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TRANSCRIPT
The conTribuTion of Tree crop producTs To smallholder households
a case sTudy of baobab, shea, and néré in burkina faso
FAO COMMODITY AND TRADE POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER No. 49
The contribution of tree crop products to smallholder
households
A case study of baobab, shea, and néré in Burkina Faso
by
Camilla Audia, SOAS, University of LondonBartélémy Kaboret, TREE AID
Rebecca Kent, Canterbury Christ Church UniversityTony Hill, TREE AID
Nigel Poole, SOAS, University of London
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Rome, 2015
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contents
Acknowledgements 1
summAry 2
IntroductIon 3
Market access 3 Household decision making 4 Aim and objectives 4
the sAhelIAn regIon: the BurkInA context 5
Environment 5 Social organization 5 Resources management 6 Tree foods 6
methodology 7
Research approach 7 sampling 8 Quality control 9
results 9
Sample overview 9 household demography 9 Education 10 Communicationassets 10 Transportationassets 11 water 11 household fuel 11 Agricultural land 11 livestock ownership 12
tree resources By household 12
Baobab 13 Accessandcollection 13 Processingandutilization 15 sales 16 Replantingandregeneration 17 Shea 17 Accessandcollection 17 Processing 18 sales 19 Replantingandregeneration 20 Néré 20
Accessandcollection 21 Processing 22 sales 22 Replantingandregeneration 22
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key results And ImPlIcAtIons 23
Sample features 23 Access to, and productivity of, assets, subsistence and production for sale 26 The connectivity of smallholders to markets 26 The functionality of markets 27
conclusIons, ImPlIcAtIons And develoPment oPPortunItIes 27
Utilization 27 Speciesdifferencesandregionality 28 Developmentalimplications 28 Furtherresearch 28
BIBlIogrAPhy 29
APPendIx 31
FIgures 32
Figure 1. tree product usage - Passoré (northern site) 13
Figure 2. tree product usage - Zoundwéogo/nahouri (southern site) 13
Figure3.Collectionofbaobab-Passoré(northernsite) 14
Figure4.Collectionofbaobab-Zoundwéogo/Nahouri(southernsite) 14
Figure5.Utilizationofbaobab-Passoré(northernsite) 16
Figure6.Utilizationofbaobab-Zoundwéogo/Nahouri(southernsite) 16
Figure7.Responsibilityforsheacollection–northernandsouthernsites 17
Figure8.Responsibilityforsheaprocessing-Passoré(northernsite) 17
Figure9.Responsibilityforsheaprocessing-Zoundwéogo/Nahouri(southernsite) 18
Figure10.Responsibilityfornérécollection–Passoré(northernsite) 21
Figure11.Responsibilityfornérécollection–Zoundwéogo/Nahouri(southernsite) 21
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Acknowledgements
This report is part of an initiative by the Trade andMarkets Division of the Food and AgricultureOrganisation(FAO)toanalysepatternsofsmallholdermarketparticipation.ItwaspreparedbyNigelPooleandCamillaAudia,SOAS(UniversityofLondon), incollaborationwithBartélémyKaboretandTonyHillofTREEAIDandRebeccaKentofChristChurchCanterburyUniversity.
Authorshipislistedalphabetically.Thanks for assistance in data collection are due toM. Inoussa Savadogo (Passoré), M. Halidou
sawadogo (Zoundwéogo and nahouri), and m. yves Basson (gourma), and to el mamoun Amrouk and Jamie morrison who provided guidance and input on the methodological framework, and comments ondrafts.
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Summary
Thisdocumentexaminesthecontributionoftreeproductsderivedfrombaobab(Adansonia digitata), shea (Vitellaria paradoxa) and néré (Parkia biglobosa) to smallholder livelihoods where these non-timberforestproductsformasignificantpartofthesubsistenceeconomiesofsmallholderhouseholdsintheSahelianregion.Thebenefitsareaccesstonutritiousfoodstuffsparticularlyduringthesoudure hunger season and are also commercialised.
Besidesaliteraturereview,participantobservationandkeyinformantinterviews,aquestionnairewas developed for household level data collection which focused on the processes within thehousehold,includingdecision-makingaboutsellingandconsumptionoftreeproducts.ThefieldworkwasconductedintheNorthernandSouthernpartsofBurkinaFaso.Thequestionnairefocusedonthefollowingobjectives,to:
• understand the decision-making processes within the households
• Identifythefactorstakenintoconsiderationforthesellingandorhomeconsumptiondecisionsregarding the chosen tree products
• Assessaveragequantitiesoftreeproductscollected,consumedathomeorsold
• Identify thepreferredmarkets for thesaleof suchproductsanddetermine theseller-buyermechanisms and the ways of accessing those markets
• Determinetheoptionsfor,anduptakeof,appropriatetechnologyforprocessing,storageandtransportationofthetreeproducts.
Thestudyputsaspecialemphasisontheroleandcontributionofwomentotreeproductsutilization,particularlythroughaccesstomarkets.
It ishopedthattheresultsof thisresearchcanhelpto improvetheevidencebaseunderpinningpatternsofsmallholderparticipationintreefoodmarkets,andmorewidely,oflivelihoodstrategiesintheregion,enablingconclusionsandpolicyrecommendationstobedrawntoenhancebenefitsfrom,andalleviateconstraintsfacing,commercialtreecropactivities.
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Introduction
Thisreportexaminesthecontributionofnon-timberforestproducts(NTFPs),animportantpartofthesubsistenceeconomiesof smallholder farmers,mostnotably in theSahelian regionofSub-SaharanAfrica.TheresearchconcernedthreeofthemostimportantNTFPsinBurkinaFaso:baobab(Adansonia digitata), shea (Vitellaria paradoxa) and néré (Parkia biglobosa). It investigatedthedeterminantsofsmallholdermarketparticipationchoices,andcontributesnotonlytoknowledgeaboutthesubsistenceandcommercialuseoftreeproductsbyruralpeople,butalsosupplementstheknowledgeofhouseholddecisionmakingpractices.
Market accessAccordingtoWigginsandKeats(2013),thecontributionofruralsmallholderstoreducingpovertyandhungerinlowincomecountriesdependsonsustainableaccesstomarkets.Theprimaryfocusoftermssuchasmarketparticipationandeconomicinclusionistoconsiderthemultiplewaysandtheextenttowhichsmallholderfarmersareabletoselltheiroutputtobuyerswhomaybeitinerantassemblersand traders, agents for larger scale procurement systems, to traders in markets or direct to consumers. recognising that many smallholders in developing countries are net purchasers of staple food products, ofequalinterestishowruralpeoplebalancethedecisionsofwhethertosellorconsumetheirproduce.Researchconductedontheattributesofsmallholderfarmersandtheconditionsrequiredtoenablesmallholders to link with markets (Amrouk et al.,2013)consideredthattherearethreesetsoffactorswhichconditionsmallholdermarketaccess.Theseinclude:
• householdandhouseholdercharacteristics:thelevelofeducationandresourceendowments,theleveloftechnology,landsizeandquality,andthestockofotherproductiveassets.Theyalsoincludehouseholdstructure,consumptionneeds,risksfaced,whichmakeupthevulnerabilitycontext
• sectoral factorssuchastheprevailingphysicaland institutional infrastructuresuchasroads,electricity,communications,market,rulesoflaw,whichdrivepriceincentivesandthedecisionto invest in technology and generate surpluses
• macropoliciesthroughtheirimpactonpricesandtradeincentives.
Recognition has recently been given to rural heterogeneity, and provides a warning against atendencytoglossoverinter-andintra-householdheterogeneity,thatis,thedifferencesbetweenandwithin households, among men and women, old and young, high and low status (Poole, chitundu, and Msoni,2013).The importanceofanalysingcontextual ‘locality’and ‘particularity’werehighlighted.Summarising (Barrett, 2008 and Arias et al., 2013), smallholder farmers and their contexts differaccording to:
i. access to, and the productivity of, assets, including natural resources, labour, and capital,subsistenceneedsandtheabilityandwillingnesstoincreaseproductionforsaleinmarkets;
ii. the connectivity of smallholders to different markets, in terms of geographical proximityknowledge,asymmetriesandpowerrelationships,andtransactioncosts;
iii. the functionalityof thesemarkets in termsof volumes transacted, limited integrationwithregionalorinternationalmarkets,volatilityandriskinessofreturnstotheproducer.
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Household decision makingAvarietyofmodellingapproacheshavebeendevelopedtohandlethecomplexitiesofintrahouseholddecisionmaking(Beckett,2013).Thesehouseholdmodelsilluminatelikelyhouseholdpower,genderandintergenerationalrelations,andhelptosuggestandexplainhowdifferenthouseholdmembersparticipateinlivelihoodactivities.Themodelsenshrinedifferentassumptionsaboutpeople’sbehaviour.
Essentiallythereisaunitarymodelapproachwherebythehouseholdisconsideredtobeasingledecisionmakingunitledbyadominantandsometimesbenevolentmale(Becker,1976).Withintheunitary model, efficiency concerns revolve around maximising benefits for the household overall,bymaking investments with the best returns. Equity issues are those which affect, for example,distributionalissuesamongchildren(Haddad,Hoddinott,andAlderman,1997).Othermodelsassumecollective and/or consensual decisionmaking by individuals within amulti-person household, andbargaining models, which assume non-cooperative behaviour. An alternative approach is that ofindependentindividualmodelsofdecision-making(Grossbard,2010),whichcanfallwithinaspectrumfrom pure individualism to pure cooperation. Research requires both quantitative and qualitativeanalytical approaches, andalso foreconomics tomergewithother relevantdisciplines, specificallyanthropologyandnutrition(BouisandPena,1997;GittelsohnandMookherji,1997;Guyer,1997).
AkeystrategywithinruralhouseholdsinBurkinaidentifiedbyTincani(2012) was the dynamic of negotiationandrenegotiationbywomenofentitlementstofoodandotherresources.Bothprudenceandopportunismareappropriateatdifferentseasonaland lifecyclestagesasmeansofadaptingtochanginghouseholdandenvironmental conditions. Ineffect,balancing rigid social normsagainst aconstantrenegotiationofpowerdynamicsenableshouseholddecisionmakerstoavoida‘rigiditytrap’-aconsequenceofconstraintssuchasundueriskaversion,anda‘povertytrap’–aconsequenceoflackofopportunities,orunwillingnesstotakeadvantageofopportunities.
ThisresearchfollowsupquestionsposedbyTincaniaboutdecisionmakingandtreecroputilizationfor consumption and/or sale, and adds ethnographic as well as socio-economic detail through acontributionthatisprimarilyqualitative.
Aim and objectivesTheaimofthisstudywastoexplorethedeterminantsofsmallholdermarketparticipationchoicesbasedoncasestudiesinWestAfrica,andtherebycontributenotonlytoknowledgeaboutthesubsistenceandcommercialuseoftreeproductsbyruralpeople,butalsotosupplementtheknowledgeonhouseholddecisionmakingpractices.Thisworkhypothesisesthattreefoodshavepotentialforagreatercontributiontopoorruralpeople’ssubsistenceandengagementwithmarkets.Theobjectiveswereto:
• Highlighttheroleofwomen(alltherespondentsofthequestionnairewereselectedwomenofthehouseholds)indifferentprocesseswithinthehousehold,suchas:
• Decision-makingaboutsellingandconsumptionoftreeproducts;
• Collectingproductsfromthetrees;
• Processingthetreeproductsforbothhomeconsumptionorsellingandtherelateddecision-makingprocess;
• Long-termstorageoftheproducts;
• Selling process: access tomarkets, travel tomarkets, market prices, relationships betweenbuyersandsellers.
