Africa Indigenous Fruit Trees Off er Major

Africa Indigenous Fruit Trees Offer Major Benefi ts. But They’re Being Ignored

By Abiodun Olusola Omotayo Adeyemi Oladapo Aremu

INDIGENOUS FRUITS HAVE BEEN collected from the wild for centuries for human consumption and other purposes. Across the African continent, indigenous fruit trees are valuable assets for local communities.

But the natural habitats of trees are being lost, mainly to widespread deforestation resulting from population growth. Industrial agriculture is also contributing to their loss.

Indigenous fruit trees provide vital nutrients that may be scarce in other food sources. They are naturally adapted to local soils and climates, can enhance food and nutrition security and often adapt and survive environmental stresses better than exotic species.

My colleague and I reviewed information on 10 fruit trees indigenous to Africa that are considered to be underused. We assessed their occurrence, distribution, nutritional components and medicinal potential. We also explored their challenges and prospects.

Our research showed that indigenous fruit trees, which occur across diff erent ecological zones in Africa, are rich sources of vitamins, minerals, protein and valuable phytochemicals.

They also have recognised medicinal value and are used as therapeutic remedies by many people especially in rural areas with limited access to orthodox health care.

Based on our fi ndings we recommended that the value chain of underutilised fruit trees

should be increased. This could contribute to the livelihoods of smallholder farmers and other stakeholders. In addition a multidisciplinary approach is needed to provide incentives and encourage the domestication, commercialisation, and agro-processing of fruit trees.

Our fi ndings

We conducted a literature search of African indigenous fruit trees considered to be underutilised. We then selected 10 underutilised African fruits based on absence of existing studies and their potential.

Our study explained the diverse distribution and duration of fruiting of the 10 selected fruit trees in diff erent regions of Africa.

Examples in southern African and other tropical African countries included: • African baobab (Adansonia digitata L), • Transvaal red milk wood (Mimusops zeyheri

Sond.), • Wild loquat (Uapaca kirkiana Mull.Arg.), • Kei-apple (Dovyalis caff ra (Hook.f. & Harv.)

Sim), and • Mobola plum (Parinari curatellifolia Planch.ex

Benth.).

In southern and west Africa we identifi ed that monkey orange (Strychnos spinosa Lam.)

In the south of the Sahel-Savannah region across Africa, especially in West African countries, we identifi ed the balanite (Balanites aegyptiaca (L.) Delile).

The imbe (Garcinia livingstonei T. Anderson) is found in Uganda, the Kingdom of Eswatini (Swaziland), South Africa, Somalia, Angola and Congo.

We also identifi ed the marula (Sclerocarya birrea (A.Rich.) Hochst. subsp. caff ra (Sond.) Kokwaro). This is found in Niger, Burkina Faso and Benin. Lastly, the wild medlar (Vangueria infausta Burch.) is found in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana, Eswatini and South Africa.

The availability of fruits from these trees is guaranteed because of the diff erent fruiting periods. This means they are able to meet the food and nutrition needs of the local communities.

Our study also reported a rich phytochemical and

nutritional content across the selected trees. These included fi bre, minerals, carbohydrates, organic acids, fats, proteins, iron, calcium, magnesium, sodium, zinc and vitamins.

Many of the fruits contain well-known phytochemicals. These included saponins, flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins, cardiac glycosides, terpenes, The doum palm is an indigenous tree in Kenya anthraquinones which produces edible fruit and phenolics. Examples of the biological activities demonstrated domestication of indigenous fruit trees in Africa. by fruit trees were anti-oxidant, anti-microbial and This would ensure a steady supply of fruit, nutrients anti-infl ammatory activities. and associated products. This, in turn, would have

Based on our fi ndings, there is still a scarcity a positive impact on the economic and health of research investment and development for sectors in the region. the improvement of underutilised fruit trees The future of the 10 selected indigenous fruit in Africa. Many still only grow in the wild. trees is promising for Africa provided the coThis limits their potential for higher yield and operation of diff erent stakeholders is secured. growth. https://theconversation.com/africa-indigenous-

Other challenges identifi ed were the inadequate fruit-trees-off er-major-benefi ts-but-theyre-beingbaseline data on the nutritional properties, low- ignored-155312 level acceptability and accessibility. Adeyemi Oladapo Aremu receives funding from the

Indiscriminate and illegal use of the trees is also National Research Foundation, Pretoria, South Africa. He is a problem. a member of the South African Young Academy of Science (SAYAS) and Young Affi liate of the African Academy of What we recommend Science (AAS).

Africa’s key to future food-nutrition security may Abiodun Olusola Omotayo does not work for, consult, depend on the untapped potential of indigenous own shares in or receive funding from any company or fruit trees. Particularly, the rich nutritional organization that would benefi t from this article, and has composition of indigenous fruits revealed a disclosed no relevant affi liations beyond their academic potential contribution to human diet. appointment.

We argue that exploring the potential of these Image credit: Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty indigenous fruit trees in a holistic manner is Images a good starting point. This should include the