Nigeria has the potential to increase its contribution to the world’s annual shea crop, of which it currently produces under 40%. To enhance its competitive advantage in the global market, the country recently enacted an export ban on raw shea butter. Yet this well-intentioned government initiative has backfired, forcing many women, especially those like Hajaratu Isah, to fight just to stay alive. Isah was born 40 years ago and has spent her adult life harvesting and processing shea fruits. Today, she is experiencing the brunt of financial hardship due to a policy introduced last month by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
In Kenya alone, the global shea industry is worth an estimated $6.5bn (£5bn). Nigeria, the largest producer, receives very little of this wealth. The government imposed an export prohibition soon after a new plant went online, owned by one of Tinubu’s allies. This ban is intended to position Nigeria to gain a greater share of the market and provide better incomes for women and men engaged in the shea value chain. The consequences have been catastrophic for the local communities that host this toxic waste dump.
With the previous export ban in place, Isah was making around 5,000 naira ($3.30, £2.45) a day processing shea fruit. Fast forward to today and her income has dropped below that threshold by more than half. This sudden, catastrophic loss of income has placed her and many others like her in her community in a serious predicament.
Salid Agriculture Nigeria Limited has established Africa’s largest shea butter processing factory in Kudu, Niger state. The company has found itself the center of a major controversy. The factory, with an impressive annual production capacity of 30,000 tonnes, opened just two weeks prior to the export ban. Mr. Salid, the company’s representative, remembered an enthusiastic flood of suppliers willing to deliver shea nuts. The long-term outlook for local women still leaves them feeling wary.
“We are seeing so many responses now from shea nut suppliers,” – Mr. Salid.
Large factories such as Salid’s can be a huge economic driver. Nigeria’s processing capacity is very limited and remains concentrated among only a handful of major players. This centralization has led to growing inequity and exclusion in a field that is one of the largest rural employers of women.
Kingsley Uzoma is indisputably the ban’s chief evangelist. He hopes this policy will boost women’s agency and contribute to Nigeria regaining its status as the dominant player in the market. He believes that reform is necessary to break the cycle of poverty that has long plagued women in the industry.
“For decades, women have been stuck in a vicious cycle of poverty, living in penury while middlemen and foreign processors reap the billions,” – Kingsley Uzoma.
As these women try to cope with the new reality of the ban, despair is quickly taking hold. Fatima Mohammed Swasu expressed her desperation:
“We are feeling hopeless. We cannot eat, we do not have money, and our children can no longer go to school,” – Fatima Mohammed Swasu.
The rapid rollout of the export ban caught many stakeholders in the sector unprepared. Middlemen have already complained about not getting any notice that the policy would be changing.
“The ban is not fair. Had there been notification, we would have prepared,” – a middleman stated.
Fatima Ndako, another woman impacted by the ban, shared the personal impact the ban has taken on her life.
“When I heard about the export ban, I could not sleep… the money we make is what we use to feed our families,” – Fatima Ndako.
Meanwhile, Ghana is making strides to increase its shea industry. To encourage more value-added production at home, they aim to end raw shea exports by 2026 and plan to invest in new processing plants. This could further jeopardize Nigeria’s aim to capture at least one-fifth of the global shea market’s value by 2030 if it fails to address its internal challenges.
If aligned, the government’s motives can help further long-term aspirations for women and economic growth. Yet the sudden unexpected fallout effects have left many questioning the judgment behind such ambitious reforms.