Researchers unlock commercial value of wild fruit trees

Africa’s wild fruits, from Baobab fruit and Tree Grapes to Tamarindus and wild plums, are emerging as serious crops, spawning commercialisation and supporting hundreds of farmers in arid and semi arid areas, after long being left as no more than feed for livestock, wild animals and birds.

The indigenous fruits, say scientists, are native to Africa and have evolved over centuries, as opposed to exotic fruits, such as citrus and even mango, which have been imported from other continents.

“Mango particularly is common across much of Africa, but actually originated in Southeast Asia. Indigenous trees, such as Marula, Baobab, African Plum, are mostly found wild, although some are now planted, but they all evolved in the African environment,” said Victor Theuri from the University of Nairobi’s Faculty of Agriculture.

Farmers from the lower end of Eastern Province and the semi arid Kieni district of Central Kenya are among those now domesticating and commercialising the wild fruits in ventures ranging from value addition, using them during “hungry months”, and selling the seeds to other agropreneurs.

The fruits from the giant Baobab tree, Tree Grapes, and the avocado-like fruit sometimes called an Afrocado or Tamarindus, are all highly nutritious, being rich in proteins and carbohydrates, calcium, phosphorous and iron, and readily available in Kenya.

Dried Baobab fruits are pounded into powder. The ‘flour’ is then mixed with water and a little sugar and eaten raw.

They have begun selling this flour in Makueni and Kitui districts for Sh5 to Sh10 a cup. The Baobab tree is also producing fibre that is being used to make ropes sold locally.

Researchers are working closely with farmers to benefit the latter in indigenous knowledge.

The Kenya Forestry Research Institute (Kefri), one such institution, has a base in Eastern Province teaching farmers better ways of collecting and domesticating indigenous fruits and how to break dormancy of the seeds to mature early.

Because some seeds take long time to grow or fail, scientists are developing new ways of breaking dormancy for easy propagation.

Kefri teaches farmers value addition processes like making jam and juice from Baobab, Vitex payos and Tamarindus.

“Although the locals have information about the indigenous fruits, they need to be empowered with scientific knowledge so they can exploit the fruits fully for domestic and commercial purposes,” said Pauline, a scientist with Kefri.

Nurseries are also being set up to domesticate and cultivate the fruit tree seeds to save farmers travelling long distances to source them. Once seedlings have been raised in the nurseries they are being replanted in community plots or on individual farms.

In Kieni, where the wild fruits project was first introduced by University of Nairobi scientists in 2000, there were two farmer-run nurseries, but there are now many hundred such nurseries across the country.

Many are independent businesses, making profits and providing trees to transform the lives of thousands of rural families.

Zachary Mbau has been selling the seedlings in Nyeri and Sagana. The 40-year-old also supplies the fruits in the local Kieni market earning from Sh3,000 to Sh4,000 from 10kgs of fruits. “I also sell to exporting companies who pick them at even a higher price.

For a kilo of Tamarindus they buy at Sh1,000 and I can’t meet the demand,” said Mbau.

3,000 species

Scientists are now urging farmers to explore more avenues, arguing that there are more than 3,000 species of wild fruit trees.

If these resources are not developed, large-scale deforestation and unpredictable weather patterns could rob the continent of this potential.

“Most indigenous fruit trees are not yet domesticated, so these species provide an important source of genetic diversity, which is vital for preserving characteristics that are well adapted to local conditions,” said Mr Theuri.

Elsewhere in Africa, Zambian farmers have domesticated a wild fruit called uapaca kirkiana which makes the ‘musuku’ wine with a high demand in the country. They are selling the fruit to a local brewery.

Novella, a public-private partnership involving, among others, Unilever, the World Agroforestry Centre and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is also promoting domestication of Allanblackia, a group of trees whose seeds contain oil that can be used to make margarine. This project has already drawn over 10,000 farmers in Ghana and Tanzania.

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