls about 54 per cent of all the trees in Nigeria and of the vaunted 325,000 MT of Shea nut and butter exported from Nigeria.
Niger State is indisputably entitled to be the Shea capital of the world. The Shea tree really does have the potential to be the “Vibranium” of Niger State, not only drawing in improved agricultural technology and revenues to make it sustainable but at the same time providing an impetus to development of eco-compliant agro, pharmaceutical and cosmeceutical ind-ustries.
“Now highly sought for a variety of reasons (including WHO accepted stearin and olein products derivable from its kernel) the Shea tree leaves, fruit, nut, kernel, cake and butter are of immense value when properly processed and certified” says the Niger State Shea Sector Development programme (NSSSDP).
The Governor Bello administration had recognised the opportunity and knew that for the state to make headway in harvesting the ‘money tree’, the private sector had to be involved. The Niger State government therefore appointed a consultant, First heritage Global Investments Limited, leading a team of experts, to come up with the Niger State Shea Sector Development Programme (NSSSDP).
One of its assignments is to draw a Masterplan for the expansion of the shea sector value chain and structuring of a shea sector economy. The consultants insist that this requires a new value chain matrix for the Shea sector, which their experts have now produced to guide the development of the Masterplan. That new matrix showing all the opportunities available to Nigerians in the Shea sector has been published already in NSSSDP publications, including its “better life from Shea butter” sensitisation flyers.
The Masterplan is to address a situation where, although Shea products and Shea based products are sold around the world earning billions of dollars, neither the state government nor the proximate communities to these valuable resource derive commensurate value or even benefit. The NSSSDP has developed an advocacy concerning the work that needs to be done and the paradigm shift that it would entail.
This advocacy has already been delivered to the local communities around the Shea trees, the women from which constitute the “primary growers” who harvest from the snake infested forests during the season with nothing but their basins and bare hands. Under the current supply chain structures used by middlemen, traders and some producers, thousands of the women are formed into some cooperative societies to secure supply of nuts for butter extraction, refining and fractionating facilities, mainly outside Nigeria.
The advocacy has also been shared with International Institutions, NGOs, relevant Civil Society organisations and MDAs Other stakeholders, including the Nigeria Police Force, have attended stakeholders meetings at the Minna Technology Centre established by First Heritage as the head office of the NSSSDP. The NSSSDP has been on the road around the Shea tree zone since last year training, educating and sensitizing the local populace.
First Heritage got Ecocert, a globally renowned name in conformity assessment certification for fair trade, Global Gap, organic goods, to train a team of consultants, inspectors and auditors in compliance assessment and certification under the NOP, EU and ISO standards.
These certifications will open up Nigeria’s Shea products to the high-end formal market for Shea products. No less than 38 were trained. NICERT Limited (Nicert) has been incorporated and set up to act in conjunction with Ecocert Group to bring these services closer to Nigerian farmers.
Consultants are now available to guide farmers on how to comply with these important standards that would open the international market to them and Ecoert through Nicert is able to conduct the inspection and auditing work that certification requires. NICERT LIMITED is one of the special purpose vehicles that the NSSSDP has registered to aggregate capital and technology for the establishment of three important institutions required to implement and sustain the principles of the masterplan.
NSSDP believes that the planet stands to gain a lot by turning to natural organic products like Shea. It said: “It is by now clear that the future of the planet is secure only with regard to the pervasive practice of organic agriculture around the globe to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, ozone layer depletion, planet warming and negative climate change incidents. Not only is organic agriculture good for the planet it is also good for the human physiology. It is currently also the method for producing the most valuable agricultural products around the world.”
Analysts are of the view that if the programme is allowed to crystalyse structures, regulations and institutions, which can enforce the masterplan, Niger State could indeed provide a paradigm of successful resource management that others could emulate. For this reason, a Niger State Shea Sector Development Agency Establishment Law is also being proposed by the consultant and its experts.
