Local use and marketing of Balanites aegyptiaca products in Uganda

Clement A. Okia PhD Student (Agroforestry) Bangor University, UK [email protected] Introduction • Drylands of Africa are popular for a wide range of natural products e.g. shea, marula, desert date etc • These play critical role - in terms of food security, health, income & ecological services. • Increased human & animal population are destroying sources of these natural products. • Thus, their role is diminishing with no alternatives • Yet communities in these areas remain poorest & most food insecure in the World. Introduction cont’d • Research from drylands of Africa reveals that rural people are incredibly resourceful, often in the face of extreme hardship. • They don’t need to be taught, pressured or motivated. • What they need to be offered are choices of, and access to, technologies, practices and information in an environment that makes their efforts worthwhile (CIFOR, 2003). • Balanites pdts could provide a basis for SMEs otherwise unsought of in African drylands (NAS 2008). Balanites aegyptiaca • Balanites aegyptiaca (Balanitaceae) - is a fruit bearing a tree in drylands • It is widely found in the Sudano-Sahielian region of Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia • Its fruit, kernel oil and young cooked leaves have been a basis of an active rural trade for many years throughout dryland Africa. • Its fruit pulp contains about 40% sugar • Most important use is oil extraction from kernels · But the nut is very hard compared to other nuts. On farm

In wild

Balanites aegyptiaca in Uganda

Balanites oil • Oil yield 40 – 50% • Four major fatty acids: Linoleic, oleic, palmitic, stearic and linoleic- similar to soybean oil • Oil also contains α-carotene – its light yellow colour • Oil contains steroids (saponins, sapogenins, diosgenins) used as raw material for industrial production of contraceptive pills, corticoids, anabolisants and other sexual hormones (ONUDI, 1994) • Oil can be used for bio-diesel production – method patented: http://www.faqs.org/patents/app/20080271364#Comments_form Fatty acid profile of balanites oil

Balanites aegyptiaca fatty acid profile (Mohamed et al 2002)

50 46.5

40

30 24.5

20 15 13 Percentage 10

0 Linoleic Oleic Palmitic Stearic Fatty acid Balanites products by women from Eastern Burkina Faso UNDP-assisted programme for increasing food security for vulnerable groups

Oil used as a syrup for indigestion -costs US $ 12 per litre Oil also used to enrich soap, creams and lotions Industrial potential of balanites • The main potential for industrial utilization lies in extraction saponins from pulp and kernel • Estimates show that over 400,000 tons of B. aegyptiaca fruits are produced in Sudan annually (Mohamed et al., 2002) • Only 2% used yet a significant quantity of this can be used for oil extraction • Also several kilograms of diosgenin can be extracted from kernel cake (by-product) • Bio-diesel production from oil • Despite its nutritional, medicinal value & other uses, balanites is practically unutilized throughout Africa. Other medicinal potentials.. 1. Fruits treat liver & spleen diseases 2. Fruit & bark extract contain saponins - used to kill the snail (hosts of bilharzias) & water-flea (carrier of guinea worm) 3. Bark & roots are used as laxatives & colic 4. Bark - sore throats, & as a remedy for sterility, mental diseases, epilepsy, yellow fever, syphilis & tooth aches 5. Root extract - treats malaria, oedema & stomach pains & heart burn 6. Root & bark extracts effective against larvae of Culex pipens mosquito Balanites Study Framework & other IFTs Distribution, popn status, Yield & Phenology Dryland Communities Improved mgt Use & mgt & utilisation (sustainability)

Indigenous Local Improved Knowledge Income & processing health & marketing

Improved Processing & marketing Selection & propagation Nutritional value Distribution of Balanites in Uganda Can survive in hostile environments including Sahara Desert West Nile- along the River Nile West Nile – Upland

Teso – Seasonally water logged Fruit uncollected in wild

Uses of balanites in Uganda Leaves Fruits • Very popular as • Eaten as a snack during leaf vegetable fruit season • Traded in local • Animal feed markets • Pulp juice – turns alcoholic • Provide animal • Traded in West Nile feed in dry Oil season • Cooking • Traded in Teso • Medicinal • Trade item- West nile (Nov – March) Other uses of balanites oil in Uganda • Firewood/Charcoal – there is a booming trade on balanites charcoal – high quality • Medicine - oedema, abdominal pains, chest pain, skin infections, liver, skin diseases and snake bites. • Baking & frying different foods • A lubricant • Kernel cake- vanishing/ polishing wooden objects, manure, & a larvicide – on stagnant water. Trees with good (sweet) leaves are repeatedly cut Cooked balanites leaves pick with flowers – Katakwi Balanite fruits Balinites fruits ready for eating or juice making Balanites fruit pulp can make refreshing Juice which turns alcoholic if left for a few days Extracting kernels Balanites kernels Balanites oil

Sources of balanites products

Source %

Wild 83.6

On-farm 13.7

Fallow land 2.1

Around home 0.7 Marketing of balanites leaves • Leaves are marketed in almost all rural markets in Katakwi district (North eastern Uganda) • Women & children dominate the marketing • A kg of partially cooked leaves costs USD 0.4 • Sellers earn about USD 54 per leaf season (4 - 5 months per year) • There is increasing difficulty in getting the good quality leaves • The demand is increasing • Some areas are wildlife reserves with limited access 1 2

Balanites sold in a local market - Uganda Marketing of balanites fruits

• Balanites fruits are sold in most rural markets in West Nile sub-region • A kilogram of the fruits is sold at USD 0.2 • Peak period for fruit marketing is Dec-Feb • Women & children dominate the selling of balanites fruits in both rural and urban markets Marketing of balanites oil • Oil is a high demand both in villages, local markets including neibouring Southern Sudan • Currently a litre of balanites oil is sold at USD 1.5 at home and USD 2 in local & urban markets • Major challenge constraining oil production is difficulty in cracking the hard nuts General constraints 1. Increasing human population- balanites growing areas now cultivated 2. Over- grazing along – seedling damage 3. Increasing intensity of bush fires - uncontrolled 4. Increasing demand for firewood & charcoal 5. Land tenure – balanites growing areas are communally owned, thus difficult to manage 6. Thorny nature of balanites – cleared from farms 7. Long juvenile phase of tree - >10 years Marketing constraints

• Long to distance to markets (2-20 km) • Low prices • High market taxes • Perishability of products (fruits and leaves) • Limited markets Un-controlled bush fires affecting trees Brick burning in Nyeu village, Adjumani Effect of fire Charcoal burning

Some interventions Establishment and management

Balanites Planted in farmers field Vegetative propagation of Balanites is possible Conclusion/Recommendations • Promoting processing & marketing of Balanites aegyptiaca can help to diversify – and potentially broaden income-generating opportunities for rural communities in the drylands where it’s abundant. • Key objective should be helping local people to fight poverty and improve nutrition. • There is need to assess the economic potential from exploitation of natural products, such as balanites, the opportunities to promote these products, as well as the existing constraints. Conclusion/Recommendations cont’d • In light of an economic climate increasingly favourable to organic products, the future direction in the medium to long term could be supporting local communities to establish enterprises based on natural products, such as balanites. • Need to develop appropriate technology to facilitate cracking of balanites nuts. • Promote conservation through sustainable utilization rather than protection for no viable economic benefit. Thank you!

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