• Map the existing decision-making processes within the households in order to assess the
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factorstakenintoconsiderationforthesellingandorhomeconsumptiondecisionsregardingthe chosen tree products.
• Assessaveragequantitiesoftreeproductscollected,consumedathomeandsold.
• Study the preferredmarkets for the sale of such products and determine the seller-buyermechanisms and the ways of accessing those markets.
• Findouttheuptakeonappropriatetechnologyforprocessing,storageandtransportationforthe tree products.
The Sahelian region: the Burkina context
EnvironmentTheSahelishunger-proneandenvironmentally,nutritionallyandsocio-politicallyfragile.Resilientfoodsystemsneedtobepreservedandstrengthenedastheeffectsofclimatechangearelikelytoimpactthem severely. evidence from the literature on the role of tree foods and from current literature on food securityintheSahelsuggeststhattreefoodssuchasthoseinvestigatedinthisresearchhavepotentialtocontributetowardsenvironmentalandfoodsecurityandrurallivelihoods,andthusalsocontributetowardssocialandpoliticalsecurity.Theprimarysectorconstitutesalmosta thirdofnationalGDP;however,itengages85%ofthepopulation.In2010,81%oftheBurkinabépopulationwasrural1 with agriculturecontributing39%ofGDP.AgricultureisvulnerabletoclimaticconditionsanduntilrecentlyhasbeensaidtobeamongsttheleastperformingoftheSubSaharancountries(Belemvire,Sawadogo,andSavadogo2008).Beingalow-income,landlockedcountrywithlimitednaturalresourcesandlowagriculturalproductivity,Burkinaislikelytoexperiencesomeoftheworstimpactsofclimatechangeinrespectofchangesintemperatureandrainfallpatterns,andtheoccurrenceofstormsandextremeweatherevents(UNDP,2013).
BurkinaFasoranked183outof186countriesinthe2012UNHumanDevelopmentIndexwith44.6%ofthepopulationlivingbelowthenationalpovertyline2:‘Againstthenationalpovertyline,therateof impoverishment inBurkinaFasohadrisenby5.3%since1990at lastestimate,whileagainsttheinternationalpovertyline,theratehadexceededtheMDGtargetby1.2%.Childmalnutritionroseby18.6%between1990and2005,leavingthecountryfurtherfromreachingthefirstMDGtargetin2005thanitwasin1990’(GrowAfricaSecretariat,2013).
Social organizationBurkinaFasoisinhabitedbyatleast60ethnicgroupsthroughouttheterritory;theNorthernregiontakenintoaccountforthesurvey,Passoré,ismostlypopulatedbyMossipeople.TheMossirepresentalmost 50% of the total Burkina population, therefore comprising the largest ethnic group (PierreEnglebert,1996).TheyresidemostlyontheMossiPlateausituatedinthecentralregionofthecountry,butarepresentinmostvillagesevenscatteredintheSouth-Easternarea.Mossiarecharacterizedbyahighlyhierarchicalsocietywithprecise,strictandtightsocialstructuresthatpartlyexplainthehighpopulationdensityofthePlateau(Tincani,2012).
According to their lineage,peoplewithin a specific villageareusually sociallyorganised in zaka. Rohatynskyjarguesthatthezakaisthebasicproductiveunitandminimalkinshipunitwithadouble
1 Insd, Enquêteburkinabésur lesconditionsdeviedesménages2003etenquêteannuellesur lesconditionsdeviedesménages (EA – QUIBB) 2005/2007.ThedatausedinthetextareINSDprojectionsfor2010.
2 CompletestatisticsanddataareavailableattheUNDPwebsiteBurkinaFasocountryprofileattheurl:http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/BFA.html.
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significanceofconceptualunitofkinshipandtheactualrealityofagroupofpeople livingtogetherwithinonecompound;itisseenasasocialunitofpeoplewhoworkandlivetogetherwhilesharingresources(Rohatynskyj,1988).Forthepurposeofthisstudy,theMoorétermzakahasbeentranslatedtocomplexhouseholdor ‘compound’ inEnglishandconcession in French. within the zakse (pl), up to almost forty people can live in up to seven conjugal family units3, that havebeen called in thisdocument‘households’inEnglishorménages in French. For this study, single households were taken intoaccountasbasicsocialandproductiveunitstosimplifyanalysis.
Resources managementAtvillagelevel,thelandchiefisresponsiblefortheallocationoftheplotstotheheadofeachclan,whothendistributestheparcelsamonghispeople.Itisimportanttohighlightthatlandalwaysbelongstotheheadofthecompound,buthecannotsellitorgiveitawaypermanentlywithoutconsultingthelandandvillagechiefs.Inmostcases,thelandchiefhimselfwilldecideaboutland-relatedtransactions.Iftherearemigrantsornewsettlersinthearea,landcanbelenttothembyanylandownertheyask(whichmeanseveryheadofthecompound).Thelandchiefcaninterveneincaseofconflictandactasanegotiator(Skinner,1964).
However,withinthefamily,theheadofthecompoundallocateslandrightstohiswivesandsons;keepinginmindthehierarchythatcharacterizestheMossiandGurunsisocieties,itisnotuncommonthat,giventheroleofpersonalandchangingpreferencesofthehusbandandtheprecariousnatureoftherights,inter-householdtensionsmayarise(Dueppen,2008;Engberg-Pedersen,1995).
Moreover,wivesandsonsonlyhaveusufructrightsbutdonotownland,creatingatemporaryanduncertain tenureas therightscanbewithdrawnatanytimeand fordifferentreasons,suchas thedeathofthehusbandorforotherreasonsnotfarmingtheplot.Farmingitisalegitimatewaytoclaimunder-utilizedland(Duperrey,1984;Hammond,1966).
Ithasbeensaidthatagriculturalandpovertyreductionpoliciesneedagreaterfocusonlivelihooddiversification andmore efficient safety nets that target beneficiaries directly rather than throughthe crop cultivationchoicesmadeby individualhouseholds (DelpeuchandVandeplas,2013). Inanunsympatheticagro-ecological,economicandpoliticalcontextwhichconditionsappropriatestrategiesfor smallholder farmers that attention is turning towards more diverse production systems andlivelihoodstrategies.InthesearchforfoodandincomesecurityinparticularfortheruralpopulationinBurkina(aselsewhereintheSahel),understandingthecontributionoftreefoodsisimportant.
Tree foodsRecentresearchinBurkinahasshownthattreefoodsarelikelytobeakeypartofculturalfoodpracticeswithamuchgreaterroletoplayinfoodsecurityandnutritionthanhasbeenrecognisedhitherto.Itisestimatedthattreefoodscouldconstituteasmuchas40%tomealsofruralpeopleinsomeseasons(Tincani,2012),andthatthese‘minor’fooditemscanmakeasignificantnutritionalcontributiontodietsparticularly inruralareas:seeds,nuts, leavesandbarkareusedinsauceswhicharethebasisofBurkinabécuisineandmayprovideimportantmicronutrientsaspartofaseasonalcontributiontofoodsuppliesand incomegeneration.Assuchtheymaycontributetoassuagingthenegativesocialandpsychologicalconsequencesoffoodsecurityandmalnutrition–shame,guiltandpowerlessness–identifiedamongtheruralpoorinnorthernBurkina(NanamaandFrongillo,2012).
Table 1 is a calendar illustrating seasonality related to both agriculture and tree food productscollection. It is indicative,anddetailswill varywith locationand inter-annualvariation.However, itshowshowdryseasonstendtocorrespondtoNTFPcollection,thereforehighlightingtheimportanceofthoseproductsforhouseholdwell-beingandnutritionalcontribution.
3 Thisdataemergesfroma1988fieldstudybyRohatynskyjinaMossivillagesituatedintheBamregionofBurkinaFaso,about8kmNorthwestofKongoussi(Rohatynskyj1988).
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Locally,atleast,thedailyuseandcollectionoftreeproductsiswell-known.Theirsocio-economic,cultural,nutritionalandecologicalvaluesremainforthemostpartunexplored.Thisisoneofthedirectcauses of the lack of knowledge surrounding the chain of management and access rights to those products.
Sheaisonetreewhoseproductshavebeenresearchedtoagreaterdepth.Theharvesting,processingandmarketingoftheWestAfricansheaindustryisprimarilyinthehandsofwomen,oftenindividuallybutalsothroughcollectiveorganizations.Thedomesticandregionalmarketsforsheabutterforhumanconsumptionand for industrialpurposesarehuge,and internationalmarketsaregrowing.There isconsiderable potential for shea to contribute to the economic empowerment of women throughenterpriseandemploymentcreationintheregion,particularlythrough interventions invaluechaindevelopment(Kent,Bakaweri,andPoole,2014;Sidibeet al.,2014).
Methodology
Research approachTheanalysisisbasedonthreestudiescarriedoninsomewhatcontrastinggeographicareasofBurkinaFasousingahouseholdsurveymethodology.ThefirstwasinaNorthernregion,representedherebyten villages situated in the Passoré province, all part of the commune of gomponsom. the Zoundwéogo and nahouri provinces are part of the southern part of the country, the one touching the ghana border;thetenvillageswerechosenbetweenfourCommunes(Pô,Nobéré,GuibaandGogo)toextendrepresentativeness.TenvillageswerealsochoseninEasternBurkina,towardstheNigerborder,allpartof the commune of diapangou, in gourma province.
Afterdiscussionwithlocalexpertsandtargethouseholds,thechosentreeswerebaobab(Adansoniadigitata), shea (Vitellaria paradoxa) and néré or locust bean (Parkia biglobosa). The tree productsincludefruitsandleavesbutalsoseeds,nuts,andpulp.
AsurveymethodologywasdevelopedandimplementedinthethreeareasofBurkinaFasobetweenJuly2013andDecember2014,withanalysis,validationandfeedbacktoparticipatingcommunitiesandstakeholdersundertakeninFebruary2014.Theanalysis isprimarilydescriptive,butthedatasetwilllend itself to further analysis.
Table1 Seasonalcalendarfortreefoodsandagriculture
Sources: Agence de Promotion de Produits Forestiers Non Ligneux (undated), Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; Tincani (2012); and own elaboration
Jan Feb mar Apr may Jun Jul Aug sep oct nov dec
• Baobab(A.digitata) Fruits Fruits Fruits leaves leaves Fruits
• Soumboula/neré(P.biglobosa) Fruits Fruits Fruits Fruits Fruits
• shea/karité (v. paradoxa) Fruits Fruits Fruits Fruits Fruits Fruits
• Intensive agriculture
• Social/off-farm/incomegeneration
• rainy season
• hunger season
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Thesurveydatacollectiontoolwasfirstdiscussedwiththefacilitators,selectedbylocalorganizationsandtheNGOTREEAID,whowerelocalexpertshelpfulbecauseoftheirpreviousextensiveknowledgeof the territory.
Thesurveydataweresupplementedbycommentsandnotesfromkeyinformantsandtriangulationthroughreportingtotwocommunityvalidationworkshops.Afirstcross-checkwasundertakeninthefield,andqualitycontrolwasmaintainedthroughoutthedatacollectionprocessbyregularvisitsbytheresearch assistant and constant phone contact with the facilitators.
Throughout data collection, validation and data entry, information was tested against previousdata,experienceandknowledgeofTREEAIDstaff,constantlycross-checkingfordataquality.ThelocalsupportineachsitewasensuredbythreeTREEAIDpartners;SEMUSinYako(Passoré),NATURAMAinNobéré(Zoundwéogo/Nahouri)andAGEDinFadaN’Gourma(Gourma).
