Prime
Govt reverts to the roots for healthy oil
Raw shea butter seeds. Uganda is yet to reap from sheer butter unlike other African countries like Ghana where it is a major export.
What you need to know:
- The project previously focused on boosting production of palm oil, soybean, sunflower, groundnuts and sesame (simsim).
The Agriculture Ministry has said it has shifted its focus to shea butter to meet the high demand for vegetable oil in both foreign and domestic markets.
According to statistics from the National Oil Seed Project (NOSP), Uganda produces 80,00 metric tonnes of vegetable oil yet about 370,000 metric tonnes are required per year to meet domestic demand alone.
The project previously focused on boosting production of palm oil, soybean, sunflower, groundnuts and sesame (simsim).
Mr Chris Gumisiriza, the project manager for NOSP, which is under the Agriculture ministry, told this publication that in the new plan, the government aims to tighten enforcement of rules to protect the shea nut trees.
“There was a presidential directive of stopping cutting of trees and charcoal burning, but also, we are working with the local governments to put by-laws, especially in Acholi sub-region, eastern Uganda and Karamoja sub-region, to protect those (shea nut) trees,” he said.
Mr Peter Dhamuzungu, the principal agricultural officer-in-charge of cash crops at the Agriculture ministry, explained that through NOSP, the government will mobilise farmers, and also support them with planting materials as outgrower farmers to establish more acreages of shea nut trees.
He said the government will also support the farmers by offering tractors to open up more land, and also increase research into high-yielding shea nut varieties, which are also resistant to pests and diseases.
“We are also targeting to support the establishment of shea nut primary processing and value-additional facilities for shea nut products,” the officer said.
“We are looking at the public-private producer partnership where we can include collection centres, bulking, primary processing, and various additional facilities. We hope by doing this, we shall increase the quality and marketability of these shea nut products in regional and international markets,” Mr Dhamuzungu added.
According to information from the government, shea butter trees grow very slowly and start bearing fruit after 15 to 20 years and continue to do so every year for the rest of their life span. The average life span of the shea butter tree is estimated to be more than 300 years, but the number of mature trees has been declining as people cut them down for charcoal and firewood, according to available research findings.
Dr Saddick Kassim, the deputy director of National Agricultural Research Organisation (Naro), said the addition of shea butter oil to the project priorities will be a game changer in the exportation of vegetable oil due to its unique products.
“People should not cut it [the shea nut trees] for firewood or charcoal. They should preserve that tree because of its value, because its oil can be used for cooking, among other products,” Dr Kassim said.
“We get reasonable oil, actually, better quality oil from shea butter. There are medicinal components in it,” he added.
Statistics from NOSP also indicate that Uganda imported 381,000 metric tonnes of vegetable oil worth $289.1m (about Shs1 trillion), with palm oil accounting for 80 percent of the vegetable oil imports in 2020 alone hence a need to ensure the reverse of the cycle by Uganda through boosting local production of vegetable oils.
Maj (Rtd) Fred Bwino, the State minister for Agriculture, on the other hand, said: “We want to locally produce oil so that we satisfy our demand. Our calculations are going to be adjusted.”
