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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