The Co-Development Company

Shea post-harvest progress report November 2018

Content:1. Introduction .....................................................................32. PerspectivesfromafieldvisittoNorthernGhana ..... 4–53. AAK Shea Dashboard .....................................................64. Progress ..........................................................................75. Women questionnaire survey 2018 ........................... 8–96. Investing group bonuses for the community .......... 10–127. Themiddlemenrelationship ..........................................13

IntroductionShea post-harvest report 2018ThisisAAK’ssecondsheaprogressreport.Sinceourfirstreport,publishedinMay2018,thewomeninWestAfricahavecollectedthisyear’ssheafruitsandprocessedthemintodrysheakernels.ThewomenarecurrentlydeliveringthekernelstoAAK.

Muchprogresshasbeenmadeoverthepastsixmonths.Wehave,amongotherthings,conductedasurvey engagingalmost1,000womeninoursupplychaintogiveusfeedbackonourcooperation.Thishasgivenusalotofinsightsandallowedustodoourduediligenceonhumanrights,by,forexample,makingsurethereisno childlaborinoursupplychain.Thehighlightsofthesurveyarepresentedonpage8–9.

Sinceourlastreport,thewomenofourwomen’sgroupsprogramhavealsoreceivedtheirbonusesfromlastseason.Someoftheexamplesofhowthebonuseshaveimpactedthelocalcommunitiesaresharedon page 10–12.

AnothermajorprogressforushasbeentohaveProforestdoariskassessmentintheshea-growingareaofNorthernGhana.EventhoughAAKhasmanyyearsofexperienceoperatinginthesheaareas,ithasproven veryusefulforustohaveathirdpartylookingatthesustainabilityofsheawithfresheyes.YoucanreadmoreaboutProforest’sworkonpage4–5.

Furthermore,wehavebeenabletoidentifyaseriesofrisk-mitigatingactivitiesthatwewillimplementinoursheasupplychainstofurtherimproveourimpactinWestAfrica.Wehopethatyouwillenjoythereport.Wewillcontinuetocommunicateourprogressandincreasingimpactduring 2019.

MadsFeer GlobalCSRManager,AAK

PerspectivesfromafieldvisittoNorthernGhanaSustainabilityinsightsfromAAK’spartnerorganizationProforest

AristotleBoaiteyandYacoubaOuedraogowerethetwo-manProforest team for this assignment. They came from opposite pointsofthecompassanddifferentbackgroundstomeetupforthisassignmentinTamale,capitalofGhana’sNorthernRegion.Aristoflewinfromthesouth,fromAccra,whichishisbaseforworkingonsustainablemanagementintimber,oilpalmandothercommoditysupplychainsaspartoftheProforestAfricateam.YacoubatraveledoverlandfromBurkinaFasotothenorth.Heisaruraldevelopmentexpertwithabackgroundinforestryandaspecializationinbusi-nessandmanagementskills.

Aristo’shomeisinthehumid,tropicalsouthofGhana,thelandoftallforests,cocoaandpalmoilplantations.YacoubaisfromOuahigouyainthenorthofBurkina,wherethesavannahwoodlandthinsoutintothedryscruboftheSahel,ontheshoresoftheSaharaDesert.Tamalesitshalfwaybetweenthetwo,nearthesouthernedgeofthesavannah,avegetationzonethatstretches500kmtothenorth,inabeltspreadingwestintoCoted’IvoireandMali,andeastintonorthernTogo,BeninandNigeria.ThesheatreeisathomethroughoutthiszoneandAAKsourcesheakernelsfromallthese countries.

