Since childhood, Loveness Bhitoni has collected fruit from the gigantic baobab trees surrounding her homestead in to add variety to the family含羞草研究社檚 staple corn and millet diet. The 50-year-old Bhitoni never saw them as a source of cash, until now.

have decimated her crops. Meanwhile, the world has a growing appetite for the fruit of the drought-resistant baobab as a natural health food.

Bhitoni wakes before dawn to go foraging for baobab fruit, sometimes walking barefoot though hot, thorny landscapes with the risk of wildlife attacks. She gathers sacks of the hard-shelled fruit from the ancient trees and sells them on to industrial food processors or individual buyers from the city.

The baobab trade, which took root in her area in 2018, would previously supplement things like children含羞草研究社檚 school fees and clothing for locals of the small town of Kotwa in northeastern Zimbabwe. Now, it含羞草研究社檚 a matter of survival following in southern Africa, worsened by the El Ni帽o weather phenomenon.

含羞草研究社淲e are only able to buy corn and salt,含羞草研究社� Bhitoni said after a long day含羞草研究社檚 harvest. 含羞草研究社淐ooking oil is a luxury because the money is simply not enough. Sometimes I spend a month without buying a bar of soap. I can含羞草研究社檛 even talk of school fees or children含羞草研究社檚 clothes.含羞草研究社�

The global market for baobab products has spiked, turning rural African areas with an abundance of the trees into source markets. The trees, known for surviving even under severe conditions like drought or fire, need more than 20 years to start producing fruit and aren含羞草研究社檛 cultivated but foraged.

Tens of thousands of rural people like Bhitoni have emerged to feed the need. The African Baobab Alliance, with members across the continent含羞草研究社檚 baobab producing countries, projects that more than 1 million rural African women could reap economic benefits from the fruit, which remains fresh for long periods because of its thick shell.

The alliance含羞草研究社檚 members train locals on food safety. They also encourage people to collect the fruit, which can grow to 8 inches (20 centimeters) wide and 21 inches (53 centimeters) long, from the ground rather than the hazardous work of climbing the enormous, thick-trunked trees. Many, especially men, still do, however.

Native to the African continent, the baobab is known as the 含羞草研究社渢ree of life含羞草研究社� for its resilience and is found from South Africa to Kenya to Sudan and Senegal. Zimbabwe has about 5 million of the trees, according to Zimtrade, a government export agency.

But the baobab含羞草研究社檚 health benefits long went unnoticed elsewhere.

Gus Le Breton, a pioneer of the industry, remembers the early days.

含羞草研究社淏aobab did not develop into a globally traded and known superfood by accident,含羞草研究社� said Le Breton, recalling years of regulatory, safety and toxicology testing to convince authorities in the European Union and United States to approve it.

含羞草研究社淚t was ridiculous because the baobab fruit has been consumed in Africa safely for thousands and thousands of years,含羞草研究社� said Le Breton, an ethnobotanist specializing in African plants used for food and medicine.

Studies have shown that the baobab fruit has several health benefits as an antioxidant, and a source of vitamin C and essential minerals such as zinc, potassium and magnesium.

The U.S. legalized the import of baobab powder as a food and beverage ingredient in 2009, a year after the EU. But getting foreign taste buds to accept the sharp, tart-like taste took repeated trips to Western and Asian countries.

含羞草研究社淣o one had ever heard of it, they didn含羞草研究社檛 know how to pronounce its name. It took us a long time,含羞草研究社� Le Breton said. The tree is pronounced BAY-uh-bab.

Together with China, the U.S. and Europe now account for baobab powder含羞草研究社檚 biggest markets. The Dutch government含羞草研究社檚 Center for the Promotion of Imports says the global market could reach $10 billion by 2027. Le Breton says his association projects a 200% growth in global demand between 2025 and 2030, and is also looking at increasing consumption among Africa含羞草研究社檚 increasingly health-conscious urbanites.

Companies such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi have opened product lines promoting baobab ingredients. In Europe, the powder is hyped by some as having 含羞草研究社渞eal star qualities含羞草研究社� and is used to flavor beverages, cereals, yogurt, snack bars and other items.

A packet of a kilogram (2.2 pound) of baobab powder sells for around 27 euros (about $30) in Germany. In the United Kingdom, a 100-milliliter (3.38-ounce) bottle of baobab beauty oil can fetch 25 pounds (about $33).

The growing industry is on display at a processing plant in Zimbabwe, where baobab pulp is bagged separately from the seeds. Each bag has a tag tracing it to the harvester who sold it. Outside the factory, the hard shells are turned into biochar, an ash given to farmers for free to make organic compost.

Harvesters like Bhitoni say they can only dream of affording the commercial products the fruit becomes. She earns 17 cents for every kilogram of the fruit and she can spend up to eight hours a day walking through the sunbaked savanna. She has exhausted the trees nearby.

含羞草研究社淭he fruit is in demand, but the trees did not produce much this year, so sometimes I return without filling up a single sack,含羞草研究社� Bhitoni said. 含羞草研究社淚 need five sacks to get enough money to buy a 10-kilogram (22-pound) packet of cornmeal.含羞草研究社�

Some individual buyers who feed a growing market for the powder in Zimbabwe含羞草研究社檚 urban areas prey on residents含羞草研究社� drought-induced hunger, offering cornmeal in exchange for seven 20-liter (around 4-gallon) buckets of cracked fruit, she said.

含羞草研究社淧eople have no choice because they have nothing,含羞草研究社� said Kingstone Shero, the local councilor. 含羞草研究社淭he buyers are imposing prices on us and we don含羞草研究社檛 have the capacity to resist because of hunger.含羞草研究社�

Le Breton sees better prices ahead as the market expands.

含羞草研究社淚 think that the market has grown significantly, (but) I don含羞草研究社檛 think it has grown exponentially. It含羞草研究社檚 been fairly steady growth,含羞草研究社� he said. 含羞草研究社淚 believe at some point that it will increase in value as well. And at that point, then I think that the harvesters will really start to be earning some serious income from the harvesting and sale of this really truly remarkable fruit.含羞草研究社�.

Zimtrade, the government export agency, has lamented the low prices paid to baobab pickers and says it含羞草研究社檚 looking at partnering with rural women to set up processing plants.

The difficult situation is likely to continue due to a lack of negotiating power by fruit pickers, some of them children, said Prosper Chitambara, a development economist based in Zimbabwe含羞草研究社檚 capital, Harare.

On a recent day, Bhitoni walked from one baobab tree to the next. She carefully examined each fruit before leaving the smaller ones for wild animals such as baboons and elephants to eat 含羞草研究社� an age-old tradition.

含羞草研究社淚t is tough work, but the buyers don含羞草研究社檛 even understand this when we ask them to increase prices,含羞草研究社� she said.