106 The contribution of shea butter (Vitellaria paradoxa C.F. Gaertner) to local livelihoods in BeninTRENDS AND ISSUES
The contribution of NTFPs to local livelihoods is variable both within
communities and over time. The short duration of this study means that it was
impossible to provide any long-term observations of trends relating to local
shea consumption and trade. But trends may be observed across space as well
as time, and the different behaviours of the four ethnic groups included in the
study do appear to indicate the direction of change. This change is evident in
three closely related areas—the resource base, direct consumption and shea
as an income-earning activity. Trends at local level are complicated by change
in a fourth area, namely the international trade in shea. Each of these is dealt
with separately below.Changes in the resource base
As a typical parkland species, the future of shea is closely linked to the future
of the parklands system itself. In the Bassila area, three changes in agricultural
practices may threaten the survival of parklands in their present form:- A growing number of young men have been trained as ‘modern’ bul-
lock plough farmers and have removed all the trees from their fields.
While they are encouraged to replant trees around field boundaries
or in small woodlots, most prefer to plant pole or timber-producing
species or sometimes exotic fruit trees (particularly mango and/or
cashew) rather than indigenous NTFP species, which are slow to ma-
ture and the benefits of which are traditionally associated with women
(Schreckenberg 1999). - The introduction of cotton—now the major cash-crop in the area—has,
for the first time, taught farmers to monocrop. Cotton is often culti-
vated by groups of men and complete removal of trees is recommended. - Shea regeneration occurs predominantly in the fallows. The current trend
of shortened fallows, combined with the fact that shea can only repro-
duce from about 20 years (Ruyssen 1957), means that the population in
the fields is an ageing one (Schreckenberg 1999). Given the longevity of
shea (easily up to 200 years), this trend is unlikely to become a problem
in the immediate future but may be cause for longer-term concern.
Similar changes have been reported from Senegal (Bergeret and Ribot 1990),
Côte d’Ivoire (Bernard et al. 1996) and Burkina Faso (Kessler 1992; Gijsbers et
al. 1994; Boffa 1995). Yet evidence suggests that parklands are unlikely to
disappear overnight. They are, on the whole, highly dynamic systems that
may develop over many generations, reflecting changes in the physical and
socio-economic environment (Boffa 1999). Despite the long time before shea
reaches maturity, the key factor determining its future is clearly the market.
Thus Louppe and Outtara (1996) report from northern Côte d’Ivoire that
management of shea trees responds rapidly to changes in prices of its products
with regeneration being promoted when the kernels or butter sell for high
prices. Conversely if the fuelwood prices outstrip those of other shea products,
trees tend to be felled and sold as fuelwood.06SHEA.P65 106 22/12/2004, 11:04