Towards a domestication strategy for indigenous fruit trees in the tropics

Abstract

[Extract] Increasingly, agroforestry trees are being improved in quality and productivity through the processes of market-driven domestication {Simons, 1996; Simons and Leakey, 2004; Leakey et al., 2005d}, based on strategies which consider: (i) the needs of the farmers, their priorities for domestication (Maghembe et al.,1998; Franzel et al., Chapter 1, this volume) and an inventory of the natural resource {Shackleton et al., 2003a}; (ii) the sustainable production of agroforestry tree products, including fruits, nuts, medicinals and nutriceuticals,timber, etc.; (iii) the restoration of degraded land and reduction of deforestation; and (IV) the wise use and conservation of genetic resources. These approaches to tree domestication are being implemented in southern Africa (Akinnifesi et al., 2006).