Commodity tree crop planting materal infrastructures in Africa

There are several commodity tree crops cultivated across Africa; this chapter focuses on cashew, coffee, cocoa, oil palm, rubber, tea and shea as major commodity tree crops in Africa. Some of these commodity crops (cashew, cocoa, rubber and tea) were introduced during the colonial era to supply high-quality raw materials for the western world. Planting material of these crops was introduced from other regions to establish large scale plantations (Jain and Priyadarshan 2009). The colonialists also pioneered the selection and improvement of native tree commodities such as coffee and oil palm. Agricultural reforms that came in after independence led to a significant number of African farmers growing these tree crops on a small and medium scale.

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