Sampling
Apurposivefocusonwomenwasadopted,recognisingtheircriticalroleinhouseholdmanagementandutilizationoftreeresources,inadditiontotheneedtounderstandtheintricaciesofdecisionmakingincomplex(ieoftenpolygamous)Sahelianhouseholds.ThesamplingprocesswashandledbythelocalTREEAIDpartnersineachselectedregion,withselectioncriteriaimposedbythestudyitself,including:
• variety of the chosen sites.
• Presenceoftheselectedtrees(baobab,shea,néré).
• A sample of 300 households, 100 in each site, with 10 villages per site and therefore 10households per village.
the local partners (Aged in gourma, semus in Passoré and nAturAmA in Zoundwéogo and nahouri) added other criteria, including:
• Notonlythepresencebutalsotheuseandimportanceofthechosentrees.
• the village capacity to collect and transform the selected tree products.
• Thevillagewomen-to-menratio.
• A representativechosenascontactperson foreachselectedvillage toensureaccess to therespondentsandtoavoidproblemswithlocalauthorities.
• The households identified through previous questionnaires administered in the samesites in order to avoid delays, unavailability of the respondents, problems with localauthorities etc.
• Theselectedwomen(respondents)eitherknowntobeinvolvedinagroupactivityorpartofanassociationthatcollectsandtransformsthoseproductsorhasarelevantrolewithinherhousehold.
• Therespondentsidentifiedtakingintoaccounttheiravailabilityandseasonalresponsibilities.
Quality controlThequestionnairewasdraftedbytheresearchteamandthensubmittedtokeylocalinformants.Priortothedatacollectionanexplanatorymeetingwasheldinordertopresenttheprojecttofacilitators
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andthelocalpartners.TheTREEAIDProjectOfficerPO,theresearcherandassistant,representativesfromtenofthechosenvillagesandthethreefacilitatorswerepresentaswellastherepresentativeofnAturAmA.
Followingadetailedpresentationoftheworktobeundertakenandanexplanationofeveryone’sroleintheproject,theresearcher,thePOandthethreefacilitatorsdiscussedthequestionnaireinordertominimizemisunderstandings and improve data quality.Questions and answerswere thoroughlyread,explained,translatedandmodifiedaccordingtotheaimsandobjectivesofthestudyaswellastheadviceofthefacilitators.Becauseofthequantitativenatureofthedataandtheclosedmultiple-choicequestions,thefacilitators’helpwasessentialnotonlyinreformulatingcomplicatedordelicatequestionsbutalsoinredactingcorrectoptionsandplausibleanswers.
Followingtesting,arevisedversionofthequestionnairewasretestedbythefacilitatorinthepresenceoftheresearcherandarepresentativefromAGEDintheGourmasite.Furtherchangesweremadetothequestionnairethatwasthenapprovedbytheresearchteam.Thefinalquestionnairewaspreparedin French and administered in mooré, the language of the mossi people, and responses recorded in French.Datawereprocessed,filteredanddiscussedwithenumeratorsandTREEAIDstafftominimizeerrors,thenenteredintoSPSSandanalysedusingdescriptivestatistics.
Results
Thesurveyadministrationanddataanalysisledtotheassessmentof:
• Ménage(household)structure,membership,accesstogoodsandutilities;
• Access to different trees and forest resources, non-timber forest products, plantation andreplantationtechniques,conflictsandrights;
• Responsibility of each member of the ménage related to access to resources, collection,transformation,transportationtomarketsandsale;
• Importanceofproductswithinthehouseholds;
• Culturalandsocialfactorsaffectingaccesstotrees,permissions,thedecision-makingprocessregardinglocationandreplanting;
• Roleofwomeninhandlingproducts,fromcollectiontosaletoreplantationofthetrees,andtheirstatusinthehousehold;
• Decision-makingregardingsaleandhomeconsumption;
• Technologiesusedtoprocess,manufacture,transportandsell;
• Access to markets: who, what, where and when?
Sample overviewAppendix1providesanoverviewofcharacteristicsoftherespondents,includingacomparisonofthetwo(northernandSouthern)siteswhichissummarizedbelow.
Household demographyThe first important finding concerns the demographic composition of the household. There wasanunderlyingassumption that the samplingwouldbe composed for themainpartofpolygamous
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householdsorpossiblyextendedhouseholdswithseveralgenerationslivingtogether.However,with33%monogamoushouseholdsand67%polygamous, the situationappears tobeevolving. Lookingatthedataregardingthenumberofco-wives,only8%ofthetotalintervieweesliveinahouseholdcomposedofmorethan3co-wives.Regardingthemembersandsizeoftheextendedhouseholds,theresultspartlyconfirmedourinitialassumption.While31%oftheintervieweessaidtobelivingonlywiththeirownhousehold,43%livewiththreeormorefamilyunits.
Thisisexplainedbyaconstantlyevolvingredefinitionofthehouseholds,aswellasbyachangingsetofvalueswithinthecommunities.Theliteraturewidelydocumentsthephenomenonoffragmentationofthehouseholds,asacauseandconsequenceoftheincreasinglyindividually-basedsociety(asopposedtoasocialgroup-basedone).However, thedefinitionofthehousehold itselfcanvarysubstantially.Thequantitativenatureof this studydidnotprovidemargin todiscuss thisaspect further,but thefacilitators’notesclearlypointout that theperceptionsdifferedbetweenthe interviewees,makingthoseresultsdifficulttointerpret.
While it caneasilybe stated thateachhousehold is composedofonehusband (ornone) andanumberofco-wives,thechildrenarecomplicateddatatohandle.Infact,namedchildrencanbepartofthefamilyaswellasrelativesorchildrenentrustedtothefamilyforthemtotakecareof.Thereasonsofsuchfluidhouseholdandchildmanagementarrangementshavetheirrootsinthesocietystructureitselfandcanvary fromthechildrenbeingorphans,or theparentsworking in townandnotbeingable to lookafterthemduringtheday.Thedatadosaythat therearestatistically1-3boysorgirlsagedfifteenandover,and1-2youngerchildrenperwifeinterviewed.However,between20-40%ofthewomendon’thaveachildfallinginthosetwocategories.Thisisstillinlinewiththenationaldatasituatingthetotalfertilityrateatsixchildrenbornperwoman(2013est).
Education
Throughoutthesites,55%ofthepopulationwasfoundtobeilliterate,yet27%repliedtobeabletoread and write in a local language (mooré or gourmantché). only 15% had access to primary school, andfewerthan1%heldasecondarydegreediploma.Thisisinlinewiththenationaldata(2007est.)puttingnationalliteracyrate(definedaspeopleaged15andoverwhocanreadandwrite)at28.7%.
Communication assets
Communicationsareevidentlyextremelyimportantnowadays;thisisprovedbythefactthatonly4%ofthehouseholdsdidn’thaveaccesstoamobilephone,whilemorethan90%hadthepossibilitytousebetween1and6phoneswithinthesamehousehold,andtheremaining6%countedbetween7and14mobilephonestobeavailabletothemathome.Thehighpercentageofmobilephonesisdirectlylinked to the collected data regarding radio and television access. most of the local operators have news services via text message, most of the phones used have an incorporated radio and some of the youngermembers’phonesaresmartphoneswithinternetaccess.40%oftheintervieweesclaimedtohave a radio at home, 33% stated they did not have a radio or access to one, and the remaining 27% had more than one within the household. only 15% of the interviewees had access to a television with localchannels.Thiscanbe linkedtothepooraccesstoelectricity,asonlyonehouseholdhadpower,fewerthan6%hadageneratorandmostofthehouseholdpowerwasprovidedbyexternalbatteries(mostcommonlycarbatteriesregularlyrechargedlocally).However,morethan26%oftheinterviewees stated that they had at least one solar panel providing electricity for the household. this is increasingly high, especially considering the remote areas taken into account for the survey. small moneymakingactivitiesarebeingbuiltaroundsolarpanels,suchaslocalpointstorechargemobilephones.
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Transportation assets
Themainmeansoftransportationisstilltheregularadultbicycle,withonly3householdsstatingnottohaveoneandalmost70%owningbetween1and6bikesperhousehold.Theremaining28%ownmorethan6andupto15bikesperhousehold.However,40%oftheintervieweesalsoownamotorbike;accordingtothefacilitatorsandsomeoftheinterviewees,thisincreaseinmotorbikepossessionhasbecomepossiblesincethelaunchandspreadofChinesebrands,cheaperandverycommonthroughoutthe country.
Water
Onesubstantialandimportantresourceforthehouseholdstilliswater,especiallyintheNorthernsite,closertotheSahel.Whilethepercentageofpeoplehavingaccesstoawellwithintheirhomeisstilllessthan5%,morethan98%haveaccesstoawellsituatedinthevillage,and32%canalsousenearbyrunningwater.During the interviews, thecomingandgoingofbikesanddonkeycarts transportingwater for thehouseholdwasconstant.Mostof thewellswerebuiltbyNGOsorassociations; theirwaterisusuallyfilteredandsafetodrink.Thisexplainswhyeveryonewhohasindeedaccesstoawellinthevillageusesthiswatertodrink,washandcookwithinthehousehold.Itisinterestingthat28%oftheinterviewedwomenstatedthattheyusedrainwater,preservedinplasticcontainers,towashdirtydishesaswellasfreshfruitandvegetablesbeforeconsumingorsellingthem.However,thecollectionofrainwaterlacksaspecifictechniqueandwas,forthemostpart,lefttolocatingcontainersaroundthe huts.
Household fuel
Unfortunately, intermsofdeforestation,themainsourceof fuel forcooking isstillwood,as itwasusedbyalloftheintervieweesthroughoutthethreesites.Asmallpercentageofhouseholdsalsousedcharcoal(fewerthan12%)andfewerthan9%resortedtogas-burningfires.Thisisexplainedbytheimmediatepriceofagasbottle,oftenrequiringcashupfront,althoughamortizedinthelongrun.
Agricultural land
94%oftheinterviewedwomenmanageatleastonesmallfield,and44%managedtwoplotsofland.However,otherthanthepersonallymanagedfields,womenalsoworkedonthecommonfamilyfield.Whenmorethanasinglefieldwasmanaged,itusuallymeanttheyhadaccesstoasmallplotoflandclosetoanartificialdam,easytoirrigateandwheretheygrowgardenvegetablessuchastomatoes,courgettesandcucumberbutalsoonionsandcauliflowers.
Theestimatesregardingtheareaoflandownedbythewholehouseholdandmanagedbyindividualsare difficult to interpret, because the perception of themeasurementswas variable and probablyinaccurate.However,itisclearthatfewerthan2%ofintervieweesdidnothaveaccesstocultivatedland.78%oftheinterviewees’householdsworkon1to5plots.Accordingtolocalkeyinformants,thissenseoffragmentationiswhatdepictsrealitymostprecisely.Collecteddataalsoaddedtothepicturebydiscoveringthatwomenhadaccesstolandthroughtheirhusbands(64%ofthetime)orthroughone or another of various authority structures such as the lineage chief, land chief, village chief or chiefofhousehold(32%).Onlyonewomansaidshehadchosentheplotshecultivatesbyherselfandtheremaining intervieweesreportedthat theyhaddiscussedandnegotiatedplotaccesswiththeirco-wives. land access literature supports this picture, with men owning and controlling land while womencultivateitwithoutanypermanentorsecurerights.Intrahouseholdnegotiationofrightsandresponsibilitiesforlandthusappeartobenegotiatedinamannersimilartothatidentifiedforfoodprovision(Tincani,2012).
