Firsthand account: Alidu Tia, Sustainability Officer at our Shea Sustainability Program

For more than five years, Alidu has worked as a supply chain officer for Bunge Loders Croklaan in Tamale, Northern Ghana. He oversees the fruiting process in surrounding shea parklands in Ghana and other West African countries.

Visiting the shea parklands to observe the fruiting process can be challenging as shea parklands are often located in rural areas where the roads are not always accessible due to floods. It is, however, a good way to evaluate what stage the fruiting process is at so we can estimate when the nuts will fall from the tree and the collection process can start."

Shea trees grow in the Savannah Region in West-Africa. Trees fruit every year between March and July, and the nuts are collected from May until August. Alidu has also been involved in Sustainability projects in the Tamale Region. He organizes the distribution of shea rollers in Northern Ghana and was involved in the Warehouse project in the Upper East Region in Ghana.

"Being involved in on-the-ground sustainability activities is very gratifying work. Its great to see and hear from the female entrepreneurs on how the tools we supply them help support their collection process and ultimately increase their yield and income. During our visits to the communities, we converse with the female entrepreneurs to learn from their experiences and to understand their challenges. Not only related to the shea collection process, but also to their community livelihoods.