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UnpredictableweatherconditionsAfewmonthsearlier,thiswouldhavebeenadesiccatedlandscapeofochreandgrey,thegroundparchedorburned,andonlythetreesscatteredthroughtheagroforestrypark-landsbearsomedustygreenfoliage.Foramonthortwointhedryseason,theclimateiscooledbytheharmattanwindfromthenorth,bringingahazeofdustfromtheSahara.ByMarch,theheathadreturned,buildinguptothearrivaloftherainswithmountinghumidity,punctuatedbyviolentstorms.Therainscanbefickle.Farmersareneversurewhenitissafetoplanttheirannualcerealcrops,orforhowlongtherainswillnourishthem.Farminginthislandisplayedasagameofchancewiththeweather. Shea trees are not immune from these year-to-year variationsinyield,buttheyofferanopportunityforruralhouseholdstodiversifytheirincome,abufferagainsttheuncertaintiesofrainfedagriculture.Unlikeplantationtreecropsgrowninhumidhighforestzones,likepalmoil,rubberandcocoa,thesheaisanaturallyoccurringtree,theprop-agationofwhichcannotbedivorcedfromfarmingsystems,landandtreetenure,governanceandthewiderecosystemmanagement.Itisnotexactlywild.Treesareallself-sownbutsystematicallyselected,protectedandmaintainedbyfarmersinagroforestryparklandsystems,combiningannualcrops,livestockandafairlynarrowrangeofmultipurposetree species. Thereisasingleharvestofsheakernelseachyearandgatheringitinisalmostexclusivelythepreserveofwomen.Itisestimatedthatmorethan4millionwomenareinvolvedin shea harvesting and processing in West Africa. This is rathermorethanthe2,5–3millionsmallholdersinvolvedinpalmoilproductionworld-wide.Incomefromsheaismodestbycomparisonwithpalmoil,butitssignificanceforlivelihoodsecurityisenormous.Generally,thisincomepassesthroughthehandsofwomentosupportexpenditureonhouseholdessentials.Itfillsacriticalincome-gapatthestartoftherainyseason,whenfoodstocksfromthepreviousannualharvestarelowandthecurrentseason’scropsareyettoyield.Andsheaisalsoanimportantlocalfoodsource–bothintheformofthesheabutter,whichisusedintheprepa-rationoftraditionalmeals,andthefleshofthenutrientrich

sheafruit,whichripensaroundthesheakernelsfromMaythroughtoJuly.Abouthalfthesheaharvestisprocessedandconsumedlocallyorgoestomeetnationalorregionalmarketdemand.However,thevolumesexportedtofeedinterna-tionalmarketshavegrownrapidlyinthepast15years,mostdestinedforuseascocoabutterequivalent.

ImpactsofandriskstoAAK’ssheasupplychainThisyear,therainsarrivedontimeandinrelativeabun-dance.So,AristoandYacoubaarrivedinnorthernGhanatofindalushgreenlandscape,withfarmersbusyintheirfieldsplantingandtendingthenewseason’scrops.TheyhadfivedaystoobserveandinquireintothesustainabilityimpactsofandriskstoAAK’ssheasupplychains.Alreadytheyhadconducteddesk-basedresearchintotheissuesatplay.AristohadmetwiththeteamattheGlobalSheaAllianceinAccra.ForYacouba,thiswasalreadyveryfamiliarterritory,ashehasmanyyearsofexperienceintheregion,workingonthedevelopmentofsmallenterprisesbasedonnon-timberforestproducts,includingshea.ForAristoandProforestthiswasanewdeparture.Anewsupplychainwithsustainabilityissuesverydifferentfrommanygloballytradedoilsandfats.AristoandYacoubahadlinedupaseriesofmeetingswithstakeholdersandkeyinformants.Theymetwithwomen’sgroupsdirectlyinvolvedinsheacollection,andwithtraderswhobuytheirproduce.Theymetwithpeoplefromgovernment,industryandresearchinstitutions,civilsocietyorganizationsandsocialenterprises.TheiritinerarytookthemtothenorthandeastofTamale,intotheterritoryoftheDagombapeople;totheGonjatownofDamongotothenorth-west;andnorthwardstoBolgatangaandPaga,rightontheborderwithBurkinaFaso.Andofcourse,theyalsometanddiscussedwithstafffromKIGhana(AAK)togettheirperspectiveonthechallengesandopportunitiesforrespon-siblesourcingwithintheiroperations. OntheirshorttourofnorthernGhana,AristoandYacoubafoundnewdemandsonthelandandnaturalresources,evidenceofchangingclimatepatterns,expectationsofimprovementinlivelihoodsandasheasectorthatisitselfgrowingandevolvingtofeedbiggerglobalmarkets.Theysuggested some promising good options for AAK to ensure theysourceresponsiblyandsecurefuturesupplyofsheakernelstomeetthisgrowingglobaldemand.

