The Role of Indigenous Fruit Trees in Sustainable Dryland Agriculture in Eastern Africa - Indigenous Fruit Trees in the Tropics: Domestication, Utilization and Commercialization - page 213

cosmetic manufacturing industries worldwide. Shea kernel is a very important
export commodity and contributes significantly to the generation of revenues
for many countries in West Africa. It was the third most important export
product of Burkina Faso in the 1980s (World Bank, 1989). Annual exports to
Europe are about 40,000-75,000 t, with another 10,000-15,000 t sold to
Japan. In Eastern Africa, on the other hand, shea has become an export
commodity to a very small extent only in Uganda since 1990, through The
Shea Project. However, the shea butter in Sudan and Ethiopia has never had
access to the export market and still remains a source of household cooking fat
for local communities (Hall et al ., 1996; Boffa, 1999; Lovett and Haq, 2000;
Teklehaimanot, 2003, 2005; Schreckenberg et al ., 2006).
Vitex pyros (chocolate berry)
The ripe fruit of African olive is black, edible and sweet, somewhat resembling
a prune in taste. Jam is made from the vitamin-rich fruits. Fruits are tasty and
extensively traded locally. Fruits are sold on local markets in the Kebwizi and
Embu districts of Kenya at about Kshs 150 (US$2.1)/kg. According to
informants in Kebwizi, annual fruit production per tree is about 50 kg. The fruit
is used in traditional medicines (FAO, 1983; Beentje, 1994; Ajiwe et al ., 1998;
Maundu et al. , 1999; Mbabu and Wekesa, 2004).
Ziziphus mauritiana (ber or Indian jujube)
The ber is an economically important tree that produces fruit that has a high
sugar content and high levels of vitamin C, phosphorus and calcium (Table
11.3). Fresh fruits are eaten raw. Dried fruits are sold at local markets in Kenya
and Sudan (Teklehaimanot, 2005). The fruits are also boiled with rice and
millet and stewed or baked or made into jellies, jams, chutneys and pickles. Oil
is also extracted from the seeds. The leaves are used as forage for cattle, sheep
and goats and are also used by local people as a vegetable in couscous. Fruit is
produced even in unusually dry periods as the tree is drought-resistant. Thus,
local communities in the drylands of Eastern Africa rely heavily on this resource
as an emergency food for themselves and as fodder for their livestock. It is
grown on a commercial scale in India. In 1994-1995, India produced about
1,000,000 t of fruit from an area of 88,000 ha (Pareek, 2001; Mbabu and
Wekesa, 2004).
11.3.3 Contribution to the ecosystem functions of dryland agriculture
All the above indigenous fruit trees are an integral part of the dryland agricultural
systems of Eastern Africa, not only because they provide food and income to the
local people but also because they contribute to the ecosystem functions of
dryland agriculture through the maintenance of soil fertility, water conservation
and environmental protection. Traditionally, farmers in the drylands of Eastern