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September 10, 2025 by Our Reporter
Director general of Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Prof.Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso, has reaffirmed the council’s commitment to strengthening the shea sector through value addition and strategic partnerships.
Ike-Muonso spoke during a visit to Salid Agriculture, Nigeria’s largest shea nut refining factory, in Kudu, Niger State.
The director general said the factory is “a milestone in developing utilisation of shea nut in Nigeria,” and lauded the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Alhaji Ali Saidu, for his resilience and innovation in building a world-class refinery.
Saidu said the company has been in operation for 15 years and is a strong partner of RMRDC. He noted that shea is a lucrative venture with potential for sustainability, stressing that the shea industry, despite being the largest in nut production globally, is unstructured and underutilised.
“Nigeria is No. 1 in shea nut production but ranks seventh in shea butter development. That is a paradox,” Saidu noted. “The shea industry needs sustainability. That is why we invited RMRDC to be part of the Global Shea Alliance sustainability platform. I was vice president of the national association; we identified the need for a road map for the industry.”
He described Federal Government’s recent ban on raw shea nut exports as “a positive front” for ministries, agencies, financial institutions, such as NEXIM Bank, NIRSAL, and BOI, with private stakeholders, to develop the value chain. He lauded President Bola Tinubu for endorsing the policy, saying it will open an era for local processing.
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Alhaji Saidu further stressed the central role of women in the value chain. “You cannot discuss shea without the women. They collect the seeds at grassroots level. We must empower them to strengthen the sector.”
He said Salid Agriculture works with over 15,000 women supplying nuts, in about 19 states where shea trees grow naturally. With the ban, we are considering expansion into other states to boost capacity.
RMRDC chief reiterated the council’s policy stance against export of raw materials without value addition. He noted that Federal Government has endorsed this through legislation, including the ban on raw shea nut exports, a move he said is “a step to restructure the sector and stimulate local processing.”
“My message has been that Nigeria should not export raw materials without at least 30 per cent value addition. With facilities like this processing shea nuts at 70 to 80 per cent value addition, we see it can be done.”
Ike-Muonso hailed Salid Agriculture’s vision and encouraged other sector players to emulate such initiatives to boost industrial growth.
He recalled that RMRDC developed the Shea Nut Roadmap in 2019 and announced plans to review it with other stakeholders to meet current realities. He applauded the Niger State Government for allocating 10 hectares of land for the cultivation of shea trees, a move expected to generate over 600,000 jobs in the long term.
Commending Alhaji Saidu and his team, the DG assured that RMRDC will continue to stand by SALID Agriculture to ensure sustainability through incentives, interventions, and policy support. He said that the success of SALID Agriculture demonstrates Nigeria’s capacity to host globally competitive shea processing facilities and to lead the transformation of the shea industry across Africa.
The tour of the SALID Agriculture Shea Factory was a highly insightful and impactful experience for the delegation from the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC). Accompanying the DG were key officials, including the Director of Planning, Statistics and Policy Department, Mrs. Rachel Kotso; Director of Agriculture and Agro-Allied Department, Dr. Seb Ebierekwe; Overseeing Director of State Industrial Extension Services, Dr. (Mrs.) Edith Obi; Deputy Director of the Food and Beverages Division, Dr. (Mrs.) Kiki Oloruntoba; Niger State Coordinator, Dr. Abdulrasheed Mohammed; and other esteemed members of the Council.
The visit underscores RMRDC’s ongoing commitment to strengthening local industries, supporting agro-allied development, and fostering value addition within Nigeria’s raw materials sector.
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