Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Research on indigenous fruit species will only be successful when national
priorities are sensitized to the needs of local communities, industries and
consumers. Additionally, countries are party to a number of international
conventions and agreements, which are often dealt with outside the agricultural
sector. It is widely recognized that facilitating mechanisms for underutilized
crops has a major role to play in developing national strategies.
3.3.8 Developing cooperatives and finance initiatives
Indigenous fruits are difficult to obtain in adequate quantities and it can be a
daunting problem to supply them through collection from the wild because of
the quality requirement. One way to overcome this problem is to bulk up
quality planting materials and then supply them to the farming community.
However, commercial organizations are unlikely to be involved with such
materials. It also becomes a problem for the public sector to be involved in the
multiplication of planting materials, due to limited budgets which may already
be allocated for specific research. None the less, past experience has shown the
value of village nurseries and local seed banks, as they are sources for the
maintenance of local agrobiodiversity. These are mostly not related to secure
national supply systems, but such pragmatic solutions to the problems of
sustainability are far more viable when due consideration is given to the pricing
of products and provision of credit.
Community enterprise development by non-governmental and community-
based organizations and other community groups, such as women's cooperatives
in India, are making impacts through local product development and local and
regional marketing (ICUC, 2006). The marketing of new products can be difficult
because of the lack of availability of storage, processing and distribution facilities.
Where producers can be supported at various stages in the production chain,
such as by involvement with cooperatives, there is a greater likelihood of a new
product being successfully introduced in the market. There is also greater
bargaining power for obtaining credit in order to develop enterprises, for
negotiating with dealers or processors, or in arranging transportation.
3.4 Impacts
As indicated earlier, the importance of tropical fruit tree species in sustainable
livelihoods has been highlighted by many researchers (Hegde and Daniel,
1995; Doran and Turnbull, 1997; Leakey and Simons, 1998; Huxley, 2001;
Stevens
et al.
, 2001; Hughes and Haq, 2003; Leakey
et al
., 2005a, b). With
particular reference to food security and nutrition, fruits and nuts provide a
variety of foods and food products that are rich in vitamins, minerals, proteins
and antioxidants. They improve palatability and contribute to the diets of the
poor in improved nutrition and variety. They are particularly valuable sources
of food and nutrition during emergency periods of food shortage, such as
flood, famine, drought and war. Depending on the seasonal harvest from fruit
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