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Ethnobotanical Leaflets 14:
366-80. 2010. Farmers’
Attitudes Towards On-Farm Cultivation of Indigenous Fruit Trees in Adwari Sub-County, Lira District, Uganda Jacob Godfrey Agea1, Joseph Obua2, Daniel Waiswa3, Clement Akais
Okia1 and J. B. L. Okullo2 1Department
of Community Forestry and Extension 2Department
of 3Department
of E-mail:
agea@forest.mak.ac.ug Issued March 1, 2010 This study was
conducted in Adwari sub-county, Lira district to (i) determine the conservation status and threats to indigenous
fruit trees (IFTs), (ii) assess farmers’ attitudes towards IFT cultivation,
(iii) documents local knowledge on propagation and management of IFTs, and
(iv) identify opportunities and constraints to promotion of IFTs cultivation.
Semi-structured questionnaires were administered to a total of 120 randomly
selected respondents. MINITAB statistical package was used to analyze the
data. Logistic regression analysis was performed to show the influence of
socio-economic characteristics on farmers’ towards their attitudes to plant
IFTs. The population of IFTs was found to be generally declining. The major
reasons for decline were charcoal burning and firewood collection. Although,
majority of farmers had positive attitudes towards cultivation of IFTs, their
attitudes were influenced by gender, education level, farm size and
occupation status. Lack of clear markets for indigenous fruits, unclear
information about their food values, lack of seedlings in local nurseries,
and dearth of information propagation techniques were the major hindrance to
cultivation of IFTs. There is a need especially by local governments and local
councils to formulate clear strategies on conservation of IFTs for example by
establishing a community nursery and propagation center for IFTs. There is a
need to address the issue of marketing and pricing of indigenous tree fruit
products. Lastly, there is a need of further study to analyze the market
environment for indigenous tree fruits compared with alternative
possibilities such as exotic fruits or agricultural crops. Key words: Domestication, wild fruits, farming
systems, food security, Indigenous
fruit trees (IFTs) can contribute to cash economy of small-scale farmers (Okafor, 1988). Some of the fruits can be processed to
make juice, wine, jam, chutneys and animal-feed concentrates. With increased
climatic instability causing frequent agricultural crop failure, the role of
indigenous fruit in providing nutritional supplement to mankind is gaining
recognition (Maghembe, 1995). During drought
periods indigenous food plants provide food and income rural households (Eriksen and Mutimba 1998).
Fruits such as Adasonia digitata
provide dietary supplement and are often sold in local markets (Arum, 1989).
According to In The study was conducted in Adwari sub-county found in Otuke
county, Lira district in the northern part of Semi-structured
questionnaires were administered to a total of 120 randomly selected
respondents. The purpose was to capture data on the socio-economic profile of
the farmers, their attitudes and willingness towards indigenous fruit tree
cultivation, indigenous knowledge on propagation and management of IFTs,
opportunities and constraints to promoting cultivation of IFTs. The area was
stratified into seven administration units (parishes) and respondents from
each unit were selected systematically for the interview. The number of respondents selected from
each unit ranged from 15 to 17, relative to the size of its population.
MINITAB statistical package was used to analyze the data. Logistic regression
analysis (Green, 1995) was performed to show the influence of socio-economic
characteristics on local farmers’ attitudes and willingness to plant IFTs. Results and Discussion Demographic
and socio-economic characteristics of respondents The majority
(66%, Table 1) were aged between 20-40 years. Seventy four percent of the respondents
were male and 75% were subsistence farmers. Eighty five percent were married;
the majority had attained either primary or secondary education and the
average family size was seven people per household. About 68% of the
respondents had an average annual income ranging from Shs.
101,000 - 200,000. About 72% had more than 6 ha of land and 60% of the land,
had less than 25% tree cover. Conservation
status and threats to IFTs The population
of the 10 most preferred indigenous fruit tree species is declining in Adwari sub-county (Figure 1). This decline is a challenge
to the National Forest Plan (NFP) and Plan of Modernization of Agriculture
(PMA) when considering cultivation of IFTs as the wild populations would be
the major source of planting materials. The main threats to IFTs are tree
cutting for charcoal and firewood, reported by 68% and 55% of the respondents
respectively. Wild fires in the dry season and clearing agricultural land are
other important threats (Figure 3). Exploitation of wood for making mortars,
timber and house construction, beehives and inability of some trees to sprout
are the other threats to conservation of IFTs. Farmers' thoughts about IFTs
cultivation Education
level had positive influence on farmers’ perception to plant IFTs. The
marginal effect of 0.14 of the willingness to plant IFTs as a result of
education implies that there is a 14% chance of planting these trees if the
respