Underutilized African indigenous fruit trees and food–nutrition security: Opportunities, challenges, and prospects

Abstract

The diverse range of indigenous fruit trees in Africa is a source of untapped potential for food and nutrition security. Here, we review information on 10 indigenous fruit trees that are considered to be underutilized and explore their occurrence, distribution, nutritional components, phytochemicals, and medicinal potentials, as well as their associated challenges and prospects. The indigenous fruit trees, which occur across different ecological zones in Africa, are rich sources of vitamins, minerals, protein, and valuable phytochemicals. They also have recognized medicinal value and used as diverse therapeutic remedies by many ethnic groups in Africa. The key challenges to fruit tree sustainability include indiscriminate and illegal logging, low accessibility, and low acceptability, as well as inadequate research on their cultivation. We proposed a scheme to increase the value chain of underutilized fruit trees, which can contribute to the livelihoods of smallholder farmers and other stakeholders mainly through income generation. In addition to the concerted efforts of multidisciplinary research teams encompassing plant breeders, botanists, molecular biologists, food scientists, and horticulturists, there is an urgent need for governments and other international stakeholders to provide incentives and encourage the domestication, commercialization, and agro‐processing of underutilized fruit trees for future economic prosperity of Africa.

Determinants of Household Income and Willingness to Pay for Indigenous Plants in North West Province, South Africa: A Two-Stage Heckman Approach

“…Similarly, the acknowledgement of economic benefits of indigenous plants had a positive and significant (p < 0.10) relation to household income. This is consistent with prior literature on the economic potential of indigenous plants to increase household income, lifting rural communities out of poverty and enhancing food security [18,50,[67][68][69].…”

Utilization Pattern of Indigenous and Naturalized Plants among Some Selected Rural Households of North West Province, South Africa

“…Fruits are an important source of nutrition with diverse physiological functions and health benefits [ 36 ]. Furthermore, Schreckenberg et al (2006) [ 65 ], Aremu et al (2019) [ 29 ], and Omotayo and Aremu [ 66 ] indicated that the potential of indigenous fruits is often not recognized either at national or international level as an efficient and affordable nutrient deficiency reduction strategy. In addition, indigenous and naturalized fruits usually contribute to food and nutrition security, health, and income generation of rural communities [ 67 ].…”

An Exploratory Study on the Diverse Uses and Benefits of Locally-Sourced Fruit Species in Three Villages of Mpumalanga Province, South Africa

“…Even though many indigenous/wild fruits are highly desired as food and dietary supplements [1,42], their therapeutic properties have been recognized. For instance, in northern Namibia, 76% of the 25 indigenous fruit trees had different uses in traditional medicine [11].…”

“…Interestingly, these challenges may be mitigated using the recently proposed reference diet that highly resonates with traditional eating pattern [1]. Furthermore, indigenous and traditional plants, especially fruits, remain essential in the diversification of food in order to enhance food and nutrition security globally [4,42]. Even though the abundance of indigenous plants, especially fruits, is generally well acknowledged in sub-Saharan Africa, the documentation of their uses and associated local knowledge remain inadequate [4,13,23].…”