The government has established a 30-acre hybrid shea tree demonstration farm at Futa in the Tamale Metropolis to serve as a research and development facility, heritage site and potential anchor for shea tourism.The farm, named “The John Mahama Shea Demonstration Farm” in honour of President John Dramani Mahama, is also to serve as a demonstration site for the hybrid shea variety, which was developed by the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana.The hybrid shea variety matures in three years compared with between 20 and 30 years for the wild variety.A Technical Management Committee has been established to oversee the demonstration farm with the West African Centre for Shea Innovation and Research at the University for Development Studies hosting the Committee.Vice President Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang on Tuesday planted the first hybrid shea variety on the demonstration farm.The Vice President was accompanied by Mr Haruna Iddrisu, the Member of Parliament for Tamale South Constituency, which is where the demonstration farm is located, Dr Peter Boamah Otokunor, Director of Presidential Initiatives in Agriculture and Agribusiness, amongst other dignitaries.The planting of the hybrid variety at the demonstration farm formed part of activities marking the opening of the World Shea Expo, 2026, which took place in Tamale on Tuesday on the theme: “From Local Commodity to Global Brand: Accelerating Women and Youth-led Value Addition in Shea.”Vice President Professor Naana Opoku-Agyemang, speaking during the opening of the World Shea Expo, said the expo was an opportunity to recognise the contribution of the shea tree while thinking seriously about how to build a more inclusive and prosperous industry around it.The three-day expo seeks to promote investment, innovation, processing, branding and market access in the shea sector as well as position the country to capture a greater share of the growing global shea market.It is being organised by the Office of the Presidential Initiatives in Agriculture and Agribusiness at the Office of the President in partnership with Savannah Golden Tree Limited, Ghana Export Promotion Authority, Ghana EXIM Bank, Tree Crop Development Authority, Ghana Commodity Exchange, Ghana Enterprises Agency, Northern Development Authority and the Coalition of Shea Industry Associations.About 7,000 participants, including women’s cooperatives, youth-led businesses, processors, exporters, international buyers, financial institutions, development agencies, traditional authorities, researchers, entrepreneurs and the media are participating in the event.Vice President Professor Naana Opoku-Agyemang said the government was working to position the shea belt as a centre for processing, innovation and commerce while promoting quality, sustainability, traceability and fair returns.She urged traditional leaders, local authorities, researchers, private-sector operators and development partners to work together to protect shea parklands from bushfires, land degradation and climate change.Mr Iddrisu, who is also the Minister for Education, said the shea industry was important for the country’s accelerated export development agenda.He said the government’s planned Women’s Development Bank would help address the financing needs of women in the shea value chain by providing them with access to affordable credit to expand their businesses.Dr Otokunor said the hybrid shea demonstration farm formed part of government’s efforts to increase shea production in the country.The country (Ghana) currently produces an estimated 130,000 to 150,000 metric tonnes of shea nuts annually, valued at about $350 million compared with $118 million in 2023 while unprocessed shea nut exports accounted for $177 million in non-traditional agricultural earnings.The country was ranked the world’s leading exporter of shea butter in 2025 and has the potential to increase annual production to 400,000 metric tonnes, valued at approximately $640 million.The global shea market is projected to exceed $3 billion by 2030.Mr Ali Adolf John, the Northern Regional Minister said the shea sector had enormous potential to drive rural transformation, employment generation, women’s economic empowerment and export growth.Alhaji Imoro Issifu Alhassan, the Chairman of Savannah Golden Tree Limited said the company had received and distributed 20,000 wellington boots pledged by President Mahama to women shea collectors last year.He said the intervention had improved the safety of women during the collection of shea nuts adding no snake bite had been reported during the current shea nut picking season.He said continued investment in the safety and empowerment of women shea collectors would help increase shea nut production and ensure adequate supplies for processing factories and other businesses in the value chain.