A group, Alliance For Economic Research & Ethics Ltd/Gte, has commended the Federal Government for its recent policy direction on Nigerian shea nut industrialisation.
In a statement signed by the Chairman of the group, Hon. Dele Kelvin Oye, yesterday, it said the decision would encourage local processing and value addition to a potential $6.6 billion industry, stressing that it was a positive and strategic step toward industrialization, rural transformation, and gender empowerment. According to Oye, it aligns with the president’s long-term industrial policy goals to key into Africa’s regional value chains.
He said: “While we recognize and commend the administration’s commitment to value addition, we caution that immediate policy reversals without adequate transition and sector-wide consultation risk undermining ongoing commitments, investment plans, and the livelihoods of many members of our Alliance trade networks.
“We need to draw attention to the potential risks of poor implementation of a good policy. We hereby seek clarification and direction from the Mr President to ensure that his good policies are not poorly executed.”
He said the first step would be a clear communication strategy, which will inform the stakeholders on how the policy will help them and how they can take advantage of the policy. According to him, a phased implementation plan with measurable milestones and a transparent timeline can be achieved through multi-stakeholder consultation.
He said communication and information on financing, workforce training, technical assistance, upgrading local processing facilities and other options available to support the transition process by relevant government agencies was vital and a staged implementation to avoid disruption, losses on existing local and international shea nut vcontracts. “For many exporters and processors, this six-month window is a critical phase for capital recovery and project ramp-up.
“For Nigeria to succeed in Shea Nut Industrialisation, the policy must mitigate the risk of capacity constraints and supply gaps. Given the perishable nature of agriculture products and the limited shea nut processing capacity, Government will have to step in to purchase all the current raw output and unsold stock. Then government can sell to willing processors.
“The success of other countries implementing a nation first Industrialsation approach has been benchmarked on government support. This government purchase support will be a welcome intervention for the informal sector by providing robust transition support, avoid smuggling, improve compliance and revenue collection. “It is also profitable venture for government.
For International trade relations, Nigeria still hopes to export processed Shea Nut Butter and products to the same export markets. For this reason, sustaining Nigeria’s standing in global markets, bilateral engagements particularly with partner countries seeking stable predictable policy environments is important.
