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 317

as greatly as possible. This makes market promotion very difficult. However,
there is some hope due to the new attitude towards NWFP as a result of
increasing demands for organic fruits, concern for the environment and
preference for natural products. Knowledge and information availability is
another important component of marketing; which requires improvement in
the skills and attitudes of the people involved in market development.
Marketing chains are complex, from the commodity production to marketing
consumer products. Primary producers only manage the first stages of
marketing, but it is necessary to understand the whole marketing chain and its
position in order to get a fair deal and share of the benefits and wealth created
by collection, extraction and, finally, sale of the goods to the consumer. It is
vital to have an appropriate accessible marketing information system for NWFP
and IFTs (FAO, 1991).
Indigenous knowledge of IFTs
Indigenous knowledge (IK) or local knowledge refers to the knowledge and
practices developed over time, maintained by people in rural areas, who
interact with their natural environment. This complex knowledge forms part of
the cultural practices used in the management and use of natural resources to
sustain livelihoods. This dynamic local knowledge is unique to a given culture
and society, and it forms the basis for local-level decision making in agriculture,
healthcare, food preparation, education, natural resource management and
other activities in rural communities (World Bank, 2006). Groups of IFT
collectors who include children have useful information on taste, availability
and fruit size that can help in guiding the domestication of indigenous fruit trees
(Simons, 1996; Maghembe et al ., 1998). IK is a very important resource for
rural communities in fighting poverty, thus addressing the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs). It enables the development of enterprises and for
the indigenous people to participate in decision making and sustainable
development. However, this knowledge is being eroded and lost. It is necessary
to strengthen the capacities of local people for developing their own knowledge
and methodologies that promote activities to improve and sustain their
livelihoods. IK should form the basis for policy development and research on
domestication for IFTs (Kwesiga et al ., 2000).
There is variation in the organization of IFT harvests. The common method
is collection by local people who have rights for such activity, for sale in local
markets or to purchasing agents. Another is the employment of casual or
contract labour by those with collection rights. The local collectors are often
exploited by middlemen who control access to the markets, or those who control
access to the resource (e.g. government officers). This makes the millions of
people who are involved in NWFP collection lack incentives for best practices
control and sustainable harvesting. Postharvest care is also poor in most cases,
with high rates of wastage, and qualitative and quantitative losses during
collection, transport and storage. The physical infrastructure and poor roads in
Africa have an effect on delicate and perishable products, compared with those
that can withstand rough handling and long storage. There is an urgent need to