Setting Priorities among Indigenous Fruit Tree Species in Africa: Examples from Southern, Eastern and Western Africa Regions - Indigenous Fruit Trees in the Tropics: Domestication, Utilization and Commercialization - page 11

C. albidum ( P < 0.05). For the central, south and east provinces of Cameroon,
the areas covered in the survey, values were US$21.6 million for D. edulis ,
US$17.5 million for I. gabonensis , and US$4.9 million for R. heudelotii (Table
1.4). Again there were no significant differences between D. edulis and I.
gabonensis , but both were higher than the third-ranking species, R. heudelotii
( P < 0.05). All five of the priority species are found in other countries of
western and central Africa (Aiyelaagbe et al ., 1997; Ndoye et al. , 1998), but
data on their value are scant. In an extensive nationwide survey of Gabon,
farmers ranked I. gabonensis first and D. edulis second in importance among
agroforestry and forestry species (D. Boland, 1995, personal communication).
None of the other species mentioned above ranked among the top seven
species. In Ivory Coast, I. gabonensis is grown in the west, south and south-
west regions of the country and is widely traded in urban areas (Bonnehin,
1998). I. gabonensis is also an important component of regional trade; exports
to Nigeria are reported from Cameroon, Central African Republic, Benin,
Ghana and Ivory Coast. Ivory Coast also exports to Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Gabon imports from Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea (ICRAF, 1995). D.
edulis fruits and G. kola bark, an additive to palm wine, are exported from
Cameroon to Gabon (Ndoye et al ., 1998). All species had additional uses, e.g.
for firewood, fodder, timber and medicine, but the value of these appeared to
be relatively low.
Concerning expected rates of adoption, I. gabonensis and D. edulis ranked
about equally. I. gabonensis was the most widely grown species in Nigeria,
whereas D. edulis was the most widely grown in Cameroon. In terms of spread,
I. gabonensis plants were grown or collected by over 50% of the farmers in all
six surveyed land-use systems, D. edulis in five. I. gabonensis was the preferred
species for future planting in Nigeria (49% of the farmers versus 18% favouring
D. edulis ) while D. edulis was preferred in Cameroon (51% versus 27% for I.
gabonensis ). G. kola ranked third in both countries. Gender roles varied
somewhat across the different species and tasks. Men, women and children were
generally all involved in harvesting, and females dominated processing. In
Nigeria, all 12 key informants reported that females received cash from I.
gabonensis sales, whereas only five reported that men also received cash.
Results were similar in Cameroon, where all five key informants who responded
to the question reported that females received more cash from fruit sales than
did men. Concerning seed sales, five of eight informants reported that women
received more cash from seed sales than men did. In Cameroon, all nine
respondents claimed that women or children were the main beneficiaries of R.
heudelotii sales. Men tended to receive most of the cash earned from G. kola
and C. albidum , while receipts from D. edulis appeared to be shared about
equally. The results were consistent across countries, although there was some
variation within each country.
Farmers' improvement objectives
Farmers had very clear ideas on how researchers could improve their preferred
trees. Concerning Irvingia , farmers in Nigeria were mostly interested in