TonyHill,DirectorofSmallholderSupportProgramme,Proforest

Proforestisaunique,non-profitgroupthatsupportscompanies,governmentsandotherorganisationstoimplementtheircommitmentstotheresponsibleproductionandsourcingofagriculturalcommoditiesandforestproducts.AAKandProforestarelongtermpartnersprogressingonresponsiblesourcingtogether.

Traceabilitytowomen’sgroupslevelSupplierengagement

Employeestatistics WestAfrica

96%

CSR

95%

SheaTraining

% of target group trained

100%

Anti-corruption

96%

Competitionlaw

86% increase

between2014and 2017

%ofsuppliershavingsignedthesuppliercodeofconduct–Q32018NumberofwomenenrolledinBurkinaFasoandGhana

TRADITIONALSUPPLYCHAIN KOLONAFASO(women’sgroups)

Supplier Code of Conduct

AAK SheaDASHBOARD

AAK engagement

Numberofrocketstovesbuilt

2017 1,320

Q32018 1,836

2016 306

NumberofkilometersdrivenbyAAKextensionofficers

728,4432016/2017

1,377,6882017/2018

*Thesheakernelsfromthewomen’sgroupsprogram(KoloNafaso)arefullytraceabletowomen’sgroupslevelandkeptseparatedfromtheonesfromthetraditionalsupplychainallthewayfromsourcingtoendproduct.

100%

Benin

96%

Ivory coast

100%

Mali

BurkinaFaso

100%

Ghana

96%

100% traceableandsegregated*

150k

100k

50k

0k2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

94,473

2016 2017 2018

119,527131,607 134,261

54,919

36,579

14,3047,6134,3002,250

NumberofvillagevisitsbyAAKextensionofficers

2016/2017 11,664

2017/2018 13,365

NumberofbankaccountsAAKhasopenedforthewomen’sgroups

1,7892016

2,1472017

2015 961

2,6162018

NumberofpermanentAAKemployeesinWestAfrica

%ofemployeeshavingsignedthe AAK code of conduct

100%

%ofemployeestrainedinfirstaid

85%

150

125

100

75

50

25

02014 2015 2016 2017

77

95

132

143

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TrackingprogressWeareprogressingaccordingtoourexpectationsasyoucanseeonthedashboardpage6.Somekeyaspectsofthedashboardarehighlightedbelow.

SupplierCodeofConductSinceourlastreport,wehavestartedownsheasourcingoperationsinIvoryCoast,andalloursuppliersinIvoryCoasthavesignedoursuppliercodeofconduct.Oursupplierbaseisdynamic,somejoinAAKwhileothersleave.Atthetimeofreporting,96percentofoursuppliersinGhanahadsignedoursuppliercodeofconduct,and100percenthadsignedinBurkinaFaso,Benin,IvoryCoast,andMali.

TrainingofemployeesSomefunctionsinAAKrequirespecifictrainingrelatedtoCSRissues.Currently,100percentofourrelevantemployeesinWestAfricahavereceivedatrainingon

anti-corruption;while96percenthavereceivedtrainingoncompetitionlaw.96and95percentaretrainedinCSR,responsiblesourcingofshea,respectively.

NumberofwomenenrolledinKoloNafasoIn2018,focushasbeenonconsolidatingtheworkwearedoingwiththeexistingwomen’sgroups.OntopoftheconsolidationworkwemanagedtoincreasethenumberofwomenenrolledinKoloNafasofrom131,607womenin2017to134,261womenin2018. Nextyearwewillfocusonincreasingthenumberofwomenfurther.

TraceabilityBelowyoucanseeoursheasupplybasemapshowingtheorigin of the shea that AAK is buying this season.

