Shea butter production is the major business in sorugu.

Shea butter production is the major business in Sorugu.

Shea butter production is the major local occupation of the women in Sorugu a farming community in the Sagnarigu municipal of the Northern Region the only community that houses 2 Shea butter processing factories in the municipal. They neatly use Shea nuts to produce the Shea butter and sell it to the factory buyers.

The most popular place for production is at the processing factory a few women do the processing in their various homes and sell to the factory buyers.

The women usually pick the Shea nut from their husband’s farms during the rainy season and resort to market places that are close to them like Tamale, Kumbungu, Savelugu, and Tolon to buy Shea nut in the dry season and sometimes the factory owners provide them with Shea nut.

The major products of Shea butter according to the Chief Executive Officer of Asheba Shea butter processing factory, Fuseini Ayisha Shea butter are used for many purposes but for her, she uses it to produce the following, body cream, hair pomade, baby cream, soap, and black soap among others. She sells to local buyers and at times foreigners.

Source of income

Shea butter production saves income for both genders especially women in the northern region where a lot of Shea trees can be found in Ghana. According to Madam Sanatu Iddrisu, she has been in this business for the past ten, to 10 years and has benefited a lot which she uses to support her husband in taking care of their children.

“After the death of my husband, I have been using the money I get from producing Shea butter to feed my 5 children and take care of their basic needs” Madam Meli Issahak stated.

Alhassan Zakia added that through the production she can afford some income to pay her tertiary school fees.

Health

Speaking to Public Health Nutritionist, Josephine Asiedu said Shea butter protects skin from free radicals leading to dull skin, and vital for brain functioning and good Vision, and is also good for improving eyesight.

It reduced bad cholesterol and the risk of heart disease and stroke high intake of fat can lead to weight gain which is detrimental to human health, she stated.

Also, it contained anti-inflammatory to slow the production of inflammatory cells and it helps to reduce skin irritation caused by dry weather and other inflammatory skin conditions like eczema and dermatitis. It helps in wound healing.

She added that it has anti-bacterial which helps the hair follicle epithelium to fight against bacteria when applied to the hair. It also helps to moisturize and decrease breakage, dandruff, and dry scalp. Shea butter contains a lot of nutrients that can improve human health.

Challenges

Shea butter processing factory owners face a lot of challenges after processing the nut into Shea butter getting the right price at these trying times of the economy has made some of them run into losses due to the increment of Shea nut and other raw materials.

Also, the exportation after the local production has been a major issue affecting producers, they find it difficult to export it outside the country, she said.

Large quantities are produced and some are used to manufacture some local products by the producers and left some because there is low patronage of the local products in the local market and capital to expand the processing factories, the CEO revealed.

Asheba Enterprise bemoan the loss of economy trees to bush fire, naming ceremonies and funerals in the northern hemisphere and she called on foreign buyers to purchase the Shea butter.

Shea butter production is the major local occupation of the women in Sorugu a farming community in the Sagnarigu municipal of the Northern Region the only community that houses 2 Shea butter processing factories in the municipal. They neatly use Shea nuts to produce the Shea butter and sell it to the factory buyers.

The most popular place for production is at the processing factory a few women do the processing in their various homes and sell to the factory buyers.

The women usually pick the Shea nut from their husband’s farms during the rainy season and resort to market places that are close to them like Tamale, Kumbungu, Savelugu, and Tolon to buy Shea nuts in the dry season and some times the factory owners provide them with Shea nut.

The major products of Shea butter according to the Chief Executive Officer of Asheba Shea butter processing factory, Fuseini Ayisha Shea butter are used for many purposes but for her, she uses it to produce the following, body cream, hair pomade, baby cream, soap, and black soap among others. She sells to local buyers and at times foreigners.

Source of income
Shea butter production saves income for both genders especially women in the northern region where a lot of Shea trees can be found in Ghana. According to Madam Sanatu Iddrisu, she has been in this business for the past ten, to 10 years and has benefited a lot which she uses to support her husband in taking care of their children.

“After the death of my husband, I have been using the money I get from producing Shea butter to feed my 5 children and take care of their basic needs” Madam Meli Issahak stated.

Alhassan Zakia added that through the production she can afford some income to pay her tertiary school fees.

Health
Speaking to Public Health Nutritionist, Josephine Asiedu said Shea butter protects skin from free radicals leading to dull skin, and vital for brain functioning and good Vision, and is also good for improving eyesight.

It reduced bad cholesterol and the risk of heart disease and stroke high intake of fat can lead to weight gain which is detrimental to human health, she stated.

Also, it contained anti-inflammatory to slow the production of inflammatory cells and it helps to reduce skin irritation caused by dry weather and other inflammatory skin conditions like eczema and dermatitis. It helps in wound healing.

She added that it has anti-bacterial which helps the hair follicle epithelium to fight against bacteria when applied to the hair. It also helps to moisturize and decrease breakage, dandruff, and dry scalp. Shea butter contains a lot of nutrients that can improve human health.

Challenges
Shea butter processing factory owners face a lot of challenges after processing the nut into Shea butter getting the right price at these trying times of the economy has made some of them run into loss due to the increment of Shea nut and other raw materials.

Also, the exportation after the local production has been a major issue affecting producers, they find it difficult to export it outside the country, she said.

Large quantities are produced and some are used to manufacture some local products by the producers and left some because there is low patronage of the local products in the local market and capital to expand the processing factories, madam Ayisha revealed.

Asheba Enterprise bemoan the loss of economy trees to bush fire, naming ceremonies and funerals in the northern hemisphere and she called on foreign buyers to purchase the Shea butter.