Products from the Neem Tree

Where does the neem tree grow in Kenya and what benefits can it provide? Which products can be prepared from the tree and how? Antony Mwongo of Kenya Neem Development (KNF) gave a talk and an exhibit that provided important information about the neem tree.

An exhibit on neem products, seedlings and information materials presented by Antony Mwongo during the Kiambu event

The neem tree has been identified as an important tree both in agriculture and for human medicine. Neem products are largely processed from the tree’s leaves and seeds. The bark and roots have useful properties as well but their recovery is more destructive to the tree.  The seeds may be crushed using a mortar and pestle, or mechanically pressed to produce neem oil useful in the production of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and organic pesticides. Neem seed cake, a by-product from pressing, may also be utilized as a organic fertilizer and animal feed. The wood is also valued for woodcarving. Collection of seeds along the East African Coast is facilitated by bats that drop the seed after eating the fruit. The fallen seeds should be collected immediately to prevent sprouting and molding. In up-country areas where fruit-eating bats do not occur, it is more difficult to collect seeds but some birds will also drop seeds after eating the fruit. The collected seeds are cleaned and dried, packaged and sold directly to processors.  Neem oil is extracted through the following procedure:

1. Small-scale processors will crush seeds using a mortar and pestle. The crushed seeds are placed in a bowl of water. Then the floating oil is skimmed from the bowl.

2. A simple hand operated press can extract seed oil leaving a cake. The efficiency of the presser is improved by adding a modified groundnut decorticator.  The oil presser can crush 100 kg of raw seeds per day with an oil yield of up to 20%.

3. Electrical and diesel powered devices are available to crush the seeds and extract oil. These machines are more efficient in grounding the seeds and use air pressure to separate kernels from the crushed seeds.

Cultivation of the neem tree can greatly improve farm income due to the growing demand for neem products in the domestic and international markets, and its potential in livestock and crop production. There are also obvious environmental benefits from cultivation of the tree because it grows in the drylands where few other trees can thrive. Anthony cautioned the audiences by noting that conmen are reportedly selling seedlings of the wrong type of tree and the presenter assisted participants to better identify genuine neem tree seedlings.