Accelerated Domestication and Commercialization of Indigenous Fruit and Nut Trees to Enhance Better Livelihoods in the Tropics: Lessons and Way Forward - Indigenous Fruit Trees in the Tropics: Domestication, Utilization and Commercialization - page 399

It is important also to recognize the amount of information that has been
assembled in the monograph series Fruits for the Future , covering specific
indigenous fruit trees considered as priority or important fruits, documented by the
International Centre for Underutilised Crops (ICUC) in the UK in collaboration
with ICRAF, IPGRI and the FRP (Forest Research Program), and mostly funded by
the DFID (Department for International Development). Notable among these are
those on Ziziphus mauritiana (Pareek, 2001), Tamarindus indica (Gunasena and
Hughes, 2000), Annona spp. (Pinto et al. , 2005), Theobroma grandiflorum
(cupuaçu) and Dacryodes edulis (Kengue, 2002). Additional resources have been
provided on Allanblackia spp. (Rompaey, 2005), Vitellaria paradoxa (Hall et al. ,
1996), Balanites aegyptiaca (Hall and Walker, 1992), Sclerocarya birrea (Hall et
al. , 2002), Parkia biglobosa (Hall et al. , 1997), Strychnos cocculoides (Mwamba,
2005), Uapaca kirkiana (Akinnifesi et al. , 2008), and The Encyclopedia of Fruit &
Nuts containing short monographs of several IFTs, edited by Janick and Paull
(2008). These were mostly based on the results of regional priority-setting
meetings or workshops. A collection of Brazilian fruits has been assembled by
EMBRAPA (Silva and Tassara, 2005). These volumes are important for detailed
domestication of IFTs in the tropics.
21.3.2 Systematic priority-setting
In this topic, different strategies and levels of priority-setting and selection of fruit
trees to be domesticated in different regions have been well highlighted (Chapters
1, 6, 7, 8 and 9). The choice of species to domesticate is driven by several
factors. These include, among others: (i) the desire to plant one's own trees; (ii)
the existence of a market for nursery stocks or tree products; (iii) the availability of
seeds and other propagules in the locality (Chapter 19); (iv) the influence of
organizations funding tree-planting programmes; and (v) previous nursery
experience of farmers (Weber et al. , 2001; Akinnifesi et al. , 2006; Caradang et
al. , 2006; Tchoundjeu et al. , 2006; Chapter 9, this volume). This is the reason
why selection of species is usually based on marketable characteristics.
Building on these efforts for the first time in the mid-1990s, the approach
for identifying priority IFTs was revolutionized when ICRAF conducted
workshops across Africa and developed more robust guidelines and principles
for prioritizing trees for agroforestry (Franzel et al. , 1996). The crucial aspects
that have been overlooked during the ad hoc listing of priority species and
early domestication work by researchers were addressed in priority-setting
guidelines. The principles and applications in western Africa, eastern and
southern Africa are detailed in Chapter 2. The priority-setting generally
followed a seven-step procedure (Franzel et al ., 1996):
1. Team building and consensus of stakeholders on the approach and its local
adaptations.
2. User needs assessment and expectations from research.
3. Complete inventory of species used in the region or country, and those of
high potential.