Domestication and conservation of indigenous Miombo fruit trees for improving rural livelihoods in southern Africa

The last two decades have witnessed increased interest in the conservation, domestication and commercialization of indigenous fruit trees (IFTs) in the tropics. This paper examines the experiences from research and development (R&D) initiatives involving IFTs of the Miombo eco-region. Significant progress has been made in domestication strategies, including species priority setting, provenance trials, participatory clonal selection and development of new cultivars, nursery propagation techniques and field management. New research has created opportunities for the development of IFTs as new crops and their management on-farm. Participatory domestication initiatives described in this paper provide a beneficial strategy aimed at reducing over-dependence and exploitation of wild populations, while at the same time helping farmers and researchers in the development of new tree crops to capture economic opportunities.

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