The tree resprouts vigorously when coppiced and is managed for fuelwood in natural woodlands in Sudan. In plantations in India, trees are planted at 3 x 3 m spacing and coppiced for fuelwood. In other areas the trees are not cut, to avoid reducing pod yields. The high value held by local people for the tree is reflected in the detailed nomenclature given to its cycles of development. In Oman, for example, local people call A. tortilis by more than a dozen different names in Dhofari arabic.
Flowers provide a major source of good quality honey in some regions.
Fruits are eaten in Kenya, the Turkana make porridge from pods after extracting the seed, and the Masai eat the immature seeds. The bark yields tannin and the inner bark cordage. Leaves, bark, seeds, and a red gum are used in many local medicines. A. tortilis is a pioneer species easily regenerated from seed. Pods are best collected by shaking them from the canopy.