A shea butter processing center equipped with a grinding mill and nut crusher has been inaugurated at Limo in the Kumbungu District of the Northern Region to replace the manual means of processing the commodity.

The facility would help to economically empower women groups in the community, whose major economic activity is shea butter processing, to add value to the commodity as well as lessen the burden they endure processing the commodity manually.

It was constructed by the PagSung Shea Butter and Shea Nut Pickers Association, with a GH¢7000.00 grant facility from the Government of the United States (U.S), through the US Embassy in Ghana under its small grants project for communities.

Speaking at the inauguration of the facility on Tuesday, Mr Joel Wiegert, Economics Chief at the US Embassy in Accra said, the US Government was interested in community development, adding that, the Limo community was important to the US, hence the granting of funds for the project.

Mr Wiegert disclosed that the Limo community was one of 20 beneficiaries selected out of 600 applications received from various groups to benefit from the small grants project of the US Government for the year 2013.

Alhaji A.B.A Fuseini, Deputy Northern Regional Minister expressed appreciation to the US Government for its initiative to empower women and called on the private sector to partner government in efforts at bringing development to the people. Alhaji Fuseini said the facility would enhance the living conditions of the women and accelerate the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals.

He assured the people of the Limo community that government would urgently address their water and electricity challenges and called on them to maintain the peace to attract development.

Madam Safia Alhassan, President of PagSung Shea Butter and Shea Nut Pickers Association, thanked the US Embassy for coming to the aid of the community, assuring that the equipment would be put to good use.

Naa Abdulai Yussif, Chief of Limo, appealed to the government to address the development challenges facing the community, including access to clean drinking water and electricity. The Limo Community installed Mr Wiegert as a Chief of Limo, under the name Tando Naa (chief of shea butter) and dressed him in traditional attire and colours.

Earlier, the Deputy Regional Minister and Mr Wiegert had paid a courtesy call on Kumbungu Naa (Chief of Kumbungu) Naa Iddrisu Abu II at his palace at Kumbungu to brief him about the project.