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Livestock ownership
Allof thehouseholdsownedat least twochickens,withthenumberof fowlownedperhouseholdrisingto300andanaverageof30perhousehold.Nineoutoftenhouseholdsalsoownedsmallfarmanimals(generallygoats),upto150andaveraging17perhousehold.30%didnotownanybovines,easilyexplainedbythembeingthemostexpensivefarmanimaltoown.Theaverageamongtheotherswas4cowsperhouseholds,withamaximumof50.Anaverageoftwodonkeysperhouseholdhasemerged, in linewith the donkey being themain draught animal and one oftenused as a gift forweddingsandbirths.Horseownershipwasminimal.
Althoughtherewasaninitialintentiontoresearchlivestockownership,thefacilitatorshighlightedthesensitivityofthequestionandnotedthatlivestockareownedbythehouseholdasawhole;therefore,availabledataconcernedmanagementratherthanownership.Andwhilethedecision-makingprocessregardingthehouseholdmembers’rolewasforthemostpartahusband’sprerogative,womenandchildrenwereofteninvolvedinthecareoflivestock.
Morespecifically,chickensandsimilarfowlwerecaredforbyalmosteveryone,exceptforthechildreninschoolorotherformsofeducation;thisisexplainedbythefactthatitisadailyactivityoccurringwhile they are away from the household. Small ruminants aremore of awomen’s and teenagers’responsibility,withverylowparticipationfromthehusbands(lessthan20%).
Itisclear,however,thatbovinesandequinesare,overall,masculineactivities;thewiveswereusuallyinvolvedinthefeedingandwaterdistribution(22%ofthetotal)buthusbandsandchildren(bothboysandgirls)startingatage6exercisedresponsibilityforthoselargeanimals.
Accordingtothesedataandsocialbackground,menwereresponsiblefortheoveralldecision-makingprocessofthehouseholdchoresandresponsibilitiesinaround96%oftheselectedménages;however,cumulatively, 24% of the household women (interviewees and their co-wives) also participated inthose decisions.
Tree resources by household
the respondents listed the most common ntFPs to which they had access (Figures x and x). when confrontedwiththeresultsofthestudyinthevalidationworkshops,however,theyinsistedonaddingafewmorethathadnotbeenmentionedbeforeprobablybecausetheywereoutofseasonandmoredifficulttorecallduringaninterview.Acoherentrankingofrelativeimportanceofdifferentspecieswasnotobtainable,butoverall,themostfrequentlycitedtreeswere:
• shea (Vitellaria paradoxa)
• African grape (Lannea microcarpa)
• LianeSaba (Saba senegalensis)
• tamarind (Tamarindus indica)
• Acacia (Acacia macrostachya)
• kapok (Bombax costatum)
• Ziziphus(Ziziphusmauritiana)
• Baobab (Adansonia digitata)
• Balanites(Balanitesaegyptiaca)
• néré (Parkia biglobosa)
• yellow Plum (Ximenia americana)
• JackalberryorAfricanEbony (Diospyros mespiliformis)
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• gardenia (Gardenia erubescens)
• marula (Sclerocarya birrea)
AmajordistinctionwasfoundbetweentheNorthernandtheSouthernsites:
• the people living in the north, closer to the sahelian and poorest region of the country, exploited NTFPssignificantlymorethantheSouth,inquantityaswellasindiversity.Infact,theSouthernregionnotonlybenefitsfromaslightlywetterclimateandalongerrainseason;itisalsoclosetotheGhanaborder(70-100km),withaccesstoabiggermarket.
• Moreover, it was clear during the validation workshops that in the South the so-called‘traditional’socialandculturalcustomswerelessevident,leavingwomenwithmorechoicesand freedom to exploit the resources.
• the interviewees from the southern villages proved to have access to larger markets (see later) aswell as indicating amore entrepreneurial spirit (higher selling proportion as opposed tohomeconsumption).
Figures1and2comparetreeproductusagebetweenthenorthernandsouthernsites.Themajoruseofshea,baobabandnéréisevidentandalsothegreaterrangeoftreesusedinthenorthwhereagricultureismoreconstrainedbyharshclimaticconditions.Commentsontheuseoftheindividualtrees studied follow.
Baobab
Access and collection
Theoverallsellingandconsumptionofbaobabproductsdifferedbetweenthetworegionsbecauseoftheirsocial,culturalandclimaticdifferences.IntheSouthernsite,morethan90%oftheintervieweesconfirmed that theyhadaccess to the threeNTFPs selected (baobab, shea,néré).However, in thePassoréprovince,intheNorth,only20%oftheintervieweesmentionedcollectingbaobabproducts.
ThisfindingwasthoroughlydiscussedduringthevalidationworkshopinYako,andtwoexplanationsweregiven.Firstofall,thereisarelativelackofbaobabtreesinthefarNorth,partlybecauseoftheclimateandpartlybecauseofaverylowreplanting/regenerationresponse.
Figure 1. tree product usage - Passoré (northern site)
Figure 2. tree product usage - Zoundwéogo/nahouri (southern site)
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moreover, in this area where mossi cultural and social values are very strong and important for the community,baobabisstillaman’sprerogative.Theintervieweesbeingwomen,theydidnot,forthemostpart,participateincollectingorsellingbaobableavesorfruits.However,baobableavesstillwerefoundtobeabigpartofthedailymeals,andwereboughtatthelocalmarkets,importedfromdifferentareasorfromthemarketgardeningfieldsaroundthelocalartificialdam(barrage).
Overall,87%oftherespondentsthatdidcollectbaobabproductsusedtheleaves,whichisthemainingredientofthesauceforthedailycerealmeal,while35%collectedthefruitstobeeitherconsumedorsold.Localkey informantsconfirmedthat thebaobab fruitmarket isnewbutgrowing, inwhichforeigninvestorsaretakinganinterest.Nutritionally,ithasbeencalleda‘superfruit’becauseofthehighcontentof carbohydrates,dietaryfibreandvitaminB.The transformationprocess is relativelyquickandsimpleas it issimplyaquestionofgettingridoftheseedsandpulverizingthepulp.Thepowderisusuallyconsumeddilutedinwaterasjuiceorcompactedandaromatizedassmallbarsorbiscuits,commonlycalled“pain de singe”(literally:monkeybread).
Figures3and4illustratetheparticipationbydifferenthouseholdmembersinbaobabcollection,fromwhichitisevidentthatallhouseholdmembersintheNorthincludingmenandboysplayagreaterpartinbaobabcollectionthanintheSouth,wheretheresponsibilityisprimarilythatoftheadultwomen.
IntheNorth,98%ofthewomenstatedtheirneedtoaskfortheirhusbands’orchiefofhousehold’spermissiontocollectbaobabfruit; it isagainexplainedbythesocialcustoms implyingthatbaobabandbaobab-relatedactivitiesaremen’sprerogative.IntheSouth,58%ofwomenaskedforpermissionbeforecollecting.Itshouldbeclarifiedthatthesedataapplytotheproductscollectedforthepurposeofhomeconsumption(asopposedtosellingthem).
Nevertheless,withmen’spermission,womenwerestillmainlyresponsibleforbaobableavesandfruitcollection,with78%oftheintervieweesand48%oftheirco-wivescollectingtheproducts.Duringtheworkshops, itemerged that inboth sitesbaobab (andnéré)product collectioncanbeaman’sactivity.Thisisbecauseofsocio-culturalhabitsaswellaspracticalities,suchasthetreesbeinghighandthetaskbeingmoredangerous.Themainreasonwhyitwentunnoticedinthesurveywasthatonlywomenwereinterviewed;moreover,menmightkeeptothemselvestheiractivitiesinordernottobeforcedtosharetheprofitwiththefamily.
Overall,thereappearedtobenonoticeablecollaborationbetweenwomenforthetransformationorsellingprocessesofthestudiedNTFPs.Duringtheworkshopsitwasclearthatthisisduetodifficultiesincoordinatingpersonalschedules.(Forexample,becausecollectingsheanutsandprocessingthemintobutterorsoapisanactivitythatwomencarryoutalongsidetheirdailyusualchores,everyonemakes time for it individually and according to every household’s needs and components). The
Figure4.Collectionofbaobab-Zoundwéogo/Nahouri(southern site)
Figure3.Collectionofbaobab-Passoré(northernsite)
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only collaborationmentionedwasbetween co-wives, asbeingpartof the samehouseholdusuallypresupposessimilardailyroutines.
Whilemorethan80%ofthewomencollectingbaobableavescookedthemandusedthemforthesauce, fewer than 35% used or processed the fruit powder. It is indeed in line with the previously mentionedreasons.Inconfirmationofthosedata,morethan80%oftheinterviewees’familiessaidthattheyatetheleavesregularlyatleastonceaweek,whileonly4%ofthemconsumedthefruitorthe pulp.
Cookingandprocessingtheproductsisanactivitythatonlywomenareresponsiblefor;itwaseitherdonebytheintervieweesortheirco-wives,daughters-in-laworyounggirlsstartingatage5.
It is important to acknowledge that 95% of the interviewees that gathered baobab leaves alsomanagedtoconservethemformonthsbydryingtheminthesunandthenkeepingtheminaclosedplasticbag ina cornerof thewoman’shut. Thedried leaveswere said tobe still tastyenough forthesauceandwereusedregularlyespeciallywhencerealsstocksstartedtodiminishinthedomesticgranaries.
Becauseoftherelativelackofbaobabtrees,ofthepulpbeingforthemostpartnon-commercializedandoftheleavesbeingamajoringredientinthedailymeals,theproportionofrespondentssellingbaobabproductswasverylow,atanoverall14%correspondingtoboththeNorthernandtheSouthernsite.
Thebaobabtreescanbeeitherprivatepropertyorfoundintheneutralareasaroundvillages,orinthesurroundingforests.Fromthesurveyitwasevidentthatifthetreeislocatedinsomeone’sfield,itis a private tree and so are its products. therefore, other than people from the same household, and sometimesofthesameextendedhousehold,nobodycanaccessit.Therewasaninterestingexceptiontothis:ifoutsidepeopleweretoaccessproductsofaprivatetreebutonlytofeedtheirfamilies(asopposedtosellingthemforprofit),itwasreportedthattheywouldnotbesanctioned,butallowedtodoso.This isalsoassumingtheynegotiatedtheiraccesstothoseproductswiththeheadofthehousehold.Nevertheless,even incasesofstolenproducts, theownersusuallywouldtakebackthefruitorleaveswithnofurtheraction.Ifthepersonweretoneedthemtofeedthefamily,theycankeepthemandwillonlybereproachedandtoldnottodoitagain.
However,ifthebaobabisinaneutralarea,itisforeveryonetoaccessandsoareitsproducts,usuallyon a first-comefirst-served basis. Therewere hints of negotiations or verbal agreements betweenpeople so that everyone can have at least some of the products.
Processing and utilization
Leavesandpulpareusuallysoldwithouthavingbeenpreviouslywashed;theleavescanbesolddriedor fresh, with no transformation except being crushed into a powdered form (dried leaves only).Thepowderisextractedfromthefruitmanually.Thewomenormenresponsibleforprocessingusetraditional,localandbasickitchenutensilssuchasamortarandpestle,thenfilteredthroughasieveandpresented inplatesorplasticbagstobesoldasunits (eitherof leaves, leafpowderorbaobabfruitpowder“paindesinge”).Thetransformationprocessisforthemostpartcarriedonbywomen,(accordingto84%oftheinterviewees),alongwith42%oftheirco-wives,while36%ofthehusbandsareinvolved.Thepercentageofmeninvolvedistobetakenintoconsideration,especiallywhencomparedtosheaornéré,asbaobabmanagementisanactivityinwhichmenplayasignificantpartforpractical,social and cultural reasons.
