Creating Opportunities for Domesticating and Commercializing Miombo Indigenous Fruit Trees in Southern Africa - Indigenous Fruit Trees in the Tropics: Domestication, Utilization and Commercialization - page 165

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 birrea and Strychnos 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.