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AAKsheasupplybasemap

Mali BurkinaFaso BeninIvoryCoast NigeriaTogoGhana

Cameroon

NigerSenegal

Gambia

GuineaBissau

SierraLeone

Liberia

Guinea

Mauritania

Age range: 18-8018-80 20-75Years working with AAK: 4,13,35 2,6

Median age: 45,143,5 42Number of respondents: 626951

Total: Burkina Faso: Ghana:

325

Kolo Nafaso –Direct feedback from the women's groupsAAK regularly conducts surveys to receive feedback from the shea-picking women we directly work with. In 2018, we conducted surveys in Burkina Faso and Ghana. Almost 1,000 women responded to our questionnaire. The solid base of learnings that we gathered through the surveys are shared below.

of the women say thattheir children participate in collecting shea.

78%say it doesn’t prevent them from going to school.

99,7%

The right to go to school

AAK highly encourages the women to send their children to school.

state selling shea kernels is a good way to make money.

98%are satisfied with the way AAK works with the group.

92%are convinced that the pre-financing from AAK arrived at a good time last season.

88%

56%

21%

Fabricating shea butter

Farming activities

Investing ina savings club 2%

2%

3%

14%

Did not invest 2%

Selling clothes, soaps,hair products etc.

Trading agriculturalproducts

Selling foodstuffs

What were the other income-generating activitiesthat you invested in?

How did you spend the pre-financing money?

38% - Agricultural activities

25% - Schooling of children

5% - Other Income-generating activities

2% - Savings

Investments for future returns

30%

70%

Ensuring food securityand basic needs

19% - Purchase of food

11% - Purchase ofhousehold items

“AAK’s work has shown us the value of our shea trees.”

“The work is transparent and helps us solve our problems at the time of the pre-financing”

“AAK has helped us pay for schooling, buy agricultural inputs, and medicine for ourselves”

Secure place to store money

Facilitatessaving money

30%

18%

Promotes thegroup’s autonomy

Don’t know

Allows us to takeloans from the bank

11%

14%

The money in thebank accrues interest

12%

11%

What are the advantages of having a bank account?How do you decide how the money of your bonus should be spent?

AAK will follow up to make sure that in the future it will be a common decision of the group how to invest their bonuses.

Is the money fromselling shea for yourselfor your husband?

89% - The group votes

8% - Leader decides

3% - Other

94% - Myself

5% - Both/the family

1% - My husband

“We share the bonus to pay for the schooling of our children”

28% - Save the money in the bank

22% - Group expenses

17% - Distributed across the group

12% - Trading/investment in shea kernels or other activity

7% - Village projects

7% - Don’t know/grouphasn’t decided yet

7% - Group savings/micro-finance clubs

How did you use the money from your bonus?

of the women groups have access to a bank account.79%

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Investing group bonuses for the community

Qualityandvolumearethecriteriatoearnanannualbonus.Unlikepaymentforthecollectedsheakernels,whichgotoindividualwomen,thebonusispaidtothewomen’sgroups.Itisthenuptothegroupmemberstodecidewhattospend

Thewomen’sgroupsKinyobaanand Titirtob are both based in the villageofTinangeriainGhana.Afewyearsago,thecommunitybuiltanewschoolbuilding,butdidnothaveenoughfundstoplasterthewallsorinstalldoorstotheclassrooms.Themembersofthetwogroupsdecidedtopooltheirbonusmoneyandfundboththeplasteringandtheinstallationof doors.

Insidetheclassroomoftheschool,withwallplasteringanddoorspaidforbythewomenofTinangeria,using the bonus money from AAK.

themoneyon.Moreoftenthannot,weseethatthewomenchoosetospendthemoneyoninitiativesthatbenefitnotjustthemselves,butalsotherestoftheircommunity.

Renovatingthelocalschool

“Weareplanningtobuydesksandchairsfortheschoolifwegetabonusnextseason.”

Kobiche Danaa, the secretary of Titirtob women’s group

“Iknowthatitisthewomen’sbusiness,butIamreally,reallyhappytoseethat their business benefitsallofmycommunity.”

Nakpali Naa, Chief of Tinangeria

ExamplesfromNorthernGhana

AugustinaAndrews,secondfromtherightandchairwomanofNitagarwomen’sgroup,andherfellowgroupleaderscanonceagainpumpwaterfromtheundergroundusingthevillageborehole.

