Kathrin Schreckenberg 99It is particularly as a source of lump sum income, obtainable with no
investment other than labour, that shea kernels are important to women. In
1993, income from kernel sales varied from CFA2,000 to CFA10,000 (US$7–36)
and, for many women, was sufficient to cover a substantial part of their ‘annual
expenditure’. Similar figures were recorded in south-western Burkina Faso
(US$15–35) by Crélerot (1995, cited in Boffa 1999). Incomes depend on the
amount of kernels a woman can collect and the time at which they are sold.
Poorer women cannot wait for prices to rise and are obliged to sell all their
kernels as soon as they are sufficiently dry, whilst others can hold on to their
stocks to benefit from seasonal price rises. In 1992/3, the price for kernels
rose from CFA17 per kilogram at harvest time to CFA52 per kilogram just before
the harvest. In spite of variable yields, it seems that annual incomes may not
be so different from year to year—in a good harvest year women can collect
more but have to sell at a lower price, while in a poor harvest year the little
they can collect fetches a higher price. Certainly at a national level, Hyman
(1991) has argued that annual variations in yield are partly offset by changes
in the proportions of nuts collected.
Income from the sale of shea kernels was one of a number of NTFP-based
incomes found to be particularly important in bridging the financial shortfall
at the start of the agricultural season (May/June) (Schreckenberg 2000). Many
women even suspended their usual income-generating activities so that they
could invest time in collecting shea nuts. The average amounts collected by
women in the different ethnic groups are shown in Table 1.Table 1. Kernel collection, shea butter consumption and NTFP consumption
Anii Logba Otamari
(in Kodowari) (in Djantala) (in Diepani PK8)
Average amount (kg) 159 202 288
of kernels collected
per woman in 1993Average annual value (CFA) 516 1261 9193
of shea butter consumed
per householdAverage annual value (CFA) 18,427 23,493 25,834
of all main NTFPs consumed
per household
Source: Schreckenberg 1996.Shea is less important as a source of ‘weekly’ income as only 6 out of the
201 women in the study villages processed kernels into butter for sale. These
were mostly Peulh women, who are known locally as the ‘butter-making
specialists’. Making shea butter is a laborious (see below) and not very profitable
business. On average, women transform about 12 kg of kernels, giving them a
total profit (not taking into account the opportunity cost of their labour) of
about CFA200 (US$0.7) per week. Although at the low end of the range, this is
similar to profits made from other ‘weekly’ activities. Women maintain their
profits at this level regardless of the price of kernels by altering the unit price06SHEA.P65 99 22/12/2004, 11:04