Africa: Promoting biodiversity & alleviating poverty in Ghana & Tanzania
Unilever has joined forces with a diverse group of organisations to help farmers cultivate a new tree crop.
Producing high quality products
Farmers in Ghana, Tanzania and Nigeria have begun harvesting a traditional seed which provides oil for Unilever to use in its spreads and cooking products. In 2008, allanblackia seeds generated €100 000 additional income for farmers. Unilever is playing a leading role in this development project and plans are in place to extend it to Liberia in 2009.
Allanblackia trees – named after a Scottish botanist – grow naturally in the wet tropical forests of Africa. They produce a large fruit pod, containing seeds that are rich in oil. This oil is unique in its composition and melting behaviour. Spreads containing allanblackia oil (like Flora/Becel) remain perfectly stable at room temperature and melt quickly upon eating. In 2008, the European Commission cleared allanblackia oil for use in spreads and it is now used in Unilever products on sale in Europe.
Cultivation
The first phase of the project encouraged farmers to harvest and sell seeds from allanblackia trees growing in the wild and on community land. The second phase focuses on planting allanblackia on fallow and degraded lands, which supports biodiversity as well as providing additional income. In the first half of 2008, over
40 000 allanblackia trees were planted on small rural farms.
Fifteen large nurseries, called regional resource centres, have been established to grow allanblackia trees and teach farmers how to grow their own trees. In Tanzania,
5 000 farmers in 55 villages are taking part. In Ghana, 5 500 farmers are taking part in over 200 hamlets.
Once the seeds have been harvested, transport firms buy them and sell them on to local crushing companies. Unilever buys the oil at a guaranteed price, helping to create jobs for farmers and support local businesses.
Partners
Unilever is working with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the International Centre on Research in Agro-Forestry (ICRAF), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), international and local NGOs, regional and national governments and other companies. All these partners share the common vision of developing allanblackia as a sustainable and profitable crop for African farming communities.
