The Managing Director Global Shea Alliance, Mr. Aron Adu, has urged West African farmers to look inwards and embrace new technologies to advance the agricultural sector especially in the production of shea products and its benefits to humanity to compete internationally.
According to the MD, who stated this at the Global Climate Change Alliance (GCCA) Project closing workshop in Abuja, the recent issues on the increase of population and urbanization and other things have resulted in the fact that agriculture has taken a new form. “Where you have a lot of mono-cropping, on a large piece of land, and then apply a lot of fertilizer and then after the harvest you do the reaping and the circle continues.
“But what we have identified is that, this type of agriculture is dangerous for the shea partner because shea trees aren’t planted, they grow on their own and it takes about 25 years before they begin to fruit even though there has been new researches of getting them to fruiting in about two and a half to three years through crafting. So what we seek to do is to protect the existence stalk of shea trees. By promoting inter-cropping within the partner, we promote trees on farms.
“We need the trees in farms, then people should be able to plant all that they need like fruits vegetables cereals, whatever within that space but they should not introduce inorganic materials like inorganic fertilizers so we teach how to produce organic fertilizers as well. For application on the piece of land, we introduce other activities such as apiculture, to generate additional income for the people and to also promote the ecosystem service by the presence of the bees in that space. Whilst protecting the trees from being cut, we should also make sure that the communities get their basic needs and that’s why we are promoting the agro fresh tree system,” Adu stated.
Speaking, the Director General of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) Professor Hussain Doko Ibrahim, urged all stakeholders to join hands together in the maximizing of Shea product in the nation to boost its economy value in the nation to fetch more income.
