Occurrence & Locations

Detailed information about where Sheanut is found across Nigeria

ALU MAMAGI

Abuja State • Abaji LGA

2019

Location Details:

Abaji is an area council in the Federal Capital Territory in Nigeria. The city is the land of the Egbira, Ganagana and Hausa people, the majority are Egbira and Ganagana, the first settlement in Abuja are Egbira and Tiv people before the coming of Usman Danfodio religious war to Northcentral, Abuja South, after the kinship throne won by Egbira people that win the war between them and Tiv people, they become ruling kinship and Allow the Hausa as Imam of the city the name used to be Igabazi (meaning: A territory carved by Abazhi), and is one of the area council in Abuja.It has an area of 992 km² and a population of 98,000 as at 2016

Specifications:

Unspecified

Estimated Reserves:

-

Coordinates: 8.479290°N, 6.960780°E

Koko-Bese

Kebbi State • Koko/Besse LGA

2019

Location Details:

Koko/Besse is a Local Government Area in Kebbi State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Koko/Besse. It has an area of 1,299 km² and a population of 154,605 at the 2006 census

Specifications:

Unspecified

Estimated Reserves:

Unmeasuried

Coordinates: 11.507111°N, 4.381895°E

Ilorin

Kwara State • Ilorin East LGA

2019

Location Details:

Ilorin is the state capital of kwara in western Nigeria. As of the 2006 census, it had a population of 777,667 making it the 7^th largest city by population in Nigeria.

Specifications:

Unspecified

Estimated Reserves:

368.41

Coordinates: 8.479900°N, 4.541800°E

Overview

The shea tree Butryospermum paradoxa with common name Vitellaria paradoxa belongs to the family of sapotaceae. It is a dicotyledonous woody plant. The shea tree grows naturally in the wild in the dry savannah belt of West Africa from Senegal in the west to Sudan in the east, and onto the foothills of the Ethiopian highlands. The shea tree is a big tree, 10 – 15m tall that can reach 25m. It is a decidous tree with simple leaves grouped 20– 30 leaves at the end of each branch. Despite the abundance of flowers, only 3 – 5 fruits per inflorence become ripe. The yield per tree is an average of 15 – 20kg of fruits or 3 – 4 kg dry nuts annually. Some trees in suitable environment can yield up to 50 – 100kg per annum.

In favourable environment, phonological germination of the nut takes place within 7 –10 days. In places where nuts are planted the growth is slow and seedlings take 2 -3 years to reach field planting. Gestatation period lasts for 15 – 20 years which makes domestication difficult.Flowering starts at the age of 20 years, and the plant matures at the age of 40 – 50 years and can fruit for morethan 200 years. About 45 percent of Nigeria’s land area is suitable for the growth of the plant. It currently grows in the wild in many states including Niger, Nasarawa, Kebbi, Kwara,Kogi, Adamawa, Benue, Edo, Katsina, Plateau, Sokoto, Zamfara, Taraba, Borno and Oyo. It occurs in 19 countries across the African continent, namely Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo, Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Guinea.

Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Vitellaria_paradoxa_MS4195.JPG

http//www.vitellaria_paradoxa_distribution.png

Uses & Applications

Fleshy pulp is eaten locally
Trunk, bark, cortex, roots and leaves are used in preparation ofherbal remedies;
Trunk makes excellent charcoal;
Trunk is also useful as building material;
Butter is extracted from the kernel;
Butter is also locally used in traditional medicines and cosmetics, and in industries in making chocolates, and pastries as cocoa butter substitute.It is also used in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.

Processing

Traditional process:

The green pulp exterior is removed, either by burying the fruit in the ground so that the pulp ferments and falls off or other means, the nuts is picked, dried cracked, shelled and winnowed, usually by hand, pounded for a few days. The kernels are dried further to reduce moisture content and then boiled in water for several hours. The Shea Butter then begins to rise to the surface. This is then scooped and left to cool and set.The process involves:

Sorting of the Nuts

Cracking and Roasting (Reducing the Use of Wood for Heating during the Production of Shea)

Grinding

Kneading and Clarification

Filtering and Stirring

Packaging and Labeling

Modern Process:

The introduction of equipment may improve upon traditional methods of production by reducing the effort and time involved and by

increasing the yield. Instead of pounding by hand, a motorized mill is

used and oil extracted using a mechanical or hydraulic press on the

nuts, and placed in hot air ovens. Product is then bleached with a

hexane solvent; butter scooped is stored and transported under cool

conditions and in airtight containers to avoid rancidity. The oil

extracted has a relatively high melting point and is used in rural areas

in the making of foods, and cosmetics.

Investment Opportunities

Shea nut as an oil seed, has a lot of potentials for revenueearning. It stands tall in comparison with some oil seeds like sesame, soybean, cotton seed and has capacity to

surpass others if developed The export market performance of Nigeria’s shea tree products is poor relative to the production potentials. Only shea nuts are exported as the main product which is shea butter that is produced locally is of low quality.

Large market exists outside, for which a lot of work still needs to be done in organizing the activities of producers/farmers. Leading countries involved in shea nut import include United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, India and Japan.

Related Research

Publications and studies related to Sheanut

Books

Mapping of Shea value chain in Nigeria

2014

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Mapping of Shea value chain in Nigeria is a product of joint research study carried out by the authors with funding support from the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC). The study w...