Improving Rural Livelihoods through Domestication of Indigenous Fruit Trees in the Parklands of the Sahel - Indigenous Fruit Trees in the Tropics: Domestication, Utilization and Commercialization - page 187

Parkland trees and shrubs provide many functions for the rural poor
(Appendix 10.1). They are sources of food, including fruits, fats, oils, leafy
vegetables, nuts and condiments, which complement staple food crops in the
local diet. Some of these foods are particularly important during the months
when grains are in short supply and during years of intense drought. In
addition, parkland trees and shrubs provide numerous traditional medicines
that are essential for rural health-care (Fortin et al ., 2000). Severe micronutrient
deficiencies can be alleviated by consuming indigenous fruits and vegetables
(Ruel et al ., 2005).
They also supply fuelwood, construction materials, cordage, dyes and
materials for household implements, handicrafts and clothing. Moreover, since
the parkland is an essential source of forage, fodder and medicines for
livestock, maintaining healthy parklands is essential for maintaining healthy
animal herds. In addition to providing products, parkland trees and shrubs
provide environmental services such as moderating the soil temperature,
reducing soil erosion and improving soil fertility through nitrogen fixation and
nutrient cycling of their leaf biomass. Since most annual food-crop plants are
grown in the parkland, these service functions play a key role in maintaining
annual food-crop productivity. The fact that the rural poor maintain diverse sets
of species and functions in their parklands underscores the importance of this
diversity in their livelihood strategies.
Unfortunately, the richness and abundance of indigenous trees and shrubs is
being eroded in the parklands and other forested landscapes in the region (Eyog
Matig and Ouedraogo, 1999; FAO, 2000). Less species richness means fewer
distinct sources of products and services. Lower abundance means less genetic
variation within species, which reduces both the capacity of trees and shrubs to
adapt to environmental change and the potential gain that farmers can realize
from selection. Decreases in both the richness and the abundance of these useful
trees and shrubs leave the rural poor with fewer options to improve their health,
nutrition and income. In addition, it reduces the available habitat for the other
native plants and animals that figure importantly in local diets, medicines, etc.
Since traditional knowledge is often transmitted from generation to generation by
using plants, this knowledge is also being eroded as species richness and
abundance decline. The loss of this knowledge will make it more difficult for
future generations to establish and manage the useful species of native trees and
shrubs in the region.
In 1995, the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) worked with farming
communities and other partners to identify the priority species for domestication
programmes in the Sahel. These included baobab ( Adansonia digitata L.), detar
( Detarium microcarpum ), néré ( Parkia biglobosa ), tamarind ( Tamarindus indica ),
shea tree or karité ( Vitellaria paradoxa ) and ber ( Ziziphus mauritiana ). These
species were preferred by farmers because of their nutritional, medicinal and
income-generating values. In this chapter, we discuss the principal uses of these
species and their potential value, and the current and future plans for their
domestication.