Status report on global Neem usage - Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal

2. Global Neem Dissemination and Usage
2.1 Geographical Distribution and Types of Usage
2. GLOBAL NEEM DISSEMINATION AND USAGE
The neem tree, also known as the "Indian neem tree" (Azadirachta indica) is native to South
Asia, whereby the South of India and Myanmar are the main areas of origin (2, 13, 15, 19). In
the course of this century, however, the neem tree has spread globally along the tropical belt
(see world map, page 10).
The tree is most widespread in India - from the most southerly region around Kerala up to the
Himalayas. Estimates currently run at approx. 14 to 20 million neem trees throughout the
country, with roughly 10 million trees in the two provinces of Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu
alone (2, 13, 15, 19, 23).
All of today’s uses of neem can be traced back to traditional forms of usage in India. Nowadays,
uses range from simple and extensive to modern and intensive. Smallholders and the
rural population collect neem raw materials which they then use for medicine, stock protection,
etc. Numerous small to medium-sized companies in India manufacture commercial
neem products of varying quality which are marketed almost exclusively on a domestic scale.
The seeds are the most important raw material for exploiting neem. They are collected by the
rural population and are then mainly sold on markets or to dealers. The seeds are chiefly
pressed to obtain oil for soap production. The press cakes thus produced are in turn the
parent material for manufacturing formulated pesticides. The wood, bark and leaves have
only a limited market value and are predominately used by the rural population.
In Myanmar the neem tree is particularly well established in the central regions of Mandalay,
Magwe and Sagaing. Only a few ten thousand neem trees are to be found in the lower part
of Nepal (Terai), whereas in Bangladesh and Pakistan, the neem is a typical and common
sight. What is more, it has been found in Sri Lanka's northerly, mid-easterly and southeasterly
semi-arid areas in numbers of more than 1 million stems (4, 19, 23, 26, 28).
Knowledge of neem's many possible uses is not as widespread in these countries as in
neighbouring India. But nevertheless, neem is still an important natural resource here too.
In the People's Republic of China the first hundreds of neem trees were planted in the early
1980s on the peninsula of Hainan and the southern part of Guangdong and are now thriving.
In the mid-1990s larger-scale reafforestation with some 100 000 neem trees took place in
Hainan and the southern valleys of Kumming province (27).
In Southeast Asia the neem tree is mostly found in the hot, lowland areas with marked dry
periods. In Thailand the neem species encountered most frequently throughout the country is
called "Thai neem" (Azadirachta siamensis) which makes up 2/3 of all the neem trees there.
Viet Nam planted its first neem trees a few years ago. However, the trees are not growing
and fruiting well in the northern provinces due to the cold temperature and in the southern
region due to the typhoons. In Indonesia neem can be found in the eastern and more
7