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The baobab tree, often called the “tree of life” due to its resilience, has recently gained international attention as a superfood. Packed with vitamin C, antioxidants, and essential minerals like potassium and magnesium, its fruit is now in demand across Europe, the U.S., and China. However, for local harvesters in rural Zimbabwe like Loveness Bhitoni, the booming baobab industry has done little to improve living conditions.
Bhitoni, a 50-year-old mother in northeastern Zimbabwe, has collected baobab fruit since childhood. Once a supplementary food source, baobab has become her family’s main income after climate change-induced droughts devastated crops of millet and corn. The baobab tree, being drought-resistant, has become a lifeline for her and many others. However, the earnings from this trade are meager. Bhitoni makes around 17 cents per kilogram of fruit, and a full day of foraging often yields just enough to buy basic staples like corn and salt.
The global market for baobab, projected to reach $10 billion by 2027, is fueled by demand for products like baobab powder and beauty oils. These products are sold at premium prices in Western markets, while local harvesters struggle. Bhitoni, for example, needs to collect five sacks of fruit just to buy a 10kg bag of cornmeal. Despite the rising global demand, harvesters face exploitation by urban buyers who offer goods like cornmeal in exchange for several buckets of fruit.
Organizations such as the African Baobab Alliance aim to empower rural communities by providing training and pushing for better prices. However, the lack of infrastructure and negotiating power leaves harvesters like Bhitoni in a vulnerable position. Processing plants that could improve local incomes remain scarce, and much of the fruit is sold raw to industrial processors.
For now, the “superfood” market’s benefits are largely felt far from the African plains, leaving local communities in a constant struggle for survival.
