Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR) Vol-2, Issue-5, 2016 ISSN: 2454-1362, http://www.onlinejournal.in

Shea Kernel Supply Chain and Suppliers Relationships in Rural Borgu, ,

Sidikat Shitu1 & Rohaya Mohd-Nor2 1PhD Candidate, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak 2 Associate Professor, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak

Abstract: This paper explores the roles of strong (1) Introduction suppliers in shea kernel supply chains and the impact of their roles on the livelihood of weak The solution to the exploitation of the weak suppliers (rural women) who are engaged in shea suppliers (rural women) and the smuggling of shea nut picking and processing. In the last few years, kernel for export lies within the collaborative the media recognised that the Nigerian shea butter efforts of the stakeholders involved in the shea industry is not fully regulated, and it is confronted butter industry, the public authorities, the non- with a lot of sustainability challenges. While there governmental organizations, the private sector and is a call on the relevant stakeholders to take the community stakeholders. The anti-smuggling responsible action such as public enlightenment plan has been a top agenda on the Niger state and reshaping of the supply chain network. The government shea sector development plan in mechanisms that supports and create connections collaboration with the Nigerian customs service for actors involved in the supply chain is not very (, 2012). Also the federal government of clear and as such the measures taken by the Nigeria has also declared that, illegal exportation of stakeholders to curb the menace seems not to hit shea kernel out of Nigeria is a pressing issue for the target. Furthermore, the negative effect of these growth and development. Research revealed that activities on the weak suppliers seems to be greatly Nigeria lost about N3billion yearly to shea kernel ignored. Therefore, studying the relationships and butter smuggling through Republic. In between the strong and weak suppliers defines the 2012, the Niger State Commodities and Export specific roles of actors involved in shea kernel Promotion Agency admit that the current effort in trade: More specifically, the local buying agents curbing the menace has failed woefully (LBAs) who create and hold the link to the broader (Kontagora, 2012). In line with this, the agency in domestic and export supply chain are studied. 2012 collaborated with Global Shea Alliance and Research Question: What is the nature of the GIZ to provide alternative ways to innovate the relationship between the strong and weak suppliers industry (GSA, 2012). Various strategies are in shea kernel supply chains? collectively advocated by the stakeholders involved Methodology: This study utilized qualitative case to check those illegal activities: first, community study design, a five-month fieldwork was conducted empowerment; second, implementation and in the rural communities of Borgu, Niger State, enforcement of legal instruments, third, Nigeria. We used various approaches to obtain collaborations among various actors. While these data such as semi-structured interviews, focus strategies are very much welcomed, very little is group discussions, review of policy documents, known about how these strategies will impact on articles published by the media and participant the local communities and the rural women who are observation. The result revealed that the LBAs the weaker suppliers in the supply chain. with a group of few buying companies benefit from This paper explores the role of the strong suppliers the supply chain, (specifically the local buying agents (LBAs), that while the expectation of the weak suppliers (rural link the weak suppliers to the buying companies) women) to benefit profitably is not guaranteed. and the effect of their activities on the livelihood of the rural women who are engaged in shea nut Keywords: Strong Suppliers, Weak Suppliers, picking and shea butter processing. It is evident Local Buying Agents, Rural Women, Supply Chain, that the local buying agents play both positive and Relationships, Sustainability. negative roles in the shea butter industry. We argue that the LBAs characteristics have repercussions on the livelihood of the people living in the local

