216
against encroaching desertification, and preserving them helps in both the mitigation and adaptation to climate change (Mbow et al. 2014).
Shea butter production could be considered outside the definition of climatesmart agriculture (CSA)—after all, it involves the gathering of products from noncultivated trees and therefore strictly speaking does not qualify as agriculture. From
a broader perspective, however, shea nut production supports the objectives of CSA,
the three pillars of which are widely defined as increasing food security, increasing
adaptive capacity, and mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions (FAO 2013; Neufeldt
et al. 2013; Campbell et al. 2014; Lipper et al. 2014). Shea production has a positive
impact on adaptive capacity: by enhancing the economic value of shea trees, it
encourages the retention of trees in the landscape which will continue to provide
buffering ecosystem services, promoting water and soil retention and guarding
against desertification (Sinare et al. 2016). A healthy shea nut industry therefore
promotes landscape-scale adaptation to climate change. The industry appears to
have a neutral impact on greenhouse gas emissions, and a positive impact on food
security, as is detailed below. We argue that increased shea butter production, supported by better business infrastructure leads to increased incomes and makes
households more resilient to negative shocks.
The non-governmental organization (NGO) TREE AID led a 5-year programme
1
(2012–2017) with several goals: (i) increase income of communities involved in
sourcing and processing shea nuts through improvements in product quality and
quantity; (ii) increase women’s empowerment by building organizational capacity
and commercial infrastructure including business groups, warehouses and credit
schemes; (iii) diversify the buyers’ base to allow long-term and stable incomes for
the producers; (iv) protect ecosystems and promote climate resilience through the
reduction of the environmental impact of shea nut sourcing and production. TREE
AID’s efforts included helping producers form “union” organisations focused on
regional marketing, services and value addition. It worked to build buffers against
market fluctuations by securing minimum price guarantees from national and international buyers of shea butter. TREE AID also provided training on improved methods for shea butter processing, including the use of hand tools and electric machinery.
For this study, we evaluated the TREE AID programme using the Rural Household
Multi-Indicator Survey (RHoMIS), a carefully designed, low-cost, flexible household survey tool for efficient characterisation of farm systems in communities suffering from poverty and food insecurity (Hammond et al. 2017; Rosenstock et al.
2017). This study used RHoMIS to test whether the TREE AID shea butter programme helped increase the resilience of the extremely poor in Northern Ghana.
1 This project was implemented with funding from Comic Relief.
J. Hammond et al.
against encroaching desertification, and preserving them helps in both the mitigation and adaptation to climate change (Mbow et al. 2014).
Shea butter production could be considered outside the definition of climatesmart agriculture (CSA)—after all, it involves the gathering of products from noncultivated trees and therefore strictly speaking does not qualify as agriculture. From
a broader perspective, however, shea nut production supports the objectives of CSA,
the three pillars of which are widely defined as increasing food security, increasing
adaptive capacity, and mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions (FAO 2013; Neufeldt
et al. 2013; Campbell et al. 2014; Lipper et al. 2014). Shea production has a positive
impact on adaptive capacity: by enhancing the economic value of shea trees, it
encourages the retention of trees in the landscape which will continue to provide
buffering ecosystem services, promoting water and soil retention and guarding
against desertification (Sinare et al. 2016). A healthy shea nut industry therefore
promotes landscape-scale adaptation to climate change. The industry appears to
have a neutral impact on greenhouse gas emissions, and a positive impact on food
security, as is detailed below. We argue that increased shea butter production, supported by better business infrastructure leads to increased incomes and makes
households more resilient to negative shocks.
The non-governmental organization (NGO) TREE AID led a 5-year programme
1
(2012–2017) with several goals: (i) increase income of communities involved in
sourcing and processing shea nuts through improvements in product quality and
quantity; (ii) increase women’s empowerment by building organizational capacity
and commercial infrastructure including business groups, warehouses and credit
schemes; (iii) diversify the buyers’ base to allow long-term and stable incomes for
the producers; (iv) protect ecosystems and promote climate resilience through the
reduction of the environmental impact of shea nut sourcing and production. TREE
AID’s efforts included helping producers form “union” organisations focused on
regional marketing, services and value addition. It worked to build buffers against
market fluctuations by securing minimum price guarantees from national and international buyers of shea butter. TREE AID also provided training on improved methods for shea butter processing, including the use of hand tools and electric machinery.
For this study, we evaluated the TREE AID programme using the Rural Household
Multi-Indicator Survey (RHoMIS), a carefully designed, low-cost, flexible household survey tool for efficient characterisation of farm systems in communities suffering from poverty and food insecurity (Hammond et al. 2017; Rosenstock et al.
2017). This study used RHoMIS to test whether the TREE AID shea butter programme helped increase the resilience of the extremely poor in Northern Ghana.
1 This project was implemented with funding from Comic Relief.
J. Hammond et al.