Patternsofutilizationofbaobabproductsdifferlittlebetweenthetworegions(Figures5and6):Theunitsofproductscanbeeither1.2or5kgbagsortraditionalplate“yoruba”. the price is per unit.
Over80%oftheintervieweesagreedthatthesellingprocessusuallyfollowsthecollection;however,thevalidationworkshopsexplainedthatdriedbaobableavescanlastuptothreeyearsandbereasonablygoodandnutritionallyvaluableforuptooneyearifsimplykeptinabaginadryspot.Agoodreserveisusuallykeptforhomeconsumption,but54%ofintervieweesadmittedtokeepingsomebagstosell
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aftertherainyseason,and68%keptthedriedproducttosellwhenthereistheneedformoneyinthehousehold.Onesellingtimedoesnotexcludetheother.Infact,theinterviewedwomen(44%)aswellastheirco-wives(44%),daughters-in-law(62%)andolderdaughters(agefifteenormore,25%),withhelpfromhusbands(25%ofthetime),decidedtogetherhowmuchtokeepandwhentosellit.Itwasagreedduringthetwoworkshopsthatunlesstherewereanurgentneedformoney,itisbettertowaitforthepricestobehigher.This ledtothediscoverythat, indeed,thereisagoodknowledgeofthemarketprices.Moreover,baobabproductsareusuallyexchanged,althoughinsmallquantities,againstgardenvegetablesgrownnearlocaldams.
Marketaccesswasthoroughlydiscussedduringworkshops.Itneedstobesaidthatsincewomenare the main sellers, they usually managed to sell from their own house or field. This is due totransportationissuesbutmainlytosocialandculturalconstraints.However,asubstantialdifferenceappearedbetween theNorthern region,where those constraints are still strong and the Southernregion,whereanentrepreneurialspirithasbeengrowingwithhelpofNGOprojectsandtheproximitytotheGhanaborder.Whatwasdeclaredinthequestionnaireasasaletoa“seasonalmarket”wasinfactadoor-to-doororfield-to-fieldsale.However,inNahouriandZoundwéogoprovinces,womendidtravelbetweenthemajorcities(Po,Nobéré,andManga)andcrossthebordertobuyandsellproducts.
Sales
Adelicatematterwasaskingaboutwhoactuallygotthemoney.Inordernottoupsettheinterviewees,thefacilitatorswereaskednottoinsistandtogenerallyaskaboutincomeanditsreutilization.However,thetablesonreutilizationof incomewereconfusedandconfusingtoanalyse.Overall,andwithnosubstantialdifferencebetweenthesites,thebulkoftheevidencesuggestedthatthemoneyiskeptbytheheadofthehousehold,butusedtowardscommonneeds;only17%ofthewomenkeptthemoneyforthemselves.Itwasmadeclearthatnobodyforcedthewomentogivethecashtotheirhusband.nevertheless, the head of the household was the usual keeper of the returns.
Themoneywasreinvestedindifferentthings:tobuymoreproducttoprocessandresell(especiallysheanuts, but alsobaobab fruits andnérépowder); to start improvementwork in the compound(mainlygranaryrenovations,butalsohouseimprovements);tobuyclothes;tobuyphonecredit;torepairorbuymeansoftransportation(usuallybikes,sometimesmotorbikes);tobuymedicine;topayfor school-related expenses.
ItwasnotpossibleforthefacilitatortodeterminewhetherthemoneyonlycamefromNTFPsproducts,astheintervieweeswerewomenandwerestatingwhattheyhopedorthoughttheirhusbandswoulddo,withtheexceptionofsomemoneycomingfromsheabutterandsoapsales,whichwasreinvestedinnewsheanutsdirectlybythewomen.
Figure5.Utilizationofbaobab-Passoré(northernsite) Figure6.Utilizationofbaobab-Zoundwéogo/Nahouri(southern site)
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moreover, and while we tried to ask to make lists in order of how much money was spent and how important it was for the household, the concepts were too vague for the facilitators to explain andtooabstractfortheintervieweestofullyunderstand.Theresultsofthispartofthesurveywereinconclusive.
Replanting and regeneration
Only9%ofthewomeninterviewedstatedthattheyorsomeoneintheircompoundreplantedabaobabtreeinthepastyears.Thedataweresimilarinbothsites;however,thereasonsdiffered.IntheNorth,onceagain, itwas for themostpartamatterofcustom. Itwassaidthatbaobabtreesareoldandsometimessacred trees thatcommunicatewith the landgenii.Theyneededtobeplantedbymenonlyandfollowingaspecificrite.Moreover,theytendedtobeprivatepropertyandnotplantedintheforest;theyaredifficulttogrowfromtheseeds,andneededconstantprotectionfrompeopleaswellasfromanimals.WhiletheprocessisfollowingaslowbutsteadyevolutionwiththehelpofNGOsandprojects, it isstill impossibleforawomantoreplantabaobabtree.Whileshemightbeallowedtosupportassistednaturalregeneration(ANR,orRNA,régénérationnaturelleassistée)untilthetreeisstrongenough,herhusbandortheownerofthefieldwouldthentakeoverresponsibility.
Thisisexplainswhyeightoutoftenwomenhadtoaskforpermissiontoreplant;itemergedfromtheworkshopsthatitisaformofagreementbetweenwhowantstoplantthetreeandwhoisresponsiblefor the land.
Shea Sheaisoneofthemajorincome-generationproductsalongwithpeanuts,sesameandlocalbeans.Thisisacommonfeatureofthethreesiteswherethequestionnairewasadministered,regardlessofthedifferentethnicgroups,marketaccess,marketsizeortraditions.Collectioniswomen’sresponsibilityalmostentirely(Figure7),asisprocessing(Figures8and9):
Access and collectionThedataspeakforthemselves:onlythreeinterviewedwomenoutof200saidthattheydidnotcollectsheaproductstoeithersellorconsumeathome.Moreover,whilevirtuallyeverybodycollectedtheproductsforhomeconsumption(99%),some(14%)shareitwiththeirextendedfamily,andafew(8%)usesheatoexchangeagainstotherproducts(mainlybaobableaves).Itisacruciallivelihoodactivityfor83%alsotosellshea,eitherasrawnuts,orasbutterorsoap.
Figure7.Responsibilityforsheacollection-northernand southern sites
Figure 8. Responsibility for shea processing - Passoré(northern site)
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Women are mainly responsible for thecollection,processingandsaleofsheaproducts;however,childrenare involved in thecollectionprocess.Infact,thenutsorfruitsareoftenfoundinthegroundnearthetreesorcanbereachedbythrowingsmallrocksintotheleavestomakethem fall. No climbing is required,making thisjoblessdangerousandlesscomplicatedthanistheharvestingofbaobab.
It emerged that shea fruits were never collected tobeeatenas fruits butwere left to roton thegroundinordersubsequentlytobeabletoretrievethenuts.Thisappearedtobeaninterestingfinding
asthesheafruit isknowntocontainahealthydosageofnutrients:nutritionalvaluescanvaryfromtreetotreeandinrelationtotherainfall,buttheyhave35-42%Carbohydrate,1.5-3.8%Protein,1.1-1.4%fat,37-44%fibreandrangefrom173to198calevery100gr.Thetopicwasthereforediscussedduringtheworkshops.Infact,thequestionsaskedinthesurveymisledtheinterviewees.Sheafruitsareindeed consumed like mangoes during the season (which lasts approximately a month). It is a crucial month,as it is theveryearlypartof therainyseason,atimewhere labour in thefieldhasamajorenergyrequirementduetoday-longactivity. Italsocoincideswithatimewheretheresourcesfromthepreviousyear’scerealsare loworfinishedandthusthefruitssustainmen,womenandchildrenconsiderablyduringtheday.Aswillbediscussedlateron,whilesheaisatreethatusually isprivateproperty, fruits are for everyone to collect and consume as long as they leave the nut on the ground.
Itwasmade very clear during theworkshops that shea is awomen’s activity. It is therefore notsurprisingthatmentooknopartinthecollectionofthefruitsornuts.However,intheSouthernregion,itwasreportedthattheystillhadaroleinsheamanagementprocessesas88%oftheintervieweeshadtoaskpermissionfromtheirhusbands.ItmightseemconfusingthatintheNorth,wheretraditionismoreimportantandsocialpressurehigher,permissionshouldonlybeaskedofwomen(eithertheintervieweeorherco-wives,usuallythefirstwife).However,thisisduetotheconceptofprivateproperty.IntheSouth,thisconceptismuchmoredefinedthanintheNorthwherecollectivevaluesarestillmuchmoreimportantandthedomesticgroupcomesfirstasawholeandtheindividualscomesecond.
Therefore, children starting at age 3 or 4 were sent to collect the fruits or the nuts. However,transformingthenutsintobutterisalongandcomplicatedprocessthatonlywomencarriedout.Morethan90%oftheintervieweesundertookthetransformationthemselves,mostwithhelpfromco-wives(50-70%),daughters-in-law(43%)ordaughtersaged6to15andover(12%).
Processing
UnlessacollectiveassociationofsheasellersisinplaceoraspecificprojectregardingNTFPsandincomegeneratingactivitiesusing improvedtechnologyhasbeenimplemented,thesheaprocessing isfullymanual.Thetoolsaretraditionalandbasickitchenutensils.First,thepulpiseithereatenorseparatedbylettingthefruitsrotinaholeintheground(usuallyatthesideofeachperson’sfield).Mortarsorrocksareusedtocrackthenuts,separatetheoutershellandretrievethekernels;sometimes,inordertoeasethisprocess,thenutsareboiledthendriedonacleansurface,makingiteasierfortheshellstocrack.Thekernelscanthereforebedriedsomemoreandpreservedinjuteorplasticbagstobeeithertransformedlaterorsoldasrawkernels.Toobtainbutter,theyarecrushedbeforetheyareputinabigpanorcauldrontoberoastedinordertoreleasetheirgreaseandoils.Onceroasted,theyneedtobeground.Thishappensatthemillifpossiblebutmoreoftenwithamanualgrinder,mixedbyhandwithwateraddedslowlytoobtainasmootherpaste.
Figure9.Responsibilityforsheaprocessing-Zoundwéogo/nahouri (southern site)
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Thepasteisheatedagain,fortheexcesswatertoevaporate,clarifyandleavethebutteroilsfloatingtothetop.Buttercanbepreservedeitherliquidincoveredplatesorinplasticbagsorboxes.However,somewomenkeepitinsmallquantitiessubmergedinwatersothattheoilsstaytogetherinballsfloatinginthewater.
Sales
Thosesamewomenresponsible for theprocessingundertooktheselectionof thefinishedproductand the decision-making process of how much is sold and how much is kept for the house. there was confusionand/ordisagreement regarding thecriteria for suchchoiceand thequestionnaire resultswereinconclusive.Afterfurtherdiscussiononthematter,however,itwasclearthatifthewomenareincludedinagroupororganizationforsellingthesheaproducts,theywillsellthebetterqualityandkeeptherestforhomeconsumption.Atasmallerhouseholdlevel,thedecisionvariedinrelationtotheperiodoftheyear,thebuyer’schoicesandrecommendations,themarketpricesandlevelofcerealsinthegranaries.Whilethesurveytriedtofocusonknowledgeofnutritionalvalues,directquestionsduringworkshopsprovedthatthemoneyfromthesalewasmoreimportantthanhomeconsumptionasitcouldcontributetotheoverallhouseholdwellbeing.
