The Shea tree is native to about 16 West African and African countries namely Senegal, Guinea, Cote d’lvoire, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Sudan, Uganda and Ethiopia. It covers a swath of the continent, some 5,000km long and 400-750km wide. The West African production of Shea nut is estimated at 900,000 metric tonnes which is based on traded volume. This estimate is less than actual production since it does not include nuts collected from the wild and those consumed locally.
Its fruit, the Shea nut, is a spherical, ellipsoid berry about 3-5 cm long. It consists of a thin brown shell enclosing a single, dark-brown, egg-shaped seed embedded in a yellowish-green sweet pulp. Shea trees are in the wild and grow easily in the savannah belt that separates the Sahara Desert from the verdant, tropical coast of West Africa. In a favourable environment, germination of the nut takes place within 7-10 days. In places where nuts are planted the growth is slow and seedlings take 2-3 years to reach field planting. Gestation period lasts for 15-20 years, which makes domestication difficult.
Flowering starts at the age of 20 years, and the plant matures at the age of 40-50 years and can fruit for more than 200 years. Average production is between 15 and 20 kg of fresh fruit/tree, and about one tree in three is productive in each year. On average, 50 kg of fresh nuts give 20 kg of dry kernels which contain 40-55% of a fat which has the consistency of butter. The fatty acid composition of Shea butter is: palmitic acid 5-9%; stearic acid 30-41%; oleic acid 49-50%; and linoleic acid 4-5%.
In Ghana the shea tree only grows in the Northern regions where the climate is dryer compared to the south. Typically, the shea occurrence zone lies in the zone of 600 and 1400mm of annual rainfall (DFSC, 2000). Ghana is reputed to be the the world’s fourth largest shea producer – supplies 94,000 metric tons (MT) of shea annually to the Global market and is known for its high-quality nuts.
Shea butter is an edible vegetable oil or fat extracted from sun-dried kernels of the Shea nut (Vitellaria paradoxa syn. Butyrospermum paradoxum or parkii). Shea butter is processed to make a cocoa butter substitute and is used in the cosmetic industry; it also represents a valuable source of fat for cooking in the areas where it is produced. It is a natural fat with wide cosmetics application as a moisturizer, salve or lotion that is extracted from the nut of the African Shea tree by crushing, boiling and stirring.
Apart from its traditional, domestic and commercial applications at the village level, Shea butter also has industrial applications in the cosmetics industry. It also has medical applications as it is used as a base for medicinal ointments because of its healing properties. Anti-inflammatory and emollient properties are also some features that distinguish Shea butter in comparison to other commodities.
The impact and benefits of the shea nut is directly felt by women and youths in communities in which they are found, and also by extension the entire country. Some of these benefits, among others, include:
Improvement in Shea butter processing skills among women
Income generation and Wealth creation
Women and youth empowerment
Employment creation especially among youths that will work in the factory
Improvement in standard of living
Reduction of social vices caused by unemployment among youths
Socio economic development and growth
Industrial development and growth
Effective natural resources management (Shea nuts)
Increase in national GDP
There is a combination of aspects that make the shea nut an interesting product for poverty reduction. In Ghana the majority of the poor are people who live in rural areas in the northern parts of Ghana. The poorest are usually farmers. Annual rainfall lies around 1000mm per year which means that the climate is unsuitable for the cultivation of crops like palm, or cocoa, however the climate is suitable for the shea tree to grow (DFSC,2000). For shea nut production little investment is needed as the shea tree is an indigenous species and it occurs in large numbers in the whole of northern Ghana, the only investment needed is time and labor to pick the fruits.
Another aspect of the shea, other than many other crops, is that it generates income specifically for women as it is traditionally seen as women’s business. Besides this, shea fruits are one of the few natural resources accessible for the landless poor. Finally, there is significant demand for shea products both within Ghana as on the international market, which is important for the income generating potential of the shea tree, fruit and nut.
It is not surprising that the key suppliers of Shea nuts are members of women Shea cooperatives. There are other members of the various communities that are into Shea nuts collection as well. The Shea also provides local packaging companies with the opportunity of product packaging and the supply of packaging materials.
