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By Abubakar Umar
An agronomist at the University of Ilorin, Professor Olabisi Fatimah Adekola, has raised alarm over the threats facing shea trees in Kwara State due to illegal charcoal production and climate change.
Professor Adekola issued the warning in Ilorin at a forum on Sustainable Management of Shea Butter Agro-Forest Parklands for Improved Livelihoods.
She revealed that researchers have successfully shortened the gestation period of shea trees from twenty-five years to between five and seven years, making them more attractive for commercial cultivation.
Despite this breakthrough, she lamented that massive felling of trees for charcoal and unfavorable weather conditions are reducing productivity, adding that trees which once flowered three times a year now produce only once.
The don further disclosed that her research team is employing tissue culture technology to mass-produce high-quality plants in vitro, preserve genetic traits, and establish conservation centres in states including Kwara and Niger.
According to her, such innovations could place shea cultivation on par with crops like citrus and coffee.
The Kwara State Commissioner for Environment and Forestry, Hajia Nafisat Buge, announced that the Kaiama Shea Butter Processing Centre is ninety percent completed. When operational, the plant is expected to produce over fifty thousand tonnes annually, making it the second-largest shea nut processing facility in the country.
She reaffirmed government’s commitment to protecting shea parklands, expanding agro-industrial zones, and strengthening rural economies.
In a related development, a board member of the Global Environment Facility’s Small Grants Programme (GEF-SGP), Profit Jose, disclosed that the organisation has launched a fifty-thousand-dollar shea project in Kwara State through the Haashim Initiative for Community Advancement (HICA).
Mr Jose noted that although Nigeria is the world’s largest producer of shea nuts, the country generates only about fifteen million dollars annually—far below its potential of more than four hundred million dollars.
He welcomed the Federal Government’s ban on raw shea exports, describing it as a bold step towards boosting local processing and increasing farmers’ incomes.
Also speaking, the project manager, Dr. Kayode Abfulazeez Kawthar, said the scheme would serve as a pilot model to enhance rural livelihoods and, if successful, would be replicated across the country.