The interviewees reported that with their co-wives, and sometimeswith oldest daughters anddaughters-in-law,theydecidedwhentosellthefinishedproduct,whichcouldbebutterorsoap.Butterandrawkernelswereusuallysoldin‘yoruba’(traditionalplatesusedasunits),whilesoapwassoldbysolidunit.ItappearsthatintheNorth,productsweresoldequallyeitheraftertheharvest,duringtherainy season, or during the dry season when the prices are higher or when there was a need for cash. Therelativeabundanceofsheatreesmakesfortheproducttobeavailableinaquantitythatcanbekept and sold (especially the kernels) throughout the year. In the south, however, shea usually was soldgraduallyassoonasitistransformed.ThisisduetotheNahouriandZoundwéogoregionbeingrelativelyricherprovinceswheretheneedforaconstant income is less importantthan it is intheSahelianregion.Moreover,accesstomarketswasreportedtobeeasierasbiggermarketsarecloser,makingtheintermittentsaleaffordable.Duringtheworkshops,thepossibilityofgoingtoGhanatosellkernelswasmentionedbywomencomingfromthePoarea.Thisshowshowopenthemarketisandhowmanypossibilitieswomenhavetosell.Thiswasreinforcedbythedataonmarketaccess.Indeed,intheNorth,mostoftheproductsweresoldfromthevillagetoexternalbuyerswhocomedirectlytothehouseholds(86%).IntheSouth,incontrast,themajorityofthesheabutterissoldatavillagemarket,whetherinthelocalvillage(40%)orinaneighbouringvillagewithabiggermarket(72%).
TherichermarketalsoexplainsthereportthatinPo,only14%oftheintervieweeskeptsheaasidetoexchangeitwithotherproducts,whileintheYakoarea,over60%ofthewomenexchangeditagainstotherproducts,riceandcereals,gumbo,peanuts,leaves,sweetpotatoesbutalsosoapandshoes.
moreover, 98% of women from the southern site stated that they knew market prices, their oscillationsandchangesthroughouttheseasonsverywell;intheNorthernarea,66%statedthesame,whiletherestagreedtohavebroadknowledgeofthemarketprices.
the units in which products were sold were generally small: yoruba,platesorsmallplasticbags,units(soap),andthereforetheproductswereeithercarried(40-45%)orbroughttothemarketplacebybike(55-60%).Therewasnoneedforlargertransportation.
Anotherexampleofhowsocio–culturalpressureimpactsonthesaleofNTFPscanbefoundinthepercentagesofpeopletransportingtheproductstothemarkets.
In Passoré, it was evident that whenever it was necessary to go further from the household, men weremoreinvolvedinproducttransportthanintheSouth(27%oftheinterviewees’husbands);thiswaspartlyduetolimitedaccesstobicyclesandpartlybecausewomenweremorelikelytoremaincloseto the house to manage household tasks and children.
Onthecontrary,womenintheSouthgothemarketthemselves(91%oftheintervieweesand45%oftheirco-wives)andhandletransportationaspartofthesalesprocess.
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the money from shea sales was returned to the women in the southern area. All of the interviewees said that they either kept all the money or shared it with their co-wives or daughters-in-law involved intheprocess.IntheNorth,incomedistributionappearedtobemorefragmentedasmoremembersofthehouseholdwereinvolved;allofthewomenkeptatleastpartoftheincome,buttheyshareditwiththeirco-wives(64%),daughters-in-law(40%),daughters(4%),husbands(3%)evenifonlyinsmallamounts.
Sheaincome,justlikebaobabincome,wasreinvestedinarangeofassets,similartotheonesfrombaobab.Infact,itneedstobesaidthattherewasconfusionamongsttheintervieweesasmostofthemdidn’tknowexactlywhichincomewasusedtobuywhat.Overall,theresultsresemblethepreviousones:tobuymoreproducttoprocessand,undertakeimprovementsinthecompound,buyclothes,medicine, etc.
However,aspreviouslymentioned,mostofthewomendidagreeduringtheworkshopthatsincethey were the keepers of the shea income, they mostly reinvested in more semi-processed kernels or utensils.
Replanting and regeneration
while 52% of the women from the yako area stated that they or someone in their compound had plantedasheatreeinpasttwoyears,only20%didthesameinPo.Whenaskedabouttherelativelylowreplantationrate,womenfromPoandNobérérepliedthat,forone,thereisanabundanceofshea trees in the regionmaking replantationunnecessary.Secondly,andconsequently, there isalackofsheanurseriesinthearea;plantingfromseedsisextremelydifficultandwomenagreedthattheydonotmasterthetechniquesenoughtobesuccessful.Itneedstobesaidthat,intheNorth,dataarebiasedbythefactthatpartoftheselectedhouseholdsareorhavebeenpartoftheVillageTreeEnterprisesproject,thereforeweremorepreparedonreplantationtechniques.Moreover,theNorthern climate causesdrier andpoorer soils;while shea trees adaptprettywell, they are lessabundant,makingreplantationmoreimportantinordertomaintainaccesstosheaproductsandtoslow down soil erosion.
Interestinglyenough,intheSouthallthewomenwhoreplantedhadaskedforpermission.Itwaseitheraskedof theirhusbands (12%)or their co-wives (50%).Permissionsprobably relatemore toland ownership: during the workshops, it was said that property rights were linked to where the trees are planted, as anyone who wants to plant a tree needs to inform the land owner. In fact, all the replantedtreesweresetinsomeone’spersonalfield.Itislikelythatthepermissionwasaskedtothemaincultivatorofeachfieldbeforeplantingatree.
IntheNorth,71%plantedsheainthehouseholdfield,thereforereducingtheneedforpermissionas25%ofpeoplereplantingtreesaskedforittoeitherheadofhouseholdortheinterviewees.It isclear, inthatarea,thatwhoeverplantedasheatreeretainedspecificrightsto itsproducts:81%oftheintervieweesrepliedpositivelytothatquestion,addingthatnotonlytheyhavetotalaccesstothentFPs, they also have rights over dead wood.
IntheSouth,nobodywassaidtohavespecificrightstotheplantedtrees.However,thedatawerebiasedbythesmallquantityofreplantedtreesandtheabundanceofsheaintheSouthwhichallowspeople tobe able to freely collect fruits. Thequestionwas asked again at theworkshops;womeninsistedthatthiswasnotaquestionofdefinitionofprivatepropertybutamatterofnotcreatingaproblembetweenneighbours.Whileeveryonehadaccesstoallthetrees,becausetheycanbefoundeverywhere,peoplewouldcollectwheretheyknowitwouldnotbotheranyone.
NéréThemanagementofnéré,thelocustbeantree,needsaspecificintroduction.InMossiculture,landbelongstoeveryoneandtonooneatthesametime;infact,theconceptoflandownershipisforeign
21
tothisculture.Onecancultivatefamilylandwithoutowningit.Atthesametime,thenérétreeisasymbolof landownershipandisstronglylinkedtogender.Thismeansthatuntilrecentlyplantinganérétreemeantwantingtoowntheland,andsuchanactionwouldbefollowedbymisfortuneanddeath.However,theeconomic,geographicalandclimaticconstraints,thenewnationallawsadoptedovertheyearsandthe impactof foreignprojectshas ledtoaprogressivemodificationof the localcustoms.Nevertheless,accountneedstobetakenofthefactthatnéréoftenplaysacentralroleincustomary laws.
Therefore,datahavebeenanalysedanddiscussedduringtheworkshopswiththisspecificityinmind.Responsibilityfornérétreesrestswithmen;collectionisprimarilyaresponsibilityofwomen,butintheNorthmencontinuetoparticipate(Figures10and11):
Access and collection
Because of the heavy socio-cultural pressures, use of néré trees is rare in the northern sahelian area, thelocationofoneofthestudysites.TheavailabledatamainlycomefromthePoandNobéréarea,alongwithimportantinformationcollectedduringtheworkshops.Infact,intheNorth,only9outof100intervieweesweresaidtocollectnéréproductsfromthetrees,andnoneofthemwouldsell itduetothesmallquantityharvested.However,thisdoesnotmeanthattheseedsandpulparenotconsumed;whenavailabletheyareboughtatthelocalmarket,andarealsoavailableinmajormarketslike ouagadougou.
Néréishighlyprized.Women,evenintheNorth,areextremelyconsciousoftheimportanceofthenéréfruitfromanutritionperspective.Theflourproducedbyitspulpisrichincarbohydrates(67.3%),carotenoids(vitaminA,49%),fibre(11%),andprotein(7%).Itsseedshaveahighproteincontent(18%)thatincreaseswhenfermented(upto27%),fat(13%)andcarbohydrates(52%).InBurkina,whileitsflour is alsoused, themainusedproductsare the seeds, in their fermented formcalledsoumbala (literally,fermentednéréseed),afteralongandtiresometransformationprocess.Itisoftenusedasabase(similar tostockcubes) forthesauceforcerealsallyearround.Duringthe longdryseason,nevertheless,shouldtheleavesforthesaucefinishorbecomeraretofind,soumbala will provide a rich (inthesensesofbothtasteandnutrition)substituteinwhichtodipthecerealcomponentofthediet.
however, due to its scarcity, it is expensive when found at the local markets. mainly for economic reasons, the soumbalaconsumptionislowinNorthernBurkinaFaso.Duringtheworkshops,itappearedthatitisoftenreplacedbycommercialstockcubes,usuallylessnutritiousbutcheaperandubiquitous.
On the contrary, for social, climatic and geographical reasons, in the Southern area, 93%of theintervieweescollectnéréproducts,and40%ofthemalsosellitatlocalmarkets.
Figure10.Responsibilityfornérécollection–Passoré (northern site)
Figure11.Responsibilityfornérécollection–Zoundwéogo/nahouri (southern site)
22
The specific status of the locust bean tree and the advancing privatization of natural resourcesexplainthat70%oftheintervieweesintendingtocollectnéréproductshadtoaskpermissionfirstoftheirhusband,headofthehousehold,lineageorvillagechiefs.
Similartobaobabandshea,thereisnocollaborationinthecollectionofnéré,becauseofeveryone’sindividual schedule.
Processing
Soumbala is themain product from fermented néré seeds; sometimes, the powder (pulp) is usedto bake cakes (tourteaux): only 7% of the interviewees stated that they used the pulp, a very low percentage considering how rich it is in nutrients.
turning the seeds into soumbala and cooking it or integrating it into a sauce was undertakenexclusivelybywomen(co-wives,daughters-in-law),andtheyaretheonestodecidehowmuchwouldbe kept or sold.Moreover, they handled the transformation and selection process.Menwere notcompletelyexcluded,butthepercentageofhusbandshelpingoutwaslowerthan5%,duetosocialandculturalreasonsbutalsotothedivisionandmanagementofhouseholdchores.
Infact,transformationismadewithtraditionalandbasickitchenutensilsandusuallytakesuptoaweek.Theseedsarefirstboiledfor24to48hours,tolosetheirsourtasteandfacilitatetheskinning.they are then washed, skinned and the kernel is cooked for another 1-2 hours to clean them. the skinningprocessislongandrequiresmuchhandling,andthereforecontamination.
Thekernelsarethenlefttofermentinajar,coveredbyleaves,atambienttemperature(30-40°C)for 3-5 days.
