Chancellor calls for establishment of sheanut research institute in north

Shear tree

Francis Npong, Tamale

The Acting Vice Chancellor of the University for Development studies (UDS) Prof. Kaku Sagary Nokoe has called on the government to as a matter of urgency establish sheanut Development Board and Sheanut Research Institute with budgetary allocations just as Cocoa Research Institute to encourage research into the commercialization of the shea tree.
According to him, the placement of sheanut industry under COCOBOD by government was disincentive to its development.

He therefore recommended to the government to separate the sheanut industry from cocoa industry by setting up an independent board to be called Sheanut Development Board which would be entrusted with the responsibility to oversee the affairs and development of sheanut industry.

Prof. Nokoe made the call at a press conference organized by the authorities of the university after the Third Harmattan School; a policy think-tank group on the northern Ghana held at GET fund Hotel in Tamale.

The Harmattan School is an initiative of the University for Development studies which fundamental responsibility is to function as a forensic advocacy group that ensures improved accountability in the development discourse of the north.

This year’s school which was organized by the university in collaboration with Center for Continuing Education and Interdisciplinary Research was under the theme: Food security and poverty reduction: Conventional and non-conventional food production”.

He explained that just as there was cocoa research institute establishing sheanut research institute would encourage research into the development and commercialization of shea tree. This he observed would help reduce poverty among the people living in the three northern regions.

Prof. Nokoe also called on government, bilateral and multilateral donor agencies to help promote small scale irrigation development in all districts of the north to facilitate dry season farming. This would help solve the food insecurity, hunger and starvation in the regions, he observed.

Stressing the need for research into indigenous food and cash crops, the Acting Chancellor of UDS called on government and her development partners to make funding available to research into native crops which are crucial in the fight against hunger and starvation and food insecurity in the north.

He said special efforts should also be made by government to develop guinea fowl industry as well as small and large ruminants’ production which have competitive advantage in the north.

He called on government and its development partners to provide credit facilities that were readily accessibly to women and vulnerable to empower them economically. These credit facilities should have low interest rates or interest free to ensure that the poor and vulnerable could access it.