INVESTING IN TREES AND LANDSCAPE ... - PROFOR

Indigenous Fruits, Nuts, and Kernels
In terms of the value of marketed products, the most important fruits are often exotics. However,
when taken as a group, African indigenous fruits are also very valuable. This section highlights a few
of these.
Dacryodesedulis spp (African plum), known locally as safou; is a tree highly valued for its fruits
in Cameroon, Nigeria, and elsewhere in humid West Africa. Yields are 20–50 kg per year, and an
orchard can produce up to 10 tons per ha (Verheij 2002). With prices at around $0.20 per kg, this
implies a revenue per hectare of about $2,000. Awono et al. (2002) report that $2.4 million worth
of safou fruit was exported to Europe in 1999, while demand in Cameroon alone was about seven
times that.
Irvingia gabonensis and I. wambolu (bush mango) are found in the lowlands of West Africa. They
occur naturally on farms in Cameroon, and farmers in Nigeria plant them in home gardens. Goodproducing
trees can generate up to 180 kg of fruit per tree and 100 kg of kernels. The fruits are
eaten and traded locally, but the kernels have a wider traded value—they are a key ingredient in
soups and stews. Ndoye, Ruiz Perez, and Eyebe (1997) estimated that the demand for kernels in
southern Nigeria is about 80,000 MT per year (value of $40 million).
Ricinodendron heudeloth (njansang) produces highly valued kernels that are ground and used in
cooking. The kernels are high in protein and are used as a spice and thickener. Exports of the kernels
from Cameroon to neighboring countries were about $1 million in 1996 (Perez, Ndoye, and Eyebe
1999).
Uapaca kirkiana, known locally as masuku, is a fruit tree found in the Miombo ecosystem. It is not
commercially planted, but many people harvest fruits and market them domestically. A study in
Zimbabwe showed that households in several regions earned $10–$40 annually from sales of this
fruit (Mithoefer and Waibel 2003).
Adansonia digitata (baobab) is a tree indigenous to the arid and semi-arid savannah of western,
eastern, and southern Africa. Baobab provides highly nutritious leaves and fruit for local consumption
and other products that serve a multiplicity of uses, including water storage and medicinal, fodder,
fiber, and fuel products, some of which have been studied by scientists for nutritional, cosmetic,
pharmaceutical, and veterinary applications. Compared on a weight basis with other dried fruits,
baobab fruit pulp offers more than twice the dietary fiber of apples, more than twice the calcium of
milk, more than twice the iron of spinach, and significantly more potassium and magnesium than
banana (PhytoTrade/Afriplex 2009).
IUCN estimated that baobab production in the 10 South African Development Community (SADC)
countries alone represents an $11 million industry and involves over a million households, with
great potential for growth (Bennet 2006, Gruenwald and Galizia 2005).
Other Food Products
Cashew
Cashew (Anacardium occidentale) is a global success story: Export trade nearly trebled in the
decade from 1998 to 2008, from 243,000 MT to over 707,000 MT, and the value of shelled
Chapter 1. TREE-BASED AND OTHER LAND MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGIES FOR LANDSCAPE RESTORATION AND LIVELIHOOD IN AFRICA
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