Afterfermentation,theyaredriedunderthesunandturnedintosmallballs,mixedwithotherspicesandsometimesdriedfish.Theycanlastupto6monthsinthatform.
Sales
All of thewomen from thePo andNobéré area stated that néréwas always kept and soldwhenneeded, either when the prices were higher or when the household could use the money. women werealsoresponsibleforthatdecision,andtheyaffirmedthattheyknewmarketpricesextremelywell.
Thewomenwereaccustomedtogotothemarketbythemselves(includingco-wives,daughters-in-law),walkingorbybicycle;néréissoldatthevillagemarket(57%),atanothervillagemarket(48%),even to villages located further away or larger towns (12%).
Since they handled everything from collection to sale, womenwere also able to fully keep theincome, sharing it with the co-wives when they were part of the process.
Replanting and regeneration
Only5outof200interviewees-orsomeoneintheirhousehold–hadreplantedanérétreeintheNorth,wheresocialandculturalpressuresarestillstrong;30%hadreplantedtreesintheSouth.Whenaskedaboutthereplantationrateduringtheworkshops,womenagreedthattheyhadnotmasteredthetechniqueandusuallyfailedwhentryingtoreplantlocustbeantreesfromtheseeds;moreover,alackofnurserytreeswasreported.Itwasalsomentionedthatthevariousorganizationsworkingintheareamainlyconcentratedonreplantingshea,baobabandothertreesratherthannéré.The easier availabilityofseedsofotherplantsevidentlyinfluencedreplantationchoices.
while co-wivesanddaughters-in-lawwerestillresponsibleforthereplantation,24%ofthehusbandswereinvolved,andtheyweretheoneswhogavepermissiontoplant(95%),decide(90%ofthetime)wherethetreemustbereplanted.theprincipalhouseholdfieldwasthesitefor75%oftheinterviewees.
Everyonewhoreplantedatreewaspositiveabouthavingspecificrightstoitsproducts,fruits,leaves,barkandwood.
23
Key results and implications
TheSahel ishunger-proneandisenvironmentally,nutritionallyandsocio-politicallyfragile.Resilientfoodsystemsneed tobepreservedandstrengthenedas theeffectsof climatechangeare likely toimpact severely. evidence from the literature on the role of tree foods and from current literature onfoodsecurityintheSahelsuggestthattreefoodssuchasthoseinvestigatedinthisresearchhavepotentialtocontributetowardsenvironmentalandfoodsecurityandrurallivelihoods,andthusalsocontributetowardssocialandpoliticalsecurity.
sahelian peoples demonstrate the resilience and skills with which rural households manage the complexhuman,economicandenvironmentalinteractionsand–exceptunderextremecircumstances–maintain sustainable livelihoods. This research inBurkina Fasoonbaobab, shea and locust beanreinforcestheseviewsandaddsnewknowledgeaboutthechangingwaysinwhichruralpeopleutilisetreeresourcesandincorporatethemintheirdiversifiedlivelihoodstrategies.Itidentifiescontinuingknowledgegapsandsuggestswaysinwhichpoliciestowardsthetreesectorcanbeenhanced.
The benefits of recent economic growth in Burkina Faso appear to be inequitable: humandevelopment indices remain poor, particularly in terms of nutrition among vulnerable populationssectors, and adult literacy is low.Among thepopulations interviewed, human capacity in termsofformalskillsisweak,butthereisapropensityandsufficientresourcestoadoptnewtechnologyfortransport,communicationsandpowergeneration.IntheSouththereisevidenceofanentrepreneurialattitude.Butdevelopmentofskillsandinnovationwithinthespecificallyruralcontextofagricultureandnaturalresourcesmanagement lagsdevelopmentdrivenbyurbancentresand ‘modernization’.Investmenttargetingruralassetsandsmallholderstrategiesisnecessary.
DifferenceswerenotedbetweenthedifferentregionsofBurkina.WhilemostconclusionsarebasedonthesimilaritiesandcontrastsinPassoré(‘theNorth’)andZoundwéogo/Nahouri(‘theSouth’),dataprimarilyfromthevalidationworkshopforpeoplefromGourma(‘theEast’)wereusedtocomplementthosefromtheNorthandSouth.TreefoodconsumptionismuchmorevitaltodietsintheNorththanitisintheSouth,highlightingtheimportanceofNTFPsasacopingmechanismduringthesoudure period when granaries are empty and the new harvest has not yet taken place.
Assistednaturalregeneration(ANR)isaviablewayofbypassingthesocialconstraintsattachedtotreeplantingandlandownership.WhileANRstillhastobenegotiatedwiththeprimarylandowner(husband,chiefofhousehold,lineage,land,village),womenareforthemostpartallowedtoprotectnaturallygrowntrees.The landownersdonotseeANRasa threatbecause the landgenii ‘allowedthetreetobeborn intheir land’,andnobodyplanted ittoclaimthe landforhimorherself. Ithaspotentialtoserveasamajorstrategyagainstdeforestation,andincreasingthecontributionoftreestolivelihoods.
Sample featuresWithinthesampletherewasgreaterliteracyintheNorthbutalsomorepolygamy,landfragmentation,dependenceontrees–withtheexceptionofbaobabwhichisrelativelyscarce.Otherdemographicdifferencesandvariationsinassetsbetweensitesweresmall,buttherearesignsofamoreadvancedshiftfrom‘traditional’to‘modern’cultureintheSouthinrespectofusufructentitlementstonaturalresources. Therewerehigh levelsof access to small assets suchasbicycles,motorbikes, radioandmobilephones.Therewasalowlevelofaccesstoelectricpower,paralleledbyincreasingpenetrationof solar power sources, and high dependence of village wells for all water supplies.
Itisworthreiteratingthatsurveydatacollectiontookplaceoveratwomonthperiod(Oct-Nov2013)and the validationworkshopswithin oneweek in Feb 2014, outside themain harvesting seasons.The reliance on recall by interviewees for data about highly seasonal and sometimes idiosyncraticphenomenameans that some relevant information is likely to have beenmissed or lost. Overall,
24
Table1.Sum
maryofin
sigh
tsintotree
food
utilizati
on,b
yspeciesan
dprod
uct
Tree
Baob
abSh
eaN
éré
• Often
privateenti
tlemen
tsm
ediatedbym
en,linkedtoland
tenu
re
• tree
sarescarcein
theNorth,u
biqu
itousin
theSo
uth
• iscon
side
reda‘m
an’stree
’,with
stron
gsocialrightsan
dob
ligati
ons,
espe
cial
ly in
the
nor
th
• tr
ees
are
gene
rally
pri
vate
pro
pert
y (r
elat
ed to
mal
e la
nd te
nure
), es
peci
ally
in
the
nor
th
• le
ss s
ense
of o
wne
rshi
p in
the
sout
h du
e toabu
ndan
ceoftrees
• veryim
portan
tculturalspe
cificitieslink
né
ré to
mal
e la
nd o
wne
rshi
p
• high
lyprizedfornu
trition
alqua
lities
• lim
ited
in th
e n
orth
, ext
ensi
ve in
the
sout
h
Prod
uct
Leav
esFr
uit
Frui
t and
nut
sFr
uit
Colle
ction
• bym
enand
wom
en
• m
ore
invo
lvem
ent o
f men
in
the
nort
h du
e to
soc
ial
cust
oms
• m
en a
nd w
omen
• w
omen
and
chi
ldre
n, u
nive
rsal
and
exclusive,a‘w
oman
’stree
’•
wom
enwith
permission
firsto
fthe
ir
husban
d,hea
dofth
eho
useh
old,line
age
or v
illag
e ch
iefs
• po
dsfree
lycollected
,especiallyby
child
ren
• sign
ificantparto
fdietsduringthe
‘sou
dure’
Proc
essi
ng•
bywom
enand
girls
• mainlybywom
enand
girls
• someti
mesbymen
inth
eNorth,if
theynee
dcash,b
ecau
seitisa‘m
an’s
tree
’
• w
omen
and
chi
ldre
n
• m
en in
crea
sing
ly in
volv
ed in
commercializati
onbecau
seofincom
e-ea
rningpo
tenti
al
• controlo
fnutsism
orede
fined
than
of
frui
t
• almoste
xclusivelyund
ertakenbywom
en
(co-
wiv
es a
nd d
augh
ters
)
25
Table1.Sum
maryofin
sigh
tsintotree
food
utilizati
on,b
yspeciesan
dprod
uct
Baob
abSh
eaN
éré
Uti
lizati
on•
leav
es u
sed
for
imm
edia
te fo
od
consum
ption
asaconstitue
ntof
sauc
es w
ithin
the
mén
age
• sa
le fo
r im
med
iate
cas
h ne
eds
whe
n ne
cess
ary
• consum
ption
orsale
• pu
rcha
sed
from
mar
ket f
or
consum
ption
whe
nde
sired
• constitutesasignifican
tparto
fda
ily m
eals
• un
common
:prepa
redasju
iceor
pain
de
sing
e
• commercialized
asapo
wde
rfor
beverage
• lim
itedcommercializati
onsofar
–pa
tternsdifferbetwee
nNorth
(loca
l mar
kets
) to
sout
h (la
rger
re
gion
al m
arke
ts) d
ue to
soc
io-
cultu
ralcon
straintsaffe
cting
marketin
gactiv
ities:traveland
logistics
• shared
with
nee
dyneigh
bours
• ex
chan
ged
for
othe
r fo
od
prod
ucts
• ho
meconsum
ption
–fruitswidely
consum
edata
crucialtimeforhu
nger,
the‘sou
dure’
• oft
ensha
redwith
inth
econcession
• ex
chan
ged
for
othe
r fo
od p
rodu
cts,
eg
baob
ableaves,p
artic
ularlyin
theNorth
• be
tterqua
lityprod
uctsoldasnuts,
butter,soa
pforcashth
roug
houtth
eye
ar, d
epen
ding
on
cash
nee
ds a
nd
mar
ket p
rice
s
• salestoiti
neranttrad
ersinNorth,o
rinm
arketsbymen
forlogistics/cultural
reas
ons
• diversemarketin
gsystem
sinth
eSo
uth,
mainlybywom
en
• se
eds
and
pulp
con
sum
ed (a
nd
purcha
sed)assoum
bala,the
basisfo
rth
e sa
uces
of m
any
cook
ed m
eals
• lim
ited
in th
e n
orth
• bo
ughtatthe
marketfromotherre
gion
swhe
npo
ssible.H
owever,p
ricem
akesit
lessattracti
veth
anlessnutritiv
eregu
lar
stockcube
s(M
aggi,Jum
bo)
• sign
ificantcon
sumpti
onand
salesin
the
sout
h
• canbe
stored
• de
cision
sab
outc
onsumpti
onand
sales
mad
ebywom
en
Retu
rns
• incomeusua
llym
anaged
bymalehe
adfo
rho
useh
oldpu
rposes
• wom
ensom
etimesre
tainin
come
• us
ed fo
r a
wid
e ra
nge
of h
ouse
hold
exp
ense
s an
d in
vest
men
ts
• substanti
alawaren
essofm
arketp
rices
bysellers
• incomeusua
llyre
tained
bywom
enfo
rho
useh
old
purp
oses
• oft
enre
invested
bywom
enin
nuts/
kernelstoin
crea
seprodu
ction
but
avoiding
thefirstarduo
usstageof
tran
sformati
on
• us
ed fo
r a
wid
e ra
nge
of h
ouse
hold
ex
pens
es a
nd in
vest
men
ts
• marketin
gon
lyin
theSo
uththroug
hdi
vers
e m
arke
ts
• incomeretained
bywom
enfo
rho
useh
old
purp
oses
• us
ed fo
r a
wid
e ra
nge
of h
ouse
hold
ex
pens
es a
nd in
vest
men
ts
• substanti
alawaren
essofm
arketp
rices
amon
g se
llers
Repl
anti
ng &
re
gene
rati
on•
difficultan
dminim
alfo
rba
obab
inth
eNorth
• eviden
tintheSo
uth,whe
reagro-ecolog
yism
orefavourab
le
• forcultu
ralrea
sons,u
tilizati
onisam
alerespon
sibility,alsolin
kedto
land
tenu
re
• m
ore
evid
ent i
n th
e no
rth,
whe
re th
e tr
ees
are
less
pre
vale
nt
• plan
tingpe
rmission
isnegoti
ated
and
lin
ked
to la
nd te
nure
• ha
rvestin
grigh
tsparallelp
lanti
ngrights
• minim
alre
plan
tingan
dow
nershipinth
eSo
uthdu
etoabu
ndan
ceoftrees
• ne
gligiblere
plan
tinginth
eNorth
• somelim
itedreplan
tinginth
eSo
uth
26
commentsfromkeyinformantsandtheresultsofthevalidationworkshopssuggestthattherecanbesubstantialconfidenceintherepresentativenessandvalidityofthedata.