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Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR) Vol-2, Issue-5, 2016 ISSN: 2454-1362, http://www.onlinejournal.in communities where shea trees are found, nuts are Notably, a study conducted on regional shea supply picked and processed into shea kernel and butter. chain by Lovett (2010) and Chalfin (2004) gave a First, the local buying agents help the communities detail of how the shea industry can be sustainable to overcome the problem of finding buyers such as through policy implementation and use. the small and medium scale company owners Researchers are also addressing issues associated within Nigeria, exporters in neighbouring Benin with buyers-suppliers’ relationships in many West Republic and the multinational companies outside African states (Greig, 2006; Wardell & Fold, 2013; the shores of Africa; secondly, the local buying Rousseau et al., 2015). Yet the social implication of agents are seen to depend heavily on the weak these relationships on the livelihood of the weak suppliers in the rural communities. But the suppliers is still underexplored. In a nutshell, relationship that exist between the LBAs and weak exploring the role of the strong suppliers and their suppliers in the local communities is purely that of relationships with the weak suppliers will not only exploitation in terms of price. The LBAs take provide an understanding of the shea kernel supply advantage of the ignorance and lack of exposure of chain, it will also reveal the impact of the the rural people. These two characteristics cause relationship on the rural women’s livelihood which the rural people to distrust the local buying agents. is not very much discussed in the shea kernel/butter This is because the weak suppliers input a lot of supply chain literature. human energy and risk when picking shea nuts and during processing. But the rate at which shea kernel (3) Research Question from the rural communities, smuggling of the product out of their domain, coupled with the What is the nature of the relationship between the ‘nothing to write home about’ returns for the weak strong and weak suppliers in shea kernel supply actors leave the rural people in dilemma of trusting chains? the LBAs. These development is so alarming, and it constantly reported by the media. (4) Methodology (2) Research Gap This paper is developed from first writer’s PhD fieldwork, the methodology employed for this The implication of the local buying agent’s role in study is based on a qualitative case study, the shea kernel supply chain is less explored by techniques for data collection are semi-structured researchers. Researchers have therefore interview, observation, review of policy concentrated on exploring actors’ relationships in documents, articles published by the media as well domestic shea butter supply chain, rather than as focused group discussions over a period of five holistically exploring actors’ relationships in trans- months (December 2014 to May 2015). A total of border and export supply chain of shea products 34 semi-structured interviews were conducted in (Garba et al., 2012). The supply chain literature for Sabon-Pegi Rural Market, Monday-Market New- instance focus more on how external stakeholders Bussa, Karabonde Village and Tsohon-Dogongari shapes the dynamics of shea butter supply chain Village of Borgu, Niger State, Nigeria. The (Drost et al., 2012), living out how relationships are interviewees included the shea nut pickers, local shaped among the focal actors. The available buying agents, shea butter processors, community studies mostly focussed on impacts that are leaders, government officials and development quantifiable such as quantity of smuggled shea consultants. QSR Nvivo 10 was used for data kernel rather than the social impacts of the actions analysis. Significantly, collecting data for this of the strong suppliers on local communities such research was very difficult because of the sensitive as human rights violation and working conditions. nature of the study, which involves illegality in the Nevertheless, the literature on repercussion or supply chain of shea kernel which has to do with consequences of the role of actors in the African the trans-border smuggling and exploitation. The shea industry had focused more on the risk was high especially when collecting data from environmental implications rather than the social the local buying agents (LBAs), the issue of trust implications (Schreckenberg, 2004; Adams, 2015; strongly came up and challenges were encountered Kiptot, 2015). in the process especially with the use of voice- Some literature, focused on how government recorder, video-recorder and photo camera. The policies and pressure from non-governmental safety of our research team became extremely organizations respond to the loopholes in the shea important. butter industry particularly on the sustainability of The body of this paper contains the the shea industry (Noumi, et al., 2013). But the contextualization of shea kernel supply chain mechanisms to check the enforcement of policies relationships. Consequently, shea kernel supply along the supply chain are not adequately explored. chain relationships and the role of the local buying

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Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR) Vol-2, Issue-5, 2016 ISSN: 2454-1362, http://www.onlinejournal.in agents in Borgu is discussed to give an insight of picking, the local communities also provide logistic how the activities of the LBAs impact on the services to aid shea kernel supply chain livelihood of rural women in Borgu. supply (Schreckenberg, 2004). Due to the location of relationships is also discussed, in two folds: First, Borgu, rural markets in Babbana and Guvanti for from rural Borgu to Parakou, Benin Republic and example are focal point for shea kernel trading and secondly, from rural Borgu to other parts of converging point for smugglers. Most villages Nigeria. It also outlined how shea kernel supply within Borgu are important as focal point of chain challenges are being addressed through supply. For instance, in the context of this study, policy instrument in Nigeria. Followed by the shea kernel supply routes begins from Tsohon- conclusion and policy implication. Dogongari, Karabonde, Wawa and other villages to New-bussa, Guvanti, Babbana to the destinations in (5) Shea Kernel Supply Chain in Borgu Benin-Republic from where it is taken to Europe, and Export Policies in Nigeria America and Asia.

