The Role of Institutional Arrangements and Policy on the Conservation, Utilization and Commercialization of Indigenous Fruits in Southern Africa - Indigenous Fruit Trees in the Tropics: Domestication, Utilization and Commercialization - page 315

indigenous fruits are a gift from God and therefore should neither be sold nor
bought. The non-existence of rules which clearly specify the ownership and
user rights of the fruit trees and fruits imposes difficulties in managing and
controlling the use of the fruits. Since the fruits are still regarded as a common
resource, they are being overused. Although village traditional leaders helped
to manage and conserve the fruit trees through practising the old taboos and
beliefs, they brought high uncertainties to traders. Efforts to commercialize
indigenous fruits need to address issues related to ownership and use
regulations on indigenous fruit trees as well as fruits. In Zimbabwe, for example,
although there is a substantial amount of trading of indigenous fruits in both
rural and urban areas, the system is still underdeveloped. Property rights
guiding use and management of the fruit trees and fruits are not transparent.
While consumers like the fruits and are willing to pay for them, informal by-
laws enacted by village and traditional leaders limit market supply. Efforts to
improve the commercialization of fruit should include encouraging and
facilitating a government initiative to set up a reliable institutional framework,
which will reduce risk and uncertainty for traders. Rules that favour private
action can be introduced. Producers can either buy or be issued with free
collection licences.
More detailed studies of natural resources management policies and socio-
cultural settings on IFTs have been carried out in Zimbabwe (Mithöfer and
Waibel, Chapter 13, this volume). There is a need for more information on
marketing systems and factors influencing the markets in Malawi, Tanzania and
Zambia, as these countries have different natural resources management
policies and socio-cultural habits from Zimbabwe. A synthesis of the findings
from studies in these countries will help in drawing appropriate conclusions to
facilitate regional indigenous fruit commercialization.
Land tenure and property rights
Land tenure issues were investigated in Malawi and Zambia. The results show
that most of the lands belong to members of the households, except for some
small parcels of land borrowed from friends or village chiefs. The use designation
period was unlimited (98%) in both countries, and is transferable. The
transferability of lands with IFTs was, however, lower than that with non-IFTs. The
tenure type is individual ownership. Land tenures did not affect the willingness of
farmers to cultivate trees, as 96% of farmers in Malawi and 100% in Zambia are
utilizing customary lands in both countries, and only 4% of smallholders' land in
Malawi was leasehold. Patrilineal households have an average of six IFTs retained
or planted in their gardens per household compared to non-IFT households. This
is because men feel too insecure to invest in trees in matrilineal communities (e.g.
Thondwe in southern Malawi and Katete in eastern Zambia). Cutting down
matured indigenous fruit trees for firewood is a common problem in the region,
especially in communal lands in Malawi.
Issues of natural resources management policies and property rights are
important because the major source of Uapaca kirkiana and Strychnos
cocculoides indigenous fruits for the market is the communal forests. Access to