Common challenges in gum arabic production and commercialization in West Africa: a comparative study of Cameroon, Niger and Senegal

As gum arabic is widely used in food and non-food industries, demand is high all over the world. Still, smaller production countries in West Africa such as Cameroon, Niger and Senegal seem to have so many difficulties producing and commercializing gum arabic that their market shares have declined significantly over the years despite their production potential. This paper reviews the development of the gum arabic market chains in Cameroon, Niger and Senegal, in order to evaluate the limiting factors and identify appropriate strategies to the sector progress. The main challenges in production and commercialization are limited knowledge and management of resources, pricing and quality. Some of the general strategies that could improve performance are the professionalization of the sector, the integration of Acacia senegal development into rural economic activities, capacity building for producers and other actors, and the organization of the marketing system