Observantly linked to Nigeria’s export policies, the Nigeria is the largest producer of shea nuts. Shea Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), made trees grow in the wild. In Nigeria, the Shea tree are it clear in the guidelines that “All goods, including found predominantly in the Guinea and Sahel oil, its derivatives and non-oil goods exported from savannah, the trees are naturally distributed in the Nigeria shall be subject to inspection by inspection following states: Niger, Sokoto, Kebbi, Plateau, agents appointed for that purpose by the Benue, Kaduna, Oyo, Ondo, Katsina, Adamawa, government”. These strategies are developed as Taraba, Borno, Nassarawa, Kwara and Kogi states anti-smuggling policies to reduce smuggling of (Kontagora 2012). The Shea tree produces the shea goods across borders and the effectiveness of this nuts which contain the shea kernel, it is a precious anti-smuggling policy to solve exploitation and tree and highly valued by people in the smuggling have been unassertive because it still communities where it is found (Eneh, 2010). The continues. Pressure from the media between year rural women pick the shea nuts from their 2010-2013 and the response by the Nigerian farmlands and the bushes around their communities Customs Service weakened the activities of and then process it, by removing the shea kernel. smugglers to an extent but the LBAs are not very The local buying agents, who are the intermediaries much affected as they have other buyers who are in between the weak suppliers and the buying faraway Northern Nigerian states, and as such they companies buy the shea kernel in large commercial can simply change supply route and buyers. During quantities from the rural women (weak suppliers) the field work for example, Buyers from Kano and and then supply to the small companies and Adamawa came to New-Bussa to source for shea exporters. With the weak governance of the porous kernel. Simply, because the shea kernel supply is border of Nigeria and Benin republic the supply rarely interrupted. chain became more exploitative and the shea kernel market became more disorganised especially after shea butter was declared as a cocoa butter (6) Shea Kernel Supply Chain equivalent (CBE) in chocolate production by the Interactions in Rural Borgu European governments. In the last two decades, private individuals, LBAs, Shea trees in Borgu and other local government exporters and SMEs, deepen their involvement in areas in Nigeria where shea trees are found are shea kernel business which brought them very getting destroyed by the local community people robust income annually. While the Nigerian due to poverty, the trees are destroyed for charcoal Customs Service (NCS) in collaboration with the making, hunting and bush burning, mortal making Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) and firewood (Boffa, 2000). However, the supply became the central character in checking trans- of shea kernel remained fairly constant despite the border shea product export, the local buying agents destruction of shea trees. The LBAs segment and exporters changed their pattern of activities to themselves and are stationed in major rural markets smuggling (NEPC, 2015) Significantly, in Borgu, typically the LBAs source for shea kernel exploitation in shea kernel business is not only from individual shea kernel pickers in the villages limited to rural Borgu. In fact, the exploitation of and sometimes they wait for the rural women to the rural women in the shea industry is done across bring the shea kernel directly to them in the major the guinea, Sudan and Sahel savannah region of rural markets where the LBAs are stationed. Unlike Nigeria. Though the smuggling is more prominent shea butter, shea kernel is not purchased through around the border states. The border areas which cooperatives. The local buying agents have to apply include Borgu are sites for shea kernel and butter the tactics of division of labour to reach the processing and marjeting. Apart from shea nut suppliers in very remote and hard to reach villages.

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Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR) Vol-2, Issue-5, 2016 ISSN: 2454-1362, http://www.onlinejournal.in

This division of labour helps in maximizing trade Tshohon-Dogongari and others. They buy the capacity. A quote from a local buying agent who kernel from the rural women for exporters in Benin buys shea kernel for exporters in Parakou, Republic and exporters in Lagos and Ibadan, using described their relationship with the rural women in the agents in shea butter processing communities as the following way: it is evident in Borgu- Parakou supply. Also the “We relate with the women fairly LBAs engage in domestic supply to different cities to the best of my knowledge, we within Nigeria such as Kano in the North-West, pay them for their products Yola in the North-Eastern, Ibadan and Lagos in the immediately they sell to us, we South-Western zone of Nigeria. These cities were even save them the energy and cost specifically mentioned as buyer destinations during of transporting kernel to our store data collection. The major LBAs have their in Monday-market, New –Bussa". domain in the urban traditional markets in Borgu Though the local buying agents have financial such as New-Bussa Monday Market, Babbana and connections through the exporters in Benin Guvanti which is a strategic collection point for Republic, for instance, the LBAs in Sabon Pegi, shea kernel before transporting sourced kernel to New-Bussa, Guvanti and Babbana are all these cities within Nigeria. Basically the role of the connected as they supply shea kernel to the same of LBAs described above is important for the group of buyers in Parakou. intermediary role they play in shea supply chain, Considering the supply chain interactions around they negotiate between the rural women and the Rafi district of Borgu: Karabonde women pick the buyers. shea nuts in Karabonde and its environs, Tsohon- Dogongari women pick shea nuts around Tsohon- (7) Impact of Shea kernel Supply Chain Dogongari and its environs, they process the shea Relationships on Women’s Livelihood nuts into shea kernel, keep some for shea butter processing and sell the remaining shea kernel directly to the local buying agents. Usually, these The women play a very important role as the focal transactions are done without the involvement of supplier in the shea kernel supply chain but their the Borgu local government authority. participation is limited to their interaction with the Nevertheless, some local buying agents prefer to LBAs. Improving women’s participation in shea sell their products to buyers within the Nigerian kernel supply chain requires the ability of rural market women to sell their products directly to the buyers, while this can be a very important way to improve the women’s livelihood, evidence from rural borgu showed that it is far from reality unless the women are empowered to link directly with the buyers. In this context linking the women to buyers is not the BYR only way to curb exploitation in supply chains BYR other measures are required such as improving the LBA women’s working conditions to minimize the risk EXP involved in shea nut picking and kernel processing. Borgu The risks involved is demonstrated by the narrative BYR of a woman who engage in shea nut picking in Karabonde village: EXP “We face different kinds of challenges and risks, in fact everything about shea picking,

Map Source:it.wikivoyage.org processing and marketing is risky Figure 1: Shea Kernel Supply Chain Route from to us. I could remember that about Rural Borgu seven or eight years ago, we went to the bush to pick shea nuts and Exporter one of us was bitten by a snake.

We have to send two women back Buyer to the village to inform the men Local Buying Agents about the incident and before we The local buying agents are mostly stationed in the could find help the woman fainted, rural communities where shea trees are available, when the men came it was difficult shea nuts are picked and processed, for instance in for them to locate where we were villages such as Sabon-Pegi, Wawa, Karabonde, in the bush and when they

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Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR) Vol-2, Issue-5, 2016 ISSN: 2454-1362, http://www.onlinejournal.in

eventually found us she was Despite forming cooperative groups women still already weak they had to carry her don’t get any meaningful income from shea kernel on a motorcycle. On that day, we business. couldn’t proceed with shea nut picking we all had to return home. This woman am telling you died 3 days after the incidence”. (9) Information on Shea Kernel Supply Chain Destination. There seems to be less awareness among the rural women about the export destinations of their (8) Rural Borgu Women as Suppliers of product, therefore the women are handicapped and Shea Kernel cannot strategize properly even within their cooperative groups. Niger state FADAMA report In rural Borgu, women process shea butter, they on the activities of actors in the shea industry found reserve some quantities of shea kernel for shea that women are the key actors and without their butter processing. While some women exchange activities there can be no shea production while their shea kernel for food such as grain and their income cannot be commensurable to their groundnut oil. Women in the processing labour (FADAMA, 2014). Development programs communities see shea enterprise as both social such as FADAMA are initiated to support rural activity and economic activity. Many women who people especially women who engaged in food are members of cooperative societies sell their shea production to secure loans, provide infrastructure products in bulk to the cooperatives for shea butter and market linkages (Aderinoye-Abdulwahab et al., processing. More so, some women sell their shea 2015). Benefiting from such development programs products at the local traditional markets for meagre requires serious lobbying from the grassroots to the amount. The profits made by the women are spent government level. Although the performance of to take care of the welfare of their families. The these development programs have been reported to women feel extremely cheated in the supply chain, be uneven as the women cooperative group in and the feelings of being exploited is on the high Karabonde and Tsohon-Dogongari have not side. A shea nut picker in Tsohon-Dogongari benefitted in terms of training, market linkages and explained her feelings as follows: technical support. Unlike Kodo, in Bosso local government area where women benefit from the “We now that there is high shea butter village project (a concept borrowed demand for our shea kernel, we from the Ghanaian Shea industry). Kodo women know that we are being cheated by had fully benefitted and the shea butter village the local buying agents because the model happens to be a very important example of price they offer us is just too small, what an ideal value and supply chain should like compare to the energy we use, due to the kind of trainings and infrastructural time and risk but we cannot support they benefit from. complain to them, because we are afraid that if we do, they will stop (10) Summary and conclusions coming to buy our shea kernel”. This paper has examined supply chian relationships In Borgu, the women are price takers, the LBAs between strong and weak suppliers, by exploring (men) decide the prices to buy the products at the the roles played by the local buying agents (LBAs) local traditional market. Because the rural women and the impact of their roles on weak suppliers’ don’t have direct link with foreign buyers they can livelihood. This has enhanced understanding of the only sell to the LBAs. Studies conducted by (Garba effect of the LBAs activities on rural women et al., 2015) in Borgu and Bosso established how livelihood in rural Borgu. The result of the price is controlled by the LBAs leaving the women fieldwork indicates that there is lack of synergy with little control over the price of their own between the LBAs and weak actors in terms of products thereby relinquishing women’s voice and trust. Moreover, shea kernel supply chain is not power in the shea industry and thereby impacting free from risk even though it can be a viable source negatively on the women’s livelihood. This of income for the women. situation forced the women to form cooperatives to see whether their welfare could improve through Haven identified the supply arrangement which cooperatives. These discriminatory roles of men does not go in favour of the rural women, we and women in shea kernel supply chain deny the suggest that the activities of the LBAs and the women the ability to control export supply chain. exporters needs to be checked because they are the

