Palm oil: the fruit of hard work, it is a source of wealth in West Africa

Red oil is one of the most widely used agricultural commodities in the ^21st century. The oil palm, dating from the ^18th century just for making palm wine, is becoming an essential source of wealth thanks to its multiple services in the continent.

Facteur favorable pour le développement de l' agriculture en Afrique From the West, men have favorisé the propagation of oil palm trees by dispersing their seeds and slash-and-burn cultivation. De leur côté, les femmes et les enfants picked up fruit that fell on the ground, turned it into palm oil by women, using a long and labour-intensive process that consisted of boiling and & agrave; filter fresh fruit repeatedly with water.

Palm oil was, and remains, a key ingredient in West African cuisine, like the simple dish of boiled yam, palm oil, and rock salt. Also, palm oil was used to make black soap, etc. Some regions in south-eastern Nigeria focused so much on palm oil production that they became totally dependent on yam imports from the north. This provided a source of cash income for young men.

Note that it was generally older and already wealthier men, and especially chefs, who benefited the most from “red gold,” thanks to the work of their wives and slaves and to the control of trade.