This presentation examined shea butter production and its impact on villagers' lives.

1. UNIVERSITY FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES
FACULTY OF AGRICUTURE
“SHEA BUTTER PRODUCTION AND ITS IMPACT
ON VILLAGERS’ LIVES”
By
Afishata Mohammed Abujaja
(Snr. Lecturer/HOD, DoACSE)
Tamale, 17.06.19

2. ABOUT MYSELF

3. Order of Presentation
❖Introduction/Background to the Shea
❖Shea Butter Processing Techniques:
➢ Traditional Method
➢ Semi-mechanized Method
➢ Fully-mechanized Method
❖Cultural and Economic Importance of the Shea
❖Impact of the Shea Butter Production on Villagers’ lives
❖Unearthed Hidden Potential of the Shea (Future/untapped)
❖Challenges Facing Shea Butter Village Processors
❖Conclusion & Recommendation

4. Introduction
❖The shea tree (Vitellaria paradoxa) is an indigenous crop
that grows mainly in Sub-Saharan Africa and belongs to the
family of Sapotaceae (Hatskevich et al, 2011).
❖ It grows in the wild in the dry Savannah belt of West Africa
from Senegal in the West to Sudan/Uganda in the East of
Africa.
❖The sub species “paradoxa” is mainly found West Africa
(Solid) and “nilotica” is found in East Africa (Liquid).

5. Intro cont
❖Found in 20 different countries as follows: Ghana, Benin,
Chad, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic,
Ethiopia, Guinea Bissau, Guinea- Conakry, Ivory Coast, Mali,
Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Southern Sudan, Togo,
Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya (Bup
et.al, 2013).
❖In Ghana the Shea tree grows mainly in three Northern
Regions
❖The nilotica spp is exported in large quantities and grows
throughout West Africa.

6. Intro Cont
❖Shea covers the entire northern Ghana, with over
78,000km2 (Maranz et al., 2004)
❖As such, Ghana is reported as the second largest producer
of Shea nuts after Mali.
❖Producing an estimated 130,000 MT of nuts per annum
worth US$27 million and 5,000 MT of shea butter valued at
US$6 million annually (SNV, 2006; Dogbevi, 2009).

7. Intro Cont.
❖Shea nuts and its products are listed among the top ten
non-traditional export crops of Ghana.
❖The Shea nuts are harvested during the raining season
(May-August).
❖Nut gathering and processing are exclusively rural activities
for rural women.
❖“Shea butter” is a fatty extract from the seed/nut of the
shea tree.

8. Intro Cont.
❖ The Shea business was previously, a largely opportunistic
trade, with little or no organization at community level.
❖It is called an “opportunistic business” because no one has
ownership rights over the trees and gathering is equally
open to all.
❖Shea butter is one of the commodities that have clear
market potential opportunities (SNV, 2006).

9. Intro Cont.
❖Shea butter as a percentage of total exports is higher in
Ghana (25%) compared to countries such as Benin (0.3%),
Burkina Faso (7.5%) and Mali (6%).
❖While remaining traditionally farmers, most village
dwellers, engaged in one or more non-farm income
generating activities as a means of diversifying their
sources of income using the shea.
❖Lovett (2000) observed that there were about 600,000
women in the region who were engaged in Shea butter-
related ventures.

10. Intro Cont.
❖The volume and value of shea butter export is rising
probably due to demand for use by the cosmetic industries.
❖Over a decade now, shea butter has gained economic
importance because of its recent penetration into the
international market.

11. Shea Butter Processing Techniques
❖Three main techniques are used in processing shea
butter.
1. Traditional method
2. Semi-mechanized method (use of hydraulic/screw
press)
3. Fully mechanized/ industrial methods.

12. Traditional Method
❖This was largely adopted among rural women in Ghana and
is an ancient method.
❖60% of all the crude butter produced in Northern Ghana is
done through the traditional method at an extraction rate
of about 20% -31 % (SNV, 2006).
❖Labour intensive and time consuming because it involves a
number of production processes or stages.
❖Production of one ton of shea butter takes one person 20-
30 hours(Niess,1988).

13. Traditional Method
❖Almost the whole process of the extraction of the butter
was done by hand.
❖Demands large quantities of fuel wood and water
resources.
❖Produces poor quality butter and low profits.
❖Knowledge transmission is informal (passed on from older
generations to younger ones).

14. Traditional Method
Fermentation of the
fruit(heaping/burying).
De-pulping
fruits(removal of the
fleshy mesocarp).
Parboiling and sun-
drying.
De-husking (cracking) to
remove the shells
(stones, sticks, hard
materials).
Sun drying for 5-10 days
(reduces the moisture
content to about 15-
30%).
Nuts crushed/pound
into grits (pieces) ready
for roasting on fire.

15. Steps Involved in the Traditional Prpcessing
Method
Roasting to aid
oil extraction
Grinding into
paste
Kneading and
mixing with
water
Skimming of the Fat
Cooking to obtain
Shea butter
Stirring to cool and
solidify the butter
Shea butter displayed

16. Summary of Traditional Process
1. Crushing of nut by pound using a mortar and pestle or
cracking on a grinding stone.
2. Roasting to aid oil extraction
3. Pound or grind into paste
4. Knead and gradually add water till creamy substance
gotten

17. Summary of Traditional Process
5. Water is poured to creamy paste to separate the butter
from the slurry.
6. Cook emulsion
7. Skim fat
8. Cook to obtain shea butter

18. Semi-mechanized method
❖Utilizes appropriate technology to mechanize some of the
unit operations of the manual traditional system.
❖Uses equipment’s such as a nut crusher, kneader and a
hydraulic/screw press which oftentimes complement the
manual process and reduces the drudgery of traditional
method.
❖Achieves extraction rates of 35-40% from cooked/boiled
nuts and slightly higher rates from raw nuts.
❖Crusher replaces the mortar and pestle in crushing nuts.

