This article was supported by SGCI.

[KAMPALA] For Ojok Okello, a Ugandan shea nut farmer, turning his harvest into a marketable product was a lengthy and labour-intensive process.

It would take at least ten hours, with several workers helping him, to process one kilogram of shea butter, a fatty substance derived from the nuts of the shea tree and used in cosmetics and cooking.

The production process traditionally includes boiling, sun drying, and grinding the shea kernels to separate the butter from solids.

“We used charcoal or firewood which is not eco-friendly,” said Okello, who lives in Okere City, an ecovillage in northern Uganda where naturally-growing shea trees are at the heart of sustainable development efforts.

“We then pay a minimum of Sh6000 [US$1.6] per kilogram at the milling site, which is a lot of money. This leads to losses.”

But a new technology developed by Ugandan researchers, which separates different elements of the fatty substance, is helping shrink the long hours spent producing shea butter, allowing Okello and his co-workers to create high-quality products efficiently.

“Our butter had a strong natural smell that scared away customers who weren’t familiar with it,” Okello explained.

He said he was grateful for the technology as it had improved the quality of the product, potentially opening the door to international markets.

The innovation, spearheaded by Francis Omujal, senior researcher at Uganda’s Natural Chemotherapeutics Research Institute, and his team, aims to refine shea butter production into a more sustainable and lucrative business.

The technology was developed with a US$25,000 grant from the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology under the Science Granting Councils Initiative (SGCI).

The process, known as fractionation, separates fats into liquid and solid components, enabling producers to make products such as cooking oil, butter, mosquito repellents, hair oils, and cosmetics.

The machine, powered by gas or electricity, first heats the shea butter to melt it, then cools it slowly so it can separate the different components at melting point.

According to the 2024 Uganda Shea Market Study, traditional processing methods are inefficient, affecting the quantity and quality of shea products and limiting potential trade. It says Uganda’s share of the global shea trade stands at less than one per cent.

Poor export infrastructure and market access issues also hinder efficient distribution, the study says.

Omujal believes fractionation could increase output by 300 per cent and save 40 per cent of the energy used in traditional methods.

“This technology has no wastage,” he said.

“The solid becomes butter and the liquids are turned into oils. These products are of good quality and can be consumed anywhere around the world.”

According to a 2022 survey conducted by the Uganda Women Entrepreneurs Association Limited (UWEAL), shea butter production provides income for thousands of rural women in northern Uganda and South Sudan, who control 70 per cent of the shea trade.

But the women still process shea butter using traditional methods which result in low yields and poor butter quality.

UWEAL chairperson Sarah Kitakule says the fractionation technology could improve production, packaging, branding, and export standards.

“This technology will not only be useful for Uganda’s shea butter industry, but the entire East Africa,” said Kitakule.

According to Omujal, the fractionation process means the shea butter can be used for a greater variety of products, which can be sold in both local and international markets.

“Traditionally, shea butter production in Uganda focused mainly on domestic use as an edible oil,” he explained.

“This technology will add value so that we can get multiple products and increase local and international markets.

“We believe this dream will empower our shea butter communities.”

However, with a cost of US$10,000, the technology is out of reach for many farmers and finance is needed to scale up the initiative, to support more producers.

John Walugembe, executive director of Uganda’s Federation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, believes the technology could significantly improve livelihoods in northern Uganda.

He says improving access to both the machines and electricity would help shea butter producers maximise the benefits of the new technology.

“We can ask government to make sure these machines are taken to shea butter communities,” he said.

“We ask government to extend electricity to these communities because we have seen these machines are eco-friendly and they use power, yet we know most of the shea butter communities do not have electricity.”

This article was supported by the Science Granting Councils Initiative, which aims to strengthen the institutional capacities of 18 public science funding agencies in Sub-Saharan Africa.

This piece was produced by SciDev.Net’s Sub-Saharan Africa English desk.