Appendix
8.5 Conclusions and Lessons Learned
The development of rural economic activities is pivotal to the well-being of communities in southern Africa. Indigenous fruit trees are one of the few comparative advantages that rural communities have, as custodians of the resources and knowledge about their use. The fact that indigenous fruits are widely consumed and traded and are rich in macronutrients supports the notion that they contribute to the nutritional security and livelihood of rural people. Almost two decades of research by ICRAF and partners in southern Africa on the domestication of miombo indigenous fruit trees has started to yield dividends by generating new knowledge and skills for quality germplasm production and improvement, tree management and postharvest techniques available to farmers and partners.
The research on indigenous fruit domestication by ICRAF in southern Africa has shifted away from multipurpose species screening and provenance/progeny collection and testing, and now embraces more innovative participatory domestication and clonal propagation for key priority species based on the genetic variation that exists in the wild, the science of tree biology and ecology and the local knowledge of the communities. The number of species on which intensive domestication research data are available is still small – Uapaca kirkiana,Sclerocarya birreaandStrychnos cocculoides. More species need to be tested using the technologies developed for these species. Research is still needed to close the gap in tree performance and adaptability in researcher-managed trials and farmer-managed trials.
Despite the fact that indigenous fruit tree species are well traded in informal markets in countries across the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) countries, very little success has been achieved in the commercialization of fresh and processed fruits. Even though markets could be developed through tree improvement and value addition, the immediate niche for most indigenous fruits is probably in local markets and consumption. Domestication and market research and development are all essential if tangible commercial interest in indigenous fruits is to emerge beyond the current opportunistic levels at roadside and local markets. The most robust income-earning oppportunities for agroforestry tree products lie in intensified systems that mark the transition from gathering to cultivation and efforts to overcome resource depletion. Cultivation and management are ways of maintaining a sustainable supply of high-value indigenous fruits and of creating new or expanded markets. Knowledge of postharvest handling and utilization should be deployed to improve the benefits to collectors, marketers and small-scale fruit processors (and private entrepreneurs).
Farmers and communities are excited about domesticating indigenous fruits and are being trained and supplied with knowledge about nurseries, propagation techniques and tree management guidelines. However, the challenge remains for scaling up the technologies to new areas without project efforts. This will also help to satisfy the quest for new high-quality products by consumers in local and global markets.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the BMZ (Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung) and GTZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit) for providing the funds required to implement the project ‘Domestication and Marketing of Indigenous Fruit Trees for Improved Nutrition and Income in Southern Africa’ (Project No. 2001.7860.8-001.00), and Canadian CIDA for funding the Zambezi Bazin Agroforestry Project (Project No. 050/21576). We would like to thank our partners – national agricultural and forestry research and extension organizations, private entrepreneurs and non- governmental organizations – for collaboration in the project in the four countries.
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9 Domestication, Utilization and Marketing of Indigenous Fruit Trees in West and Central Africa
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CHOUNDJEU,
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SENI31ICRAF West and Central Africa Region, Humid Tropic Node, Yaounde Cameroon;2ICRAF West and Central Africa Region, Humid Tropic Node, IITA Station, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria;3ICRAF West and Central Africa Region, Humid Tropic Node, ICRAF Office, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo