Rabiatu Abukari urges government to build local organic shea labs

Hajia Rabiatu Abukari, President of the Ghana Shea Employers Association, has called on the government to establish local laboratories dedicated to organic shea testing and certification. Speaking with the Daily Graphic, she explained that the current absence of these specialized facilities within Ghana forces local processors to rely on expensive foreign laboratories. This dependency not only inflates operational costs but also creates significant delays that hinder the competitiveness of Ghanaian shea products in the international market.

The demand for certified organic shea is growing rapidly worldwide, and local processors are struggling to keep pace without affordable certification services. Abukari noted that the high costs associated with international testing put small and medium enterprises at a disadvantage. By investing in domestic testing infrastructure, the government could streamline the certification process, allowing Ghanaian businesses to capture a larger share of the global premium shea market while ensuring the quality and integrity of their exports.

Beyond testing infrastructure, the Association expressed deep concern over the increasing export of raw shea nuts. Abukari warned that this trend undermines the domestic processing industry and directly threatens the livelihoods of thousands of women who lead local shea enterprises. She advocated for the implementation of policies that prioritize local value addition, which would ensure that more of the wealth generated from the shea sector remains within Ghanaian communities.

Environmental sustainability also remains a critical priority for the industry. Abukari highlighted the ongoing threats to shea trees and urged for stronger conservation efforts and protection policies to safeguard the resource. As the shea industry plays a vital role in supporting household incomes and the broader national economy, she emphasized that the sector should be treated as a national priority to secure long-term economic benefits and environmental health.