Africa : May 2007
Burkina Faso: Fair Trade Benefits the Women who Produce Shea Butter
To Burkinans, the shea tree is like a golden goose: its butter is the sole source of income earned exclusively by West African women. Shea butter producers, working as a group within the Union des groupements des produits de karité (UGPPK), number more than 1,200 in the provinces of Sissili and Ziro. These women pick shea nuts and turn them into the butter so prized by the Western world. Only a small portion of the stock is sold on the local market; the rest is exported to the cosmetics industry in France and Canada. Why? Because for one kilo of butter sold locally, the women receive the equivalent of 60 cents; meanwhile, the same quantity sold elsewhere brings in twice, and even three times that amount on the fair-trade market!
When we consider that the production of a single kilo of butter requires more than 22 different steps and six hours of hard labour, the support of Northern consumers is clearly crucial to the producers’ profits and to the improvement in their quality of life, says Abou Tagnan, manager of the Sissili-Ziro coop. “On the local market, it might take a full day for a producer to sell one kilo of butter. Through the Coop, she receives a decent income, which allows her to turn her attention to earning money through other means, such as selling vegetables or grains,” Tagnan points out. Until now, during the rainy season – a difficult period between harvests, when stocks run out and sicknesses run rampant – producers anxious to buy medicine for malaria would be forced to sell their butter at ridiculously low prices.
The Union’s role is to commercialize its members’ products at more favourable prices and to establish stable relations with international clients. Since its creation in 2001, the Union – an initiative of 18 women’s associations, supported by CECI – has helped improve the quality of shea butter, lighten the workload through the purchase of semi-automated equipment, and obtain the guaranteed fair-trade certification by the Max Havelaar label.
Fair-trade certification has increased the minimum guaranteed per-kilo price, and those profits go directly into the pockets of the producers. “The minimum price has risen from 500 CFA francs ($1.15) for conventional butter to 1,198 CFA francs ($2.80) for fair-trade butter. A Northern consumer who purchases fair-trade butter is giving the producers’ children a chance to go to school, eat at least one meal per day, and receive medical care. Furthermore, a 30-cent premium on each kilo sold is paid to the UGPPK for social purposes,” says the Coop’s manager. For example, the 2005-2006 fair-trade premium enabled the purchase of school supplies for orphans of HIV/AIDS and the opening of two literacy centres.
In the short term, the Union hopes to find new clients in Europe and North America. UGPPK hope to soon reach a 120 tons production, which is the minimum threshold of profitability and, in the medium term, reach 200 tons per year, their maximum capacity, which would allow each producer to earn an annual income of at least US $300. The Union also hopes to strengthen commercial ties with Canada; thanks to CECI, our Coop is one of the pioneers of the shea butter industry in Burkina Faso. “CECI’s support of a stronger, more dynamic organization and the reduction in the level of difficulty of women’s labour has given our Coop incredible visibility in Burkina Faso,” says Abou Tagnan.
By Melina Schoenborn
Photos (1) Alexandra Redgrave (2-4) Myriam Fehmiu (3)Josiane Bédard
Last March 26 and 27, Ouagadougou hosted a regional workshop on market possibilities for the producers of shea butter and other shea products. Organized in cooperation with Canadian volunteer agencies, the workshop’s objective was to present three studies: the national market in Niger, Guinea, Mali and Burkina Faso, packaging, and a survey on the shea brand image. The studies will serve as work tools in the continued support the agencies provide to local partner organizations. The studies will serve as work tools in the continued support the agencies provide to local partner organizations. Inaugurated by the minister for the promotion of women of Burkina Faso, Her Excellency Gisèle Guigma, the event was a singular occasion which allowed producers from Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Niger to network together. Already, women are sharing their expertise with others!
