1. 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. 2
East Africa
40%
Burden of malnutrition: Stunting rates
West Africa

3. 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. 4
Species
Vit 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 54
Sources: 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 9
Case III: Mangoes for cash, Kenya
• Semi-arid Eastern Kenya: 87 mango farmers
interviewed in 2012
Mean income: 320 USD per year
Few 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 29
Male 78 11.3 81 30,000 28
Total 87 10.8 75 29,600 28
Source: James Ngulu, unpublished data

10. 10
0
20
40
60
80
100
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Case IV: Domestication, Malawi
• Miombo region: on-going participatory domestication
of Uapaca kirkiana, Strychnos cocculoides, Sclerocarya
birrea
New tree crops for income and nutrition
Filling the ‘hunger gap’
Cropping season
= ‘hunger gap‘
Harvest season
Percentage
(%) of
households
facing food
shortage
Tree 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. 11
Case V: Domestication in the Sahel
• West African Sahel: Adansonia digitata, Tamarindus
indica and Ziziphus mauritiana

12. 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. 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. 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. 15
Thank you!
K.kehlenbeck@cgiar.org