1111

Renovationofboreholes

WaterisarareandvitalresourceinNorthernGhana,sowhentheboreholesinGrushie-Zongostartedhavingproblemswithbrokenvalvesandleakingpipes,itdidn’ttakelongforthemembersoftheTagnanmeandNitagarwomen’sgroupstodecidetousetheirbonusmoneytoinstallnewvalvesandpipes.Thisway,watersupplywassecuredintimeforthedryseason–notonlyforthevillage,butalsoforthelocalschool,whichserveschildrenfromsevensurroundingvillages.

“Thealternativetotheboreholeistofetchwaterfromtheriver–butthatisalongwalk(almost5kilometers),sowe’rereallyhappythatourboreholeisworkingagainthankstoourbonus.”

Augustina Andrews, Chairwoman of Nitagar women’s group

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Electricalinstallationsatthecommunityhealthclinic

HealthservicesinNorthernGhanaarefarfromideal,soinSisipethecommunityconstructedabuildingtoserveasahealthclinic,andtobeusedbythenursesfromGhanaNationalHealthServices.Thenursescomebythevillageonceeverycoupleofmonthstodoantenatalhealthchecksandmonitorthehealthanddevelopmentofnewborns.Thebuildingwasmadewithoutelectricalinstallations,sothewomenfromtheKagbonMaToandAbenKukoeiwomen’sgroupsdecidedtousetheirbonustoinstallwiringforlightsandfansandpaytheneededfeestogetthebuildingconnectedtothemainlinerunningtotheircommunity.

“Becauseofthebonus,everythingisnowreadyfortheelectricitycompanytoconnectthebuildingtothemainline.”

Addisheitu Iddrisu, Chairwoman of Aben Kukoei

“Itmaynotseemofmuch,butfansareahugereliefwhenthe thermometer reads more than40degrees,andthewomencansoonattendhealthcheck-upsforthemselvesandtheirchildrenundermuchmorecomfortableconditions.”

Addisheitu Iddrisu, Chairwoman of Aben Kukoei

Middlemenareofkeyimportanceforsourcingshea

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Themiddlemenrelationship

Sheabeingawidespreadcropovervastareas,AAKreliesonworkingwithmanysuppliersinourconventionalsupplychaintobuythesheakernelsinthebushandtransportthemtotheAAKcollectionpoints. Intotal,AAKhasmorethan100suppliersacrossWestAfrica.Eventhoughnewsuppliersarecominginandothersareleaving,mosthavebeenwithusformanyyears. AdandeAmelieDohoueinBeninisoneofourmostloyalsuppliersandshehasrecentlycelebrated25yearsworkingwithAAK! AdandeAmelieDohouedelivered100tonsduringherfirstseasonandevensuchquantitywasdifficultatthattimeduetothelackofroads.Sheusedtospendmorethantwoweeksatthetimeinthebushtobeabletobuy15tonsofsheaandshewasevenstungbyascorpionduringhersearchforshea,resultinginweeksofhighfever.In1995,whenAAKinBeninhaditsfirsttwoseventonstruck,shecoulddeliver500tons.ShehasbeensupplyingAAKeversince.

MaintainingsupplierrelationshipsWemeetalloursuppliersseveraltimeseveryyear.Ahandfulofmeetingsareheldpriortotheopeningoftheseasonwherewediscussopeningdates,startingprices,contracts,quality,traceability,etc.,butwealsosign/renew“CodeofConductforSuppliersofRawMaterials”andsimilardocuments.Oncetheseasonstarts.thefrequencychangesandwemeetsuppliersdaily.Weneedtostayclosetooursuppliersinordertoknowasmuchaspossibleaboutamarketthatisnottransparent–itisextremelydifficulttogetatrueunderstandingoftheavailabilityinthemarket.Ourprimarysourceisoursuppliers.BelowapictureofsuchmeetinginBobo-DioulassoinBurkinaFaso,wherethecurrent state of the 2018/2019-season is being discussed. ForusatAAK,thesuppliersareimportantpartnersinoursupplychain.Wearebusinesspartnersandwerelyoneachother.Ifourmiddlemenaresuccessful,soarewe.Ifwearesuccessful,soareourmiddlemen.

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