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Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR) Vol-2, Issue-5, 2016 ISSN: 2454-1362, http://www.onlinejournal.in link between the rural women and the buying [7] Drost, S., Van Wijk, J., & Vellema, S. (2012). companies. This is recommended because women’s Linking theories of change and observed reality: the participation in shea kernel supply chain is only Shea value chain partnership case in Burkina (No. limited to supply of shea kernel and traditionally 2012/03). processed butter to the local buying agents. Nevertheless, the weak suppliers participate in shea [8] Eneh, M.C.C.(2010): An overview of sheanut and kernel supply chain as shea nut pickers, shea kernel sheabutter industry in Nigeria.Paper presented at the processors and shea kernel sellers in the traditional national semina organized by central bank of Nigeria in rural markets. collaboration with federal ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Nigeria Export Promotion The circumstances that contributed to the fact that Council(NEPC);4-5 August, 2010 women are hindred from fully benefiting needs to be adequately reviewed and act upon by the [9] Erinoso, S. M., Fawibe, O. O., Oyelakin, A. S., regulatory authorities, while socially sustainable Ajiboye, A. A., & Agboola, D. A. (2016). Herbal recipes projects or development plans should be designed used for the traditional management of infantile to favour all actors involved in the supply chain. dermatitis in Odeda, Southwestern Nigeria. African The analysis has shown that tackling the strategies Journal of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative currently used for shea kernel supply chain is a Medicines, 13(3), 33-43. necessary requirement to bring up new measures aimed at encouraging women’s active participation [10] Garba, I. D., Sanni, S. A., & Adebayo, C. O. (2015). in shea kernel supply chain. It is therefore, Analyzing the Structure and Performance of Shea Butter recommended that increasing the participation of Market in Bosso and Borgu Local Government Areas of weak actors in shea kernel supply chain will Niger State, Nigeria. International Journal of u-and e- improve their livelihood as well as welfare of their Service, Science and Technology, 8(2), 321-336. families and communities. [11] Garba, I. D., Sanni, S. A., & Adebayo, C. O. (2015). References Analyzing the Structure and Performance of Shea Butter Market in Bosso and Borgu Local Government Areas of Niger State, Nigeria. International Journal of u-and e- [1] Adams, E. (2015). Carbon Dioxide (CO 2) Service, Science and Technology, 8(2), 321-336. Emissions, Human Energy, and Cultural Perceptions Associated with Traditional and Improved Methods of [12] Greig, D. (2006). Shea butter: connecting rural Shea Butter Processing in Ghana, West Africa. Burkinabè women to international markets through fair trade. Development in practice, 16(5), 465-475. [2] Aderinoye-Abdulwahab, S. A., Nwachukwu, S. C., Salawu, O. L., & Popoola, P. O. (2015). Assessment of [13] Kiptot, E. (2015). Gender roles, responsibilities, and livelihood activities of rural farmers in Kwara State, spaces: implications for agroforestry research and Nigeria. Ethiopian Journal of Environmental Studies and development in Africa. International Forestry Review, Management, 8(2), 120-129. 17(4), 11-21.

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