A new superfood from Africa’s ‘tree of life’ is exploding in popularity—and fetching for high prices

Published 2024년 9월 18일

Tridge summary

Climate change-induced droughts in southern Africa have led to an increase in the demand for baobab fruit, a natural health food, as a source of survival for the local population. This fruit, found in trees that can survive severe conditions and are native to Africa, is being foraged by tens of thousands, with potential economic benefits for over 1 million rural African women, according to the African Baobab Alliance. Despite the health benefits of the fruit and its potential high prices in international markets, local harvesters like Bhitoni receive low prices and are exploited by individual buyers. The article highlights the need for fairer prices and better negotiating power for harvesters. Zimtrade, the government export agency, is considering partnering with rural women to set up processing plants to improve prices.
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Original content

Climate change-induced droughts have decimated her crops. Meanwhile, the world has a growing appetite for the fruit of the drought-resistant baobab as a natural health food. Bhitoni wakes before dawn to go foraging for baobab fruit, sometimes walking barefoot though hot, thorny landscapes with the risk of wildlife attacks. She gathers sacks of the hard-shelled fruit from the ancient trees and sells them on to industrial food processors or individual buyers from the city. The baobab trade, which took root in her area in 2018, would previously supplement things like children’s school fees and clothing for locals of the small town of Kotwa in northeastern Zimbabwe. Now, it’s a matter of survival following the latest devastating drought in southern Africa, worsened by the El Niño weather phenomenon. “We are only able to buy corn and salt,” Bhitoni said after a long day’s harvest. “Cooking oil is a luxury because the money is simply not enough. Sometimes I spend a month without buying ...
Source: Fortune

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