In rural areas of Mali and Burkina Faso, all population groups make use of fruit trees spread around the landscape, both for their own consumption and to trade. These wild fruit trees were traditionally spared when the land was cultivated because they bore fruit. The arable fields were temporary, and became overgrown again, enabling the trees to regenerate. This is no longer the case. The fruit trees can no longer regenerate by themselves and need to be tended. Because in principle everyone has access to these trees, the cultivation of the trees represents a useful contribution to combating poverty.
On the instructions of the European Commission, LEI has investigated the importance of the trees for the households in the area. The results have been published in the report Les arbres fruitiers sahéliens dans l'économie rurale ; Cas du Burkina Faso et du Mali (Fruit trees in the rural economy of the Sahel; the case of Burkina Faso and Mali). This report concluded that the use of wild fruit is widespread, and that it also forms part of traditional exchange networks in which no money changes hands. Wealthier families make just as much use of the fruit trees as poor families.
Fruit is not the only important product gained from the trees. While the fruit of the baobab is greatly valued, the leaves are even more valuable; they are used as a vegetable. Certain population groups prefer to eat the leaves, while others prefer the fruit. This is an important consideration with regard to the management of the trees, as it is not possible to optimise the yields of both products simultaneously. Other kinds of fruit covered by the study were the tamarind, the jujube and the néré (or African locust bean).
Report 2010-055 Les arbres fruitiers sahéliens dans l'économie rurale; Cas du Burkina Faso et du Mali