Wa, Aug 26, GNA - Mr Iddris Wiredu, a Service Provider in the sheanut industry, on Monday called on the government to reactivate propagation technologies that were developed about 30 years ago to reduce the gestation period of the shea tree.

This, he said, would transform it into a major cash crop that is capable of raising incomes and reducing the widespread poverty that is being experienced in the sheanut production areas of the country. Mr Wiredu said this at a workshop organised to sharpen the advocacy skills of the Upper West Regional branch of the Sheanut Dealers Association to enable it access BUSAC Funds. He said findings of research that was conducted at the Sheanut Research Centre at Bole in the Northern Region in the 1970s had never been applied for the growth of the industry.

Mr Wiredu urged the Association to work towards drawing the attention of the government to reassess the potentials of sheanut for poverty reduction in the north. He said BUSAC Funds are given to legally registered groups or associations for advocacy programmes and not for use as loans or capital for businesses. Mr Moses Yuoni, Regional Secretary of the Association, stressed the need for the establishment of a separate authority to spearhead the development of sheanuts. 26 Aug 08