Senegal. Oysters and Cashews: West Africa’s Women Farmers
I didn’t expect to write about oysters and cashews when I traveled to Senegal. My visit began in Dakar, the country’s capital and largest city (population 2.6 million). Bordered to the north by Mauritania, to the west by Mali, and to the south by Guinea and Guinea-Bissau, Senegal is the western-most nation on Africa’s mainland. It is named after the Senegal River, which forms its boundary with Mauritania.
Covering an area of 197,000 km2, Senegal is widely viewed as one of Africa’s most stable countries. French is the official language and more than 95% of the population (17 million) practice Islam. Unfortunately, the country is poor with 40% of its population living below the poverty line. Relative to other African nations, the country has few natural resources and remains a net food importer.
It was our guide who suggested that we stop to tour oyster and cashew farms. Our first stop was an estuary near a coastal village in the Saloum Delta, north of Senegal’s border with The Gambia. Estuaries are places where fresh water flowing from rivers comes together with ocean water. Organisms living in estuaries must adapt to brackish water with salinity levels that change as tides move in and out. Like many other places, coastal Senegal has been impacted by climate change. At least some of the delta’s mangroves have been planted in an effort to slow erosion and mitigate damage by storms. Along with wild oysters, the tangled mangrove forest supports a diversity of aquatic and terrestrial life including crabs, fish, and birds.
Arriving at the village, we were introduced to women who harvest wild oysters that cling in bunches to the long roots of mangrove trees. In Senegal, women make up 90% of oyster farmers. Paddling through the brown water, they use a forked stick called an ewuyum to scrape oysters from stiff, twisted roots. Scraping is considered a more sustainable practice than cutting mangrove roots with a machete. To increase production, wires called spats are strung below the waterline to attract additional oyster larvae.
The oysters themselves are hardy, with two thick shells held together by a muscle ligament. Out of water, the shell remains tightly closed, enabling the shellfish to survive when the tide is low. Adjacent to oyster boats were tall mounds of discarded oyster shells. About 100 kilograms of wild oysters can be harvested annually within a single hectare. In total, Senegal’s mangrove forests produce about 13 million kilograms of wild oysters each year. The shellfish are sold fresh or in processed form with fresh oysters bringing significantly more revenue than processed ones. A dozen fresh oysters sell for about U.S. $10. Some local restaurants and hotels have arrangements to purchase oysters that they boil or grill and serve to tourists with rice covered by a pepper sauce.
Growing up to 14 meters in height, the cashew tree (aka noix de cajon) is a tropical evergreen with irregularly shaped trunks and leathery leaves. Native to South America, the hardy trees were brought to West Africa to fight erosion and desertification. We stopped to tour a small cashew orchard tended by women. We were shown the trees’ principal byproduct: light-yellow and reddish cashew apples with boxing glove shaped nuts. The trees begin flowering in November with the nuts becoming mature and ready for harvest between March and May. Cashew nuts are roasted to enhance flavor. While premium-quality cashews are exported as whole kernels and consumed as a snack food, lower grade nuts are used in products such as cashew butter. Almost 90% of Senegal’s cashew production is exported, much of it to India and Vietnam.
