Farmerline Partners with Global Shea Alliance and New Markets Lab to Launch Shea Tree Mapping Project to Secure Women’s Land and Tree Rights in West Africa
September 11, 2025
Farmerline, in collaboration with the Global Shea Alliance (GSA) and New Markets Lab (NML), has announced the launch of the Shea Tree Mapping Project. The initiative is funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) through its flagship Land Facility programme, delivered by Tetra Tech International Development Europe, Level4International, and partners.
Running from September 2025 to March 2026 across Ghana, Togo, and Benin, the project is designed to:
- Digitally map shea trees across parklands, linking tenure data to women collectors.
- Conduct a legal and regulatory gap analysis to propose frameworks recognizing women’s land and tree rights.
- Host national workshops and a regional ECOWAS roundtable to align strategies and drive regional scale-up.
A central outcome will be the creation of an open-access Shea Tree Tenure Dashboard, providing data-driven insights to policymakers, supply chain actors, and advocates.
“Securing women’s tenure rights is vital to safeguard livelihoods, ensure climate resilience, and sustain this critical industry,” said Aaron Adu, Managing Director of the Global Shea Alliance.
By strengthening women’s rights, the project will help secure the future of an industry that supports over 16 million women in 21 West African countries.
🌐 Learn more about the Shea Tree Mapping Project and Farmerline’s commitment to building resilient, sustainable food systems: Press Release
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