Indigenous people and the forest-food nexus: Use of Baobab among Hausa Fulani households in Nigeria

Wild tree species have been thought of and conceptualized to lead to food and nutritional security, besides other ecosystem services. However, little empirical work documents and examines this conceptual link, neglecting the provisioning ecosystems as well as the indigenous knowledge systems that support these food chains. This study, therefore, analyzed the role of Baobab, a wild tree species on food security among Hausa-Fulani households of North-western Nigeria. A farm household survey was conducted among 239 households. Beginning with a descriptive analysis, the study also employed a Tobit regression model to analyze the relationship between baobab utilization and food security which was captured by the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS). The result shows that 21.34%, 74.06% and 4.60% of the households were food secure, mildly, food insecure and moderately food insecure respectively. Baobab consumption and income from baobab trading were associated with food security. The sale of household assets is the most adopted coping strategy, seconded by gathering and consumption, as well as the sale of wild plant species. Thus, this study concludes that the baobab contributes directly (via consumption) and indirectly (via income) to reducing food insecurity in Nigeria. Hence, efforts should be geared toward the domestication of baobabs to ensure the sustainability of the tree species. Also, it should be advocated that baobab parts be used as biofortification agents in nutritional programmes in Nigeria.