Description

Parkia biglobosa, also known as the African locust bean or néré or dodongba, is a perennial deciduous tree of the Fabaceae family. It is found in a wide range of environments in Africa and is primarily grown for its pods that contain both a sweet pulp and valuable seeds.

Fermented seeds (‘soumbala’, ‘dawadawa’, ‘netetu’) serve primarily as a condiment for seasoning sauces and soups. Roasted seeds are used as a coffee substitute known as ‘Sudan coffee’ or ‘café nègre’. Ground seeds are mixed with Moringa oleifera Lam. leaves to prepare a sauce, and are also used to make doughnuts. The mealy pulp from the fruits is eaten or is mixed with water to make a sweet and refreshing drink rich in carbohydrates.

Boiled pods are used to dye pottery black; the ash is applied as a mordant. The bark is rich in tannins and may be used for tanning hides, but the resulting leather is often of moderate quality especially with regard to colour, which is often reddish, uneven, and darkens when exposed to light.

The leaves are sometimes eaten as a vegetable, usually after boiling and then mixed with other foods such as cereal flour. Young flower buds are added to mixed salads.

In West Africa the bark, roots, leaves, flowers, fruits and seeds are commonly used in traditional medicine to treat a wide diversity of complaints, both internally and externally, sometimes in combination with other medicinal plants.

The bark is most important for medicinal uses, followed by the leaves. Medicinal applications include the treatment of parasitic infections, circulatory system disorders, such as arterial hypertension, and disorders of the respiratory system, digestive system and skin.

In veterinary medicine, a root decoction is used to treat coccidiosis in poultry. Green pods are crushed and added to rivers to kill fish. The nutritional value of the fish is not adversely affected so long as they are cooked or dried.

In northern Nigeria the annual production of seeds is estimated at 200,000 t. The products of African locust bean are not important in international commercial trade.

However, local trade is important in West Africa, especially in the Sahel region, where the dried or fermented seeds are often transported far from the sites of production, often across country borders.

This report seeks to examine the financial viability or otherwise of producing iru from locust beans in Nigeria.