By Correspondent in Lokoja
Kogi State has been named the best in quality Shea after Niger State.
This was made known at a Shea Conference in Abuja and attended by a delegation from Kogi Enterprise Development Agency (KEDA).
According to a statement signed by the Opeyemi Ologun, the Communication Strategist, the 3-day Shea Conference, organized by National Shea Products Association of Nigeria (NASPAN) from August 23rd – 25th, 2022 was geared towards shea promotion in Nigeria.
NASPAN said the conference was a strategic initiative to enhance the visibility of Shea, promote its value, scale up its performance in the national and international markets, track emerging issues, bolster peer parity and attract local and foreign investment.
Ologun added that some of the strategic issues highlighted by relevant stakeholders at the conference include; introduction and development of Shea, development policy, unambiguous definition, identification.
Others, the communication strategist said, are: establishment of private Parklands, creation and categorization of stakeholders in Shea value chain to include Women Cooperatives and Nuts Collectors as Micro/Small Entrepreneurs, exploring partnership to develop Shea Markets and enhance knowledge transfer among other relevant issues.
Other participants at the conference, Ologun further disclosed,were representatives of Niger State Commodities & Export Promotion Agency, Commodities Experts Department from the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment (FMITI), Association of Deans of Agriculture in Nigeria, NICERT Ltd (Quality and Standard Firm).
She added that Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Global Shea Alliance, Commodity Development Initiative (CDI), Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN) Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN), and Nigeria Export Promotion Council also attended the conference.
According to her,Kogi Enterprise Development Agency, KEDA reports that Shea export market from West Africa has in the last 2 years increased by 300 per cent, adding that 21 African (East and West) countries account for over 80 per cent of Shea origin for export to Europe and USA.
KEDA further explained that Global Shea Alliance (GSA) members had doubled their investment in Shea development for various industries as inputs or additives in production line for confectioneries and pharmaceutical products.
Ologun recalled that KEDA had embarked on a 2-day tour in July to Niger State on a peer-review mission to study the Shea-Butter value chain in the State, and to explore potential transfer of knowledge towards growing the market for Shea butter which has been named a catalyst for women empowerment in Nigeria.
Edited by Dada Ahmed.
