Mistletoe impact on Shea tree (Vitellaria paradoxa C.F. Gaertn.) flowering and fruiting behaviour in savanna area from Burkina Faso

Shea butter, derived from the African shea tree, has acquired a pivotal position in global agro-food and cosmetics industries. In Burkina Faso, public and private actors as well as civil society are converging upon the product to boost the incomes of rural female producers. As a result of these trends, the shea value chain is increasingly segmented; shea nuts are sold in a low-return, conventional market and simultaneously enter an alternative, high-value niche market. In the latter strand of the value chain, some producers are improving their prospects by forming an association. Tracing relationships across the two strands, we demonstrate how ‘horizontal’ relations based on gender, ethnicity, age and geography contribute to shaping participation and benefit capture in the shea value chain. We argue that processes of social inclusion and exclusion operate in parallel, as differentiated actors both cooperate and compete to secure their place within the chain. While collective organizing brings positive social and economic benefits, we show that producers’ associations need not be empowering for all women. The significance of collective enterprises, but also their drawbacks must be considered when valorising pathways to women's empowerment. Our study reinforces calls for greater integration of horizontal elements in value chain analyses.

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Near Infrared Spectroscopy for High-Throughput Characterization of Shea Tree (Vitellaria paradoxa) Nut Fat Profiles

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry ◽

10.1021/jf100409v ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 58 (13) ◽

pp. 7811-7819 ◽

Cited By ~ 45

Author(s):

Fabrice Davrieux ◽

François Allal ◽

Georges Piombo ◽

Bokary Kelly ◽

John B. Okulo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Infrared Spectroscopy ◽

Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽

High Throughput ◽

Near Infrared ◽

Vitellaria Paradoxa ◽

Shea Tree

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Comparison of marker- and pedigree-based methods for estimating heritability in an agroforestry population of Vitellaria paradoxa C.F. Gaertn. (shea tree)

Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution ◽

10.1007/s10722-008-9328-8 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 55 (8) ◽

pp. 1291-1301 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

J. -M. Bouvet ◽

B. Kelly ◽

H. Sanou ◽

F. Allal

Keyword(s):

Vitellaria Paradoxa ◽

Shea Tree

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Exploring local knowledge and preferences for shea (Vitellaria paradoxa) ethnovarieties in Southwest Burkina Faso through a gender and ethnic lens

Forests Trees and Livelihoods ◽

10.1080/14728028.2016.1236708 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 26 (1) ◽

pp. 13-28 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Mawa Karambiri ◽

Marlène Elias ◽

Barbara Vinceti ◽

Alessandra Grosse

Keyword(s):

Burkina Faso ◽

Local Knowledge ◽

Vitellaria Paradoxa

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African Shea Butter: A Feminized Subsidy from Nature

Africa ◽

10.3366/afr.2007.77.1.37 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 77 (1) ◽

pp. 37-62 ◽

Cited By ~ 43

Author(s):

Marlène Elias ◽

Judith Carney

Keyword(s):

West African ◽

Knowledge Systems ◽

African Women ◽

Shea Butter ◽

Vitellaria Paradoxa ◽

Shea Tree ◽

Traditional Agroforestry ◽

International Sales ◽

Agroforestry Practices

AbstractThe shea tree (Vitellaria paradoxa) is indigenous to Africa's Sudano-Sahelian region and crucial to savanna ecosystems and peoples. African women have long collected, marketed and transformed shea nuts into a multipurpose butter. The growing global trade in shea butter destined for the Western food and cosmetics industries thus represents an opportunity to bolster impoverished female incomes. However, such international sales are also prompting changes in the west African shea landscape. This article examines the role of shea as a female heritage in Burkina Faso, West Africa's largest shea exporter. It focuses on the knowledge systems informing the management, conservation and processing of shea. It also considers the effects of global shea commercialization on the maintenance of traditional agroforestry practices, tenure rights, and butter-making techniques. In so doing, the article illuminates the cultural and botanical heritage of shea as well as the significance of this species in biodiversity protection, African natural heritages and female knowledge systems.

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