It is native to Angola, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is common in the dry parts of Africa and Asia. In Kenya, it is widespread in the ASALS of Kenya in dry Acacia-Commiphora bush land.

It can be propagated by direct sowing at site and grows slowly in arid lands. It occurs in woodlots and mixed farming systems. Weeding should be immediate in the season following planting and in the following two consecutive growing seasons. Young trees must be protected from livestock browsing on them. Lopping, coppicing, pruning and appropriate injuring for production of gum arabic are employed in tree management.
Seeds should be harvested before pods drying for easy collection and to avoid insect attacks. Seeds are then easily extracted by hand, then, they are should be immediately dusted with an insecticide.

Seedlings are susceptible to the buffalo treehopper (Stictocephala bubalus) attacks. Spiders the Cyclops sp., can smother young growing apices. Coleoptera (bruchids), Lepidoptera, and Hymenoptera can damage the seeds during their larval stage of development. Locusts, Acridium melanorhodon cause widespread damage by defoliating them in an overnight. Other A. senegal enemies include; the fungi Cladosporium herbarium, Fusarium sp., Ravenelia acaciae-senegalae and R. acaciocola.