Potential of fruit trees in the drylands of Sub-Saharan Africa for

food and nutrition security and income generation

Katja Kehlenbeck (World Agroforestry Centre ICRAF),Clement Okia, Stepha McMullin, Loyce Jepkorir, James Ngulu, Christopher Mutunga, Agnes Gachuiri, Ann Mbora, Miyuki Iiyama, Zac Tchoundjeu, David Ojara, Antoine

Kalinganire, Isaac Nyoka, Simon Mng’omba, Ramni Jamnadass

2

East Africa

40%

Burden of malnutrition: Stunting rates

West Africa

3

Past and projected fruit and vegetable consumption globally 2000 – 2030

Consumption of fruits and vegetables

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350

Latin Amer. + the Caribbean

Sub-Saharan Africa

South Asia

East Asia + Pacific

Eastern Europe + Central Asia

Middle East + North Africa

United States

World

Kg fruit and vegetables/person per year

2000

2000-2030 change

Modified after: Msangi and Rosegrant 2011. Feeding the Future’s Changing Diets.

WHO-recommended 146 kg

4

SpeciesVit C (mg/100 g)

Vit A (mg/100 g)

Iron (mg/100 g)

Calcium (mg/100 g)

Adansonia digitata 150-500 0.03-0.06 1.7 360

Grewia tenax N.A. N.A. 7.4 610

Tamarindus indica 3-9 0.01-0.06 0.7 260

Ziziphus mauritiana 70-165 0.07 1.0 40

Mango 28 0.04 0.1 10

Orange 51 0.07 0.2 54Sources: Freedman (1998) Famine foods. http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/FamineFoods; Fruits for the Future Series, ICUC; Fineli (http://www.fineli.fi/), etc.

Table 1: Nutrient contents of selected fruits from African drylands.

Importance of fruits for F & N security

• Fruits provide an easily available source of micronutrients

5

• Harvest of different fruits possible year-round due to high species diversity filling the ‘hunger gap’ before harvest of staples

• Fruits provide an easily available source of micronutrients

Importance of fruits for F & N security

• High potential for income generation from sales of fresh and processed fruits, particularly for women• Fruit trees more tolerant against droughts than annual crops food security, resilience, climate change adaptation

6

Multiple benefits of trees in drylands• Food: fruits, nuts, vegetables, seeds• Fodder for livestock• Medicine for humans and livestock• Construction, fuel wood, charcoal• Service functions, e.g. shade, improved

microclimate + soil fertility, control of soil erosion, carbon sequestration

7

Case I: Desert date use, Uganda• Adjumani district, Uganda: 68 respondents

interviewed on use of Balanites aegyptiaca• 44% reported to use the fruit pulp, 53% the oil

from the seeds• 84% of the fruits were harvested from the wild,

only 7% of the respondents reported to have planted a desert date tree on their farm

• Children were mentioned as the main fruit collectors within the household

8

Case II: Filling the hunger gap, Kenya• 104 respondents, interview on fruit availability

in Mwingi district, Eastern Kenya• Fruits of 57 IFT species (farms/woodlands)

consumed year-round supply, filling the ‘hunger gap

Source: P. Simitu, unpublished data

9

Case III: Mangoes for cash, Kenya• Semi-arid Eastern Kenya: 87 mango farmers

interviewed in 2012

Mean income: 320 USD per yearFew female mango farmers, highly

efficient

  Cases (n)

Farm size (ac)

No. of mango trees per farm

Annual income from mango farming (KES)

Portion of income from mangoes of total income (%)

Female 9 6.8 25 22,000 29Male 78 11.3 81 30,000 28Total 87 10.8 75 29,600 28Source: James Ngulu, unpublished data

10

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 120

20406080

100

Case IV: Domestication, Malawi• Miombo region: on-going participatory

domestication of Uapaca kirkiana, Strychnos cocculoides, Sclerocarya birrea

New tree crops for income and nutritionFilling the ‘hunger gap’

Cropping season= ‘hunger gap‘ Harvest season

Percentage (%) of

households facing

food shortageTree species Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep

Parinari curatellifolia

Uapaca kirkiana

Strychnos cocculoides

Syzygium cordatum

Azanza garckeana

Flacourtia indica

Vangueria infausta

Vitex doniana

Adansonia digitata

Source: ICRAF Malawi team

11

Case V: Domestication in the Sahel• West African Sahel: Adansonia digitata,

Tamarindus indica and Ziziphus mauritiana

12

Possible threats of tree diversity:• Overuse, unsustainable harvest, climate change• Expansion of agriculture into natural habitats• Transformation of mixed agroforestry systems into:

commercial vegetable gardens

Intensive monocropping of staples

Nuba Mountains, Sudan

(partly promoted by NGOs)

Eastern Kenya

13

Research needs (examples): Production data for fruit/food trees in

drylands Data on the contribution of fruit/food tree

products to: - family nutrition (seasonality?)

- family income generation (use?)

Data on nutrient content of products from lesser known food tree species

Socio-economic/environmental factors influencing cultivation of fruit/food trees and consumption of their products (e.g. commercialisation)

Data on service functions of trees

14

• Fruits are important for nutrition and income

• Potential of fruits for nutrition and income generation not fully exploited

• Many research & dissemination needs

Take-home message

15

Thank you!K.kehlenbeck@cgiar.org