By agency report
Niger State Governor, Mohammed Bago, has said that the state government, through Niger Foods, will plant 10 million shea trees to boost production of shea butter in the state.
The governor stated this at the inauguration of a shea butter processing plant established by Salid Agriculture Nigeria Limited, and supported by NEXIM Bank in Kudu, Mokwa Local Government Area of the State.
Bago said the initiative was aimed at creating employment for the teeming youths and women, improve socio-economic activities in the state and strengthen its status as the headquarters of shea trees.
He said that 10,000 hectares of land will be prepared for the purpose so that shea nuts will be readily available for investors in the shea nuts industry.
The governor commended the management of Salid Agriculture for establishing the shea butter processing plant.
He noted that it would complement government efforts in job creation and improve the economic status of the people of Kudu community.
Bago urged the people of the state to support the plant to achieve its desired objective.
The Chief Executive Officer, Salid Agriculture Nigeria Ltd. Ali Saidu, said the company aimed to enhance the quality of shea butter production in the state to enable it compete with the global market.
Salid disclosed that Shea Butter Processing Plant Kudu, has a production capacity of 30,000 metric tons of shea butter annually.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, NEXIM Bank, Abba Bello, said that Nigeria produces 60 per cent of shea nuts globally.
He said the lack of industrial plants had been a major setback for processing, which had hitherto been done by women.
Bello said that NEXIM Bank would continue to collaborate with the Salid plant and the Niger State government to achieve the whole value chain of shea nuts.
The Minister of State Agriculture and Food Security, Abdullahi Sabi Abdullahi, described the establishment of the shea nut processing plant as a huge agricultural investment.
He applauded the efforts of the “farmer governor” toward transforming agriculture in line with the vision of President Bola Tinubu, which is to diversify the nation’s economy.
Former Governor of Bayelsa and Minister of State Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, and the Etsu Nupe, Chairman, Niger State Council of traditional rulers, Yahaya Abubakar, applauded Bago, in separate remarks.
They noted that Bago had provided an enabling environment for such investment and tasked the state government and other stakeholders to protect it by halting indiscriminate tree felling, which has continued to pose environmental hazards.
The event also featured the signing of a N2 billion Memorandum of Understanding between Niger Foods and Salid Shea Nut Processing Factory in Kudu.
The MoU aims to create direct employment for women and youth to pick shea nuts and bring them to the Salid factory for direct purchase.
The governor, along with his entourage, inspected different segments of the factory, which included the warehouse, solvent extraction base, and oil mills.
