Prof Olabisi Fatimah Adekola, an agronomist at the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), has raised alarm over the growing threats posed by illegal charcoal production and climate change to shea trees in Kwara State.
She warns that the trend jeopardises rural livelihoods and Nigeria’s chances of fully tapping into the multi-billion-dollar global shea industry. Adekola delivered the warning on Tuesday at the forum Workshop on Sustainable Management of Shea Agroforestry Parklands for Improved Livelihoods in Kwara State, held at the Mustapha Akanbi Foundation Hall in Ilorin.
The forum was organised by the Haashim Initiative for Community Advancement (HICA) with support from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme (SGP). Delivering the keynote address, Adekola emphasised that research and education remain central to saving the shea sector.
She explained that researchers have successfully reduced the gestation period of shea trees from 25 years to between 5 and 7 years, making them more attractive for farmers. However, she warned that trees that once flowered three times a year now do so only once, due to the impact of climate stress and the need for innovation.
Her team, she added, is deploying tissue culture technology to mass-produce high-quality plants, conserve genetic traits, and establish conservation centres in Kwara and Niger States. She argued that with proper investment, shea cultivation could become as profitable as citrus and coffee farming.