Access to, and productivity of, assets, subsistence and production for saleshea (Vitellaria paradoxa),baobab(Adansonia digitata) and néré (Parkia biglobosa) are among the most significant trees for food consumption and commercialization. Use of tree foods during thesoudure is a very important resilience and food security strategy, especially in the north. however, ruralpeopleutilisemanyotherspecies.ThecontributiontodietisdefinedbybothnutrientvalueandasflavouringstosauceswhicharethebasisofBurkinabécuisine. (Species-specificsummarieshavebeenincludedabove).
Ownership entitlements to trees are linked to land in complex ways, but with significant maledominance,exceptforshea.TraditionalcustomsandownershipnormsareinfluentialintheNorth,butarechangingintheSouth,whereopportunitiesaregreaterduetoproximitytoandengagementwithachangingexternalenvironment,andagreaterabundanceofnaturalresources.
regarding the modality of decision making within households, it is self-evident that human relationships are complex. This applies atmultiple scales:within a typical compound (concession - usually male-headed ‘extended household’); and within and between the constituent households(ménages-female-headedsub-householdsofwives/co-wivesandchildren);andwithinandbetweenlargercommunities.
Householdmanagementresponsibilitiesarecommonlynegotiatedandshared.Notwithstandingthestrongtraditionofmaleauthority,theevidencesuggeststhatdecisionmakingisconsensual:thereisan ethos of negotiationandconsensusaboutentitlements toanduseofnaturalassets rather thanbargainingandcontestation. It ishighlyimprobablethatthereshouldneverbeconflict,butneitherthe survey nor validationworkshops furnished evidence about conflict betweenmen andwomen,husbandsandwives,betweenco-wivesoratthelevelofvillageauthorities.
Modelling decision making about consumption and sale of highly seasonal products such asbaobab,sheaandnérérequiresmoredatathancouldbecollectedduringthestudy,andofakindthatwould be difficult to collect. Decisions to consume or sell are a function of: a) the balanceof cashneeds for immediate consumptionneeds; b) the availability of reserves (whichoften arehidden),storedbybothmenandwomen,andrequirementstostoreforthefuturesoudure;thusc)theavailabilityofotherfoodsources;andd)relativeproductprices.Seasonalityprofoundlyaffectseach element.
nevertheless, underlying decision making is the dominance of the male head of household in terms of ultimate livelihood strategies and asset ownership: notably land apportionment to wives, treeownershipandmanagement.Knowledgeofdecisionmakingpatternsandresponsibilitiesaboutothereconomicactivitieslikelocal(on-andoff-farm)employment,andmigrationisverylimited.TherewasevidenceofagrowthofindividualismintheSouthwherenaturalresourcesaremoreabundant,accessislesscircumscribedbygender-basedculturalnormsandwherethechangingenvironmentmanifestlyisopeningupmorecommercialopportunities,particularlyforwomen.
In contrast, and exceptionally, decision making on the management of and returns to sheaenterpriseswasthewomen’sprerogative.Sheaisaparticularlytimelyandnutritiousfoodstuff.Whilemosthouseholdscancountonanumberofwomenandchildren,andevenmaleparticipationinsomeactivities,labourperseisnotnecessarilyaconstraint,butthearduousnatureoftheprocessingisaburdenforwomen.
The connectivity of smallholders to marketsMarketdemandexistsinallthesurveyedareas,butaccessislimitedbydistance.Treeproductutilizationandmarketingarepredominantlyassignedtowomenandgirls,almostinvariablybypermissionofthe
27
maleheadofhousehold.Anexceptionistheexclusivemaledominionoverbaobabharvestingandnérémanagement,whichillustratesthepersistenceofbothpracticalandculturalfactorsalongsidesocialandeconomicdeterminationofentitlementparameters for landandtreesmoregenerally.Womenarenotexpectedtotravel far fromhomes,andareconstrainedbyhouseholdresponsibilities.Thusthe‘thinner’andmoredistantmarketsintheNorthtendtobeservedmuchmorebythemenandbylocaltraders.Incomparison,theSouthwomenfacefewerconstraintsaboutmeansoftravelandtransportandpersonalengagement inmarkets.Marketedvolumesdependonavailablehousehold‘excess’suppliesandameansoftransport,andintheSouthareinfluencedalsobyproximitytoGhanaandanotablymorecommercial,entrepreneurialethos.
Intheabsenceofformalassociations,thereisverylittleevidenceofcollectiveactioninharvesting,processingandmarketingoftreeproducts.Whatcollaborationdoesoccurisbetweenco-wiveswithina concession,theunderlyingbasisbeingsharedhouseholdmanagementschedules.Timeis‘shared’whiletheeconomicenterpriseitselfisstillindividualised.Decisionsaboutsales(cfconsumption),atleastofbaobabproducts,arefrequentlymadethroughdiscussionsheldamongthemeninvolvedandthewomen - (co-)wivesandolderdaughters. The intention is tomaximisingprices subject to cashneeds.Returnsbelongindividuallytotheparticipants,butuseofthereturnsisoftennegotiatedwithinthe household. Prior claims are for general household expenses.
sellers said that they were familiarised with market prices through visits to market and sharing of informationwithinhouseholdsandwithinthecommunity.
The functionality of marketsProductvolumesandprices in local, regionalandnationalmarketsareaffectedby seasonality,butadequate consumptionmarket data could not be collected within the scope of this research. Nostatisticalanalysisofmarket integrationwaspossible,butsimilarproductscanbeobserved inbothregionalmarketsandmajormarkets.ItisevidentthatmarketsandtradersintheNorth,at2-3hoursfromOuagadougou,werelinkedwiththecapital.IntheSouth,therewasreportedtobeafreeflowofproductsnorthtoOuagadougouandsouthintoGhana.AwiderangeoftreeproductsisavailableinOuagadougouinseason.Theproductsaresignificantbutaremainlyregardedascondiments,andthereforenotmajorfooditems.Sheaisexceptional,havingsignificantopportunitiesforoilandbutterproducts in the sahel region and for industrial purposes more widely.
Conclusions, implications and development opportunities
Consideringthelimitationsofsampling,cautionmustbeexercisedingeneralizingabouttheimplicationsofthefindingsfortheregion.Diversityamonghouseholdsandbetweenregionsandspeciesshouldbenoted,andfurtherworkundertakentounderstandmorecomprehensivelythebasesofdifferences,and how these differences are evolving in thewider socio-economy. Activities an opportunities intheNortharegenerallyconstrainedcomparedwiththesouthduetotwoprincipalfactors,beingtheharsherclimaticconditionsandgreaterphysicalandculturalremotenessfromsurroundingsocialandeconomicinfluences.
UtilizationOwnershipof trees is linked to landand therefore is circumscribed,but isnot amajorobstacle toharvestingandutilizationoftreeproducts. Menhaveadominant influenceovermanagementandutilization,especiallyintheNorth–butgenerallythisisnotaconstrainttoutilizationbywomen.
Decisionmakingaboutconsumption,saleandexchangebycompoundsandhouseholds,andaboutincome distribution, is usually consensual even if power in decisionmaking is not equal betweengenders.Noevidencewasfoundofconflictindecisionmakingaboutownership,harvesting,processing,
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marketing anduse of returns. Culture influences the activitieswomen canundertake, for examplemarketingintheNorth,butwomen’sparticipationismajoratmoststages.
Species differences and regionalityTherearesignificantregionaldifferences,withfewersocialconstraintsinthesouth,aidedbygreaterproduct abundance, and easier access tomore diverse (local, regional and international)markets.Eachofthethreetreespeciesstudiedhassignificantnutritionalandcommercialpotential,somewhatunderexploited, and highly seasonal. Patterns of utilization vary between species. Considering thesignificanceofthetree,there isaneedtoexplorepotential formultiplicationanddisseminationofnéré.
Developmental implicationsThere is a greater need for development initiatives in the North, but the potential is limited byecological and cultural constraints. There is aneed fordevelopment anddisseminationofplantingand regeneration technologies, especially in the North, and for the promotion of assisted naturalregeneration.
Thesheasectorstandsoutasasignificantsourceofeconomicactivity,withconsiderablepotentialfor greater employment creation and income-earning opportunities, especially for women. But itinvolves arduouswork: there is a potential for developing labour-savinghouseholdprocessing andconservationtechnologiesforsheafruittoreducethephysicallabourinput.Whilethisresearchdidnotfocusoncollaborativeenterprise,evidencefrominformalsourcesandfromtheliteratureaboutcooperativeorganizationspointstofurtherpotentialforcollectiveenterprisearrangementsandlargerscale processing technologies. economies of scale are likely to exist in processing investments as well asmarketing.
Greaterpublicinvestmentintreeresearchandinruralservicesandinfrastructuresuchasenergyandcommunicationswillfacilitatethedevelopmentofthetreefoodssectorandenhanceitscontributionto rural livelihoods.
Further researchA market price and volume monitoring exercise for tree and other food products throughout the year wouldhelp toprovideddata toenablemoresubstantialanalysisofmarketdemand,particularly inrespectofproduct seasonalityandquality requirements.While itwouldbecomplexand sensitive,furtherworkcanbeundertakentounderstandthecompoundandhouseholdeconomicsofhouseholddecisionmakingandutilization.Itisnecessaryalsotoelucidatethedifferencesbetweentreespeciesin respect of thenatural sciencesof growth, productionand conservation– and the limitations toexploitation–andthesocio-economicimplicationsofaccessandutilization.
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FigureA2.Levelofeducation–Zoundwéogo/Nahouri(southern site)
FigureA1.Levelofeducation–Passoré(northernsite)
FigureA3.Householdstructure–Passoré(northernsite)
FigureA4.Householdstructure–Zoundwéogo/Nahouri(southern site)
FigureA5.Compoundstructure–Passoré(northernsite)
FigureA6.Compoundstructure–Zoundwéogo/nahouri (southern site)
Appendix
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Figure A7. Access to goods and services- Passoré (northern site)
Figure A8. Access to goods and services - Zoundwéogo/nahouri (southern site)
Figure A9. Agricultural land - Passoré (northern site) FigureA10.Agriculturalland-Zoundwéogo/Nahouri(southern site)
Figure A11. livestock ownership - Passoré (northern site)
Figure A12. livestock ownership - Zoundwéogo/nahouri (southern site)
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