The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) says it plans to make Plateau a Shea Butter export hub, to generate more foreign exchange for the country.
Mr Samson Idowu, the Regional Coordinator, NEPC, said this at a capacity workshop for farmers and stakeholders titled: “Handling and Processing of Shea for Export Competitiveness” in Wase, headquarters of Wase Local Government Area (LGA) of the state on Wednesday.
Idowu said that the training was to boost the production of the commodity in order to meet export demands.
“The objective of this seminar is to position the Shea farmers and processors in Plateau to be major players in the global Shea trade.
“The trade globally which is currently estimated to worth $6.8 billion is expected to rise by 7.7 per cent in the next 10 years and to us, that’s an opportunity that cannot be left untapped.
“So, we are here together to see how we can train farmers on good agricultural best practices in processing and storage so that it can meet international standards,” he said.
The regional coordinator, who stressed the importance of the Shea tree for business purposes, said that to achieve maximum benefits from the business, stakeholders were expected to observe all they have learnt from the workshop.
“At the end of the workshop, the farmers and processors will have their knowledge and understanding expanded so that they can process Shea butter or Shea nuts in a hygienic way that can get more value for the commodity.
“We believe with all these efforts being put together, we can make the state an export hub not only for Shea butter, but other agricultural commodities that the state has competitive and comparative advantage on.
“So, we call on other stakeholders to work with us making this feasible, including domestication of the Shea tree so that the dream of making the state an export hub and the goal of diversifying the economy will be a reality in the nearest future,” he said.
Mr Austin Sunday, the Chairman, Wase chapter of Nigerian Shea Butter Suppliers and Manufacturers (NISBASM), commended NEPC for the training, saying that it has broaden the participants’ knowledge on Shea business.
Also, Alhaji Kassim Ahmed, the Chairman of Wase Shea Marketers, said he has been dealing in Shea seed business for over 6 years, but never knew that it had so much importance till he came for the workshop.
He assured of transferring the knowledge gained to others to ensure that they achieve the goal of the workshop.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that as part of efforts to diversify the revenue base of the economy, the Federal Government introduced non-oil export initiative which identifies and promotes non-oil commodities such as Shea Butter.
NAN also reports that Nigeria is the leading exporter of Shea butter in the world and the Shea tree is grown in about 21 of the 36 states of the federation.