19. Semi-mechanized method Cont
❖Also an improved technology for roasting the crushed nuts
is introduced.
❖The improved roaster retains the heat in the compartment
to roast the kernel and reduces time, exposure to heat,
burns, and energy.
❖After roasting, the crushed kernels are milled into paste
and a kneader is use to convert the milled kernel into an
emulsion ready for cooking or heating.
❖This technology replaces the use of the hand in kneading

20. Semi-mechanized method Cont
❖This method of processing result in an improvement in the
shea butter extraction rate from 20 percent to 35 – 40
percent (Addaquay, 2004) .
❖Improves production efficiency and product quality.
❖Crusher and kneader cannot be used without electricity.
❖Produces low quality oil in situations where the operator of
these equipment is inexperienced.

21. Processes involved in the Semi Mechanized Method
Nut
Crusher
Roaster
Grinding Mill
Knead
Machine
Hydraulic/scr
ew press
Emulsion for
cooking

22. Fully Mechanized/Industrial Method
❖Involves the use of machine processors, chemical solvents,
or a combination of the two to extract the oil.
❖Although there are few instances of this technology in
Africa, majority of the fully mechanized processing of shea
butter is found in Europe, Asia, and North America (Chalfin,
2004).
❖The fully mechanized Industrial processing method is highly
efficient compared to the other methods.
❖Produces high quality butter.

23. Cultural and Economic Importance of
the Shea
❖In Western world, shea butter is one of the most commonly
commercially used organic ingredient in cosmetics,
chocolate and pharmaceutical industries (Alander, 2004;
Stichting, 2006).
❖It can be used as lotions and raw butter without any other
ingredients.
❖Lovett (2004) concluded that Shea butter has a great
market potential for export to Europe and the United
States, where it is considered as a luxury product.

24. Cultural and Economic Importance of
the Shea
❖Culturally shea butter is added as additive to preparing
local drinks for visitors.

25. Impact of Shea Butter
Production on Villagers’ Lives
The industry is dominated by rural
women who are mostly disadvantaged
economically due to their limited access
to productive assets.
Selling shea fruits and butter ensures
economic independence for many rural
women in Northern Ghana.
Shea butter production is a good way
for women empowerment and
contributes to a better life standard of
women who make it day by day.
Buipe Shea Factory
Selling of Fresh Shea Fruit

26. Impact of Shea Butter Production on
Villagers’ Lives
Reduce rural poverty
❖ Shea products are good for rural poverty
reduction particularly for women and
children.
❖ Shea butter is a reserve for women. Shea
butter gives women the opportunity to
generate income (regarded as “Women’s
gold” and “Cocoa of the North”).
Support to Livelihoods
❖ Serves as sources of livelihood for villagers
(Support chn. Education, access to good
health and nutrition).
Beautification/Skin Protection
❖ Used as pomade/body cream for the body.
❖ Rubbed on the skin of newly born babies,
before they are given warm baths
Addition of Africa borotutu tree
Ivory Butter

27. Impact of Shea Butter Production on
Villagers’ Lives
❖Ripened Fruits eaten fresh (mineral and vitamin ).
❖At room temperature, it remains solid, and it is used as a
base for certain traditional ointments for the treatment of
fractures and broken bones.
❖Wood from the shea tree is suitable for durable tools such
as, hoe handles for farming, pestles and mortars.
❖ Carving of talking drums which play important roles in the
cultural life of the people.
❖Complement irrigation and rainfed agriculture (inputs acq.)

28. Unearthed Hidden Potentials of the
Shea Tree
❖The shea tree also has a great, untapped capacity for
producing abundant amounts of latex that can constitute
an important source of raw material for the production of
balloons, gloves and condoms (Ofosu and Quainoo, 2013;
Dogbevi, 2009).
❖The residue serves as excellent fuel, and can also be mixed
with mud for plastering traditional mud huts.
❖Researchers have also found out that, the leaves of the
shea tree can be used as fodder and as an ingredient for
making alkaline and paint (Lovett and Haq, 2000).

29. Challenges of Shea Butter Village
Processors
❖Climate change is affecting the population density of shea
trees in all villages.
❖Production of shea butter in small quantities of sub-
standard to meet international standards and industries.
❖Villagers have limited working capital (limiting production
to daily survival).
❖Inadequate market opportunities (resulting from lack of
market information).
❖Weak business management skills

30. Challenges of Shea Butter Village
Processors
❖Destruction/cutting of shea trees to produce charcoal,
cultivate cashew and mango plantations.
❖Seasonal nature of the shea nuts result in flooding the
market thereby reducing the prices.

31. Conclusion and Recommendation
❖These constraints contribute significantly to hindering the
potential growth of the shea butter industry and limit it from
serving as mere daily surviving strategy for villagers.
❖This further contribute to siting shea cooperatives rather in
urban centers.
❖Looking at the extent to which shea trees are getting extinct,
there should be strict policies to protect shea trees.
❖This is also because of the long agronomic cycle of the shea
species.

32. Publications for Further Reading
1. Abujaja, A. M., Hudu, Z., and Adam, H. (2014). Influence of Socio-
Economic Characteristics on the Utilization of Development
Interventions: A Case Study of Shea Butter Processors in Northern
Ghana. Journal of Biology, Agriculture and Health care. 4(16):
99 – 106.
2. Abujaja, A. M., Adam, H., and Hudu, Z. (2013). Effects of
Development Interventions on the Productivity and Profitability of
Women Shea Butter Processors in the West Gonja District of
Northern Ghana. Asian Journal of Agriculture and Rural
Development. 3(12): 914 – 923.

33. Thank you