TCDA supports shea sector with transport, safety equipment for women collectors

Ghana's Tree Crops Development Authority (TCDA) has stepped up efforts to bolster the country's shea industry, providing women collectors with essential resources. The initiative aims to boost productivity, cut post-harvest losses, and alleviate the challenges faced by women who lead key activities within the shea value chain. The government's intervention, set in motion by President John Dramani Mahama and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, involves the distribution of 10 tricycles, 528 field tools, and protective gear to various stakeholders in the sector.

Andy Osei Okrah, TCDA's Chief Executive Officer, emphasized the government's commitment to investing in tree crops, including rubber, cashew, coconut, and oil palm, as a means of creating rural employment and enhancing household incomes. He highlighted that the shea sector has become the most recent recipient of government-backed support following a series of interventions in other tree-crop sectors since the new administration took office in January 2025.

The distributed equipment, beyond being a mere provision of resources, represents an investment in productivity, safety, mobility, quality, and service delivery within the shea value chain. Specifically, the TCDA equipped women's shea associations and collectors with tricycles for efficient transportation and aggregation of shea nuts, as well as 528 pairs of Wellington boots, hand gloves, headlamps, raincoats, and reflective jackets to enhance safety and working conditions.

The policy significance of this intervention lies in its potential to address structural constraints faced by women collectors, many of whom operate in remote communities where transportation remains a significant hurdle. Joanna Naab, representing the Ghana Shea Workers Union, explained that women often have to transport heavy loads of shea nuts over considerable distances from harvesting areas to processing centers and markets.

The provision of tricycles could mitigate the physical burden on collectors, improve the speed and efficiency of nut transportation, and consequently reduce post-harvest losses. Furthermore, improved transportation would enable cooperatives to save time and energy, facilitating the movement of nuts to processing and storage centers while ensuring that harvested shea nuts reach these facilities in optimal condition, thereby preserving their market value.