Shea Nuts Must Remain Under the Ownership and Management of Local Producers

Once again, government has moved ahead with the execution of a memorandum of understanding in the shea sector without consulting local experts on the ground. While presented as a boost to the industry, the underlying model threatens to transform shea from a heritage‑driven, artisanal product into an industrial commodity. Women’s cooperatives and processors, who for generations have sustained the sector through traditional butter production, risk being reduced to pickers or low‑wage factory workers.

No to foreign control of Ghana's shea nuts

This shift undermines the very spirit of the planned ban on raw shea nut exports. The ban was conceived to protect Ghana’s wealth by ensuring value addition remains in Ghanaian hands. Yet without safeguards, raw nuts may stay within the country while the true value is still extracted by external interests. To succeed, the policy must secure the role of artisanal processors, SMEs, and cooperatives at the center of production and export.

Industrialisation in this form does not empower; it exploits. Generational knowledge is devalued, while multinational interests capture the premium of global markets. Producers face pressure to sell nuts instead of butter, tempted by immediate cash, even as clients complain about distorted pricing. This erodes the artisanal foundation of the industry, weakens bargaining power, and risks dismantling the integrity of Ghana’s shea heritage.

Read Editorial on GhanaWeb: Immediate Ban on Shea Nuts

Local producers must assert collective power by resisting industrial dominance — boycotting multinational factories and restricting access to shea nuts by pickers. At the same time, government must intervene directly: acting as buyer of last resort to purchase unsold nuts from women’s groups and resell them later to local processors at competitive prices. This mechanism would stabilize the market, reward women fairly, and strengthen resilience throughout the year.

What OTI emphasizes is clear:

it is not enough to impose a ban on raw exports while allowing multinationals to dominate control of raw materials. Shea nuts must remain under the ownership and management of local producers. Government’s role is to guarantee fair pay and dignity for pickers, while ensuring the value chain is preserved for Ghanaian processors and cooperatives. Anything less is a betrayal of our heritage and our future.