Zakaria Iddi, the National Coordinator of Shea Network Ghana (SNG), a civil society organisation, has called on government to decouple the shea sector and its entire value chain from the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) in order to give it the attention it deserves and needs for growth.

This, he said, will help fast-track issues to enhance the sector, which has seen its fortunes dwindle.

According to Mr. Iddi, shea-nuts have the potential to address poverty in the North, and it is high time governments stopped paying lip-service to the sector and start to act by giving it the needed attention to grow like the cocoa sector.

The industry, he stressed, has engaged over 900,000 people, mainly women: “The sector can engage still more if government heeds the call of stakeholders to act on separating the sector from COCOBOD.

“Cocoa and shea are quite different; they need different agencies and strategies to deal with their issues. Putting shea under Ghana Cocoa Board makes the sector retrogress,” he stated.

He stated that the Ghana Cocoa Board Act puts cocoa, coffee and shea under one umbrella with equal opportunities, but cocoa has dominated the economy as a cash crop because of the attention and commitment governments have given to it over years.

“The shea sector embedded under COCOBOD has made it difficult for this sector to get much-needed attention from government and investors,” he said.

Mr. Iddi believes separating the shea sector from COCOBOD will go a long way to increase investment opportunities the crop deserves, as well as enhance the sector’s development potential and that of the entire value chain.

Mr. Iddi stated this at a two-day training and education programme to enhance the knowledge of selected journalists across the country in Tamale, held to improve the shea sector’s production in the Savannah ecological zone.

The workshop was on the theme ‘The Ghana Shea Sector and the Capacity of Media on Shea Reporting’, aimed at encouraging journalists to take interest in reporting shea activities in the country.

The event was organised by the SNG with funding from the BUSAC Fund, and also enlightened the media regarding challenges confronting the sector and the view of media on the best way to enhance the sector so as to improve the livelihoods of the pickers and the rural dwellers.

The National Coordinator also called for implementation of the Forestry Law to protect the shea trees from being destroyed for charcoal. According him, neglect of enforcing the law has led to high depletion of the shea trees which serve as food for the rural dwellers, as well as dwindling the industry.

Joseph. A. Yidana, a Lecturer at the University for Development Studies (UDS), called on government to develop a national Shea Development Strategic Plan for the sector.

This, he said, will help to boost the industry and create more jobs to alleviate poverty in the rural areas, as it has compelled the youth to migrate to urban centres.

He bemoaned the rate at which shea trees are being reduced drastically in the forest reserves, and therefore called on authorities to check the menace of hunters and chain-saw operators.

He urged the youth to venture into shea production to earn a living due to its high demand on the global market.

Senyo Kpelly, Executive Director of Sekaf Ghana Limited, said there is a need to sensitise the media on shea’s value and enable them to disseminate this knowledge to the public, since it is the power-tool for reaching out to the general public.

He said the network has adopted new sustainability projects to improve shea tree planting materials, parkland management practices, and conservation of resources to sustain the industry.

Mr. Kpelly called for support to industries that process the products in-country, since they contribute to the economic growth. He reiterated that his organisation has been able to engage more than 60 women in processing and about 100 on the farm to pick the nuts.