FG partners to stimulate Shea butter, cotton for global

Minister of state, FMITI Hajia Aisha Abubarkar

* FMITI collaborates FMARD, NACOTAN for African cotton Congress.

In her drives to economic diversification using agriculture, the Federal Government (FG) through the Ministry of Industry Trade and Investment (FMITI) has sealed a deal to partner other stakeholders for the promotion of  Shea butter and cotton crops towards attracting foreign currency in the global markets. This was unveiled by the Minister of state, FMITI Hajia Aisha Abubarkar at a press conference held in Abuja.

Towards this objective, the FG through FMITI will be partnering Global Shea Alliance to organizing an international conference tagged “Shea 2018” towards reinstating back the country to its former global position as Nigeria was once the highest producer of Shea butter with 57 per cent of the world Shea nuts production approximated at $117b according to the global Shea market report, while that of the cosmetics industry stands at $382b.

 The Minister of State, Hajia Aisha Abubakar during a press conference held on the upcoming conference scheduled for 12-14^th March 2018 said it was expected to be an eye openers for many local stakeholders in the country as there would be interface of ideas and improved technologies from across the globe that would enhance productivity in Nigeria. President Mohammadu Buhari of Federal Republic of Nigeria may likely open the event.

Speaking on the economic potential of Shea butter, Hajia Abubarkar said Nigeria stands to gain a lot in the informal subsector, but pointed it has to be properly harnessed for more proactiveness to boosting employment, alleviate poverty, create wealth for individuals and the nation, sustain the environment and attract foreign investment.

She added that the Shea butter conference would afford the country business linkage opportunities with the rest of the world as it would reduce trade barriers and also enhance sustainability pointed that “the country is on the right path to diversifying her economy through strategic focus on the commodities export business. Shea butter has the potential to eradicate poverty, improve rural economy and also provides wealth for our teeming youths”

The minister said that her Ministry would collaborate with the National Cotton Association of Nigeria (NACOTAN) and the Federal Ministry Agriculture and Rural Development to organize the 16th Annual International African Cotton Congress with focus on mechanized farming as essential equipment to boost commercial productivity of the crop.

 She decried the scarcity of improved seeds for cotton farmers despite our good fertile land for production, but very optimistic that the conference would provide Nigeria an interface opportunity with other international best practices as well asnew technologies for farming.

Hajia Abubakar advised the cotton farmers to be more organized so as to be able to benefit in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) anchor borrower program through the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) noting that her ministry would not relent in encouraging the farmers to engage more in commercial production thereby moving away from subsistence farming.

In her chat with Food Farm News, the Director, Commodities and Product Inspectorate Department, FMITI, Mrs. Opelolu Opeewe said that Shea butter and cotton from the ministry’s view have a very comparative advantage the country has not properly tapped for more wealth creation, pointed that Shea butter plantation has not been fully developed in Nigeria, and the production were still from the wild.

Director, Commodities and Product Inspectorate Department, FMITI, Mrs. Opelolu Opeewe

Mrs. Opelolu Opeewe wanted the country to have a plantation on this crop rather depending on the wild grown stressed that “ we have been consuming it locally and most of the Shea tress are in the wild, but  not in any plantation so we need to thank the organizers of this program for organizing the Shea 2018 in order for us to come together to train our women using Shea butter into cosmetics and other derivatives that we can start to be exporting  to Europe or  within Africa, let us even cover the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region”

Speaking on cotton, she said that “When you talk of cotton the best long staple fiber is found in Nigeria but the problem we have been facing was on the quality of available seeds which the President of NACOTAN has said they have gotten the right ones thereby promising that the harvest for this year was going to be better than before”

The Director added that the youths would be fully involved, and the truth was that when you talk of the training for cosmetics and others, we are actually leveraging on them. The third day of the program will be free training for the youths and products will be brought for sighting. 

Food farm news further spoke with Mohammed Ahmed Kontagora, a Shea butter stakeholder who testified to the fact that the crop activity has been done in the informal way in Nigeria saying that “this is why we feel it is the right time for Nigeria to take its rightful place by organizing the conference that will bring in experts from around the world so that we can now move the sector from the informal to the formal sector. Also the Nigerian Export Promotion Council and Nigerian Custom Service must be invited to this event so as to be able to collate data of production and export”

Jibril Bokani, National President Shea Product Association of Nigeria, Aaron Adu, Director, Africa Operations  Global Shea Alliance &Mohammed Ahmed Kontagora, CEO Shea Agro Nigeria Limited

The Regional Director for Africa Operations for Global Shea Alliance, the event organizers, Mr. Aaron Adu told Food Farm News that traditional ways of collecting Shea nuts in the wild by women and younger people has been in existence for a long period, saying the conference is meant to give a paradigm shift to modern ways of production, processing and value addition for international market space thereby creating more wealth and job in the country.

Mr. Adu pointed that the conference would provide a platform for the people who are interested in going into Shea butter business like cream, soap and other derivatives saying on 14th of march, the third day of the conference would be a training day for small businesses like “training on how to make hair cream, skin cream and lips sticks from Shea butter.

The President of the National Cotton Association of Nigeria (NACOTAN) Mr. Anibe Achulogu stated that the drop in the production of cotton in the country was due to scarcity of improved cotton seeds to farmers cum lack of credit loans through the commercial banks coupled other agro inputs not getting to farmers on time.

He pointed that the ministry was currently taking a proactive steps to ensure proper support for cotton farmers through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) anchor borrowers saying the Honorable Minister has been talking to the apex bank on behalf of the association.