BENINESE SHEA, BETWEEN PROMOTION OF WOMEN AND SUSTAINABLE CREATION OF ADDED VALUE

On Friday, April 7, 2017, at the initiative of the Council of Private Investors in Benin, a dinner debate was held in the Baobab room of the Novotel Orisha hotel, the theme of which was Shea. During this meeting, all the players in the sector were present, from production to processing, including research.

After the presentation by Professor GNANGLÈ, one of the best Beninese specialists in the field, the 120 participants had the opportunity to discuss the problems experienced by all the actors and, in particular, the difficulties encountered by women, the link essential to the sector. Hence the theme: “Beninese Shea, between promotion of rural women and sustainable creation of added value”.

The future was also discussed during the evening. A future which, thanks to advances in grafting research, is taking shape mainly in the form of plantations; a good prospect for manufacturers with a view to approaching or even exceeding an annual harvest of 100,000 tonnes, sustaining the sector and increasing the volume of local processing.

All this would not have been possible without the financial support of PARASEP, Fludor Benin S.A., GIZ and AKB and especially the support of government authorities, through the Bureau d’Etudes et d’Appui au secteur agriculture, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries.