Tamale, Feb. 29, GNA - Mr. Alhassan Nyabito, Secretary of the Northern Region Sheanut Sellers and Buyers Association (SSBA) has appealed to the government to give the needed recognition and attention to sheanut production to reduce poverty in the north.

He said if the government gave the necessary recognition and attention as it has given to cocoa over the years, it would not only gain international market for the product but would also help to create employment for the youth in the north to better their living conditions and boost the economy.

Mr Nyabito said this at the inaugural ceremony of the Northern Region Sheanut Sellers and Buyers Association on Saturday. The aim of forming the association was to bring buyers and sellers together to ensure the smooth transaction of the produce to enable companies to get the quality of sheanuts to meet both local and international standards.

The formation was also to ensure that there was sanity in the sheanut business with regards to monitoring and seeking better product prices for the association.

Mr Alhasan said the sheanut tree is one of the natural gifts to the people of the north, which needed no special protection before it was cultivated and that what was left for the government and the people to do was to give it the needed recognition to boost business activities in the north.

Mr Alhassan called on the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to lobby for the establishment of a sheanut processing industry to be located in any part of the north for agents to deal directly with producers. Mr Sylvester Adongo, Northern Regional Director of Agriculture advised the Association to put antagonism behind them and work collectively to enable the association to achieve its objectives. He regretted that despite the existence of sellers and buyers, sheanut is always left to get rotten in the bush and appealed to them to encourage the women to embark on massive picking of the entire product.

Mr Iddrisu Adam, Tamale Metropolitan Chief Executive advised the association to put politics and ethnic lines behind them and work collectively towards complementing government efforts of alleviating poverty in the north.

He appealed to them to use the framework of the association to live together as one people with common destiny and give peace a chance since the association could not strive in an atmosphere of conflict. Mr Adam later swore into office an 11-member board to see to the smooth running of the association with Alhaji Issifu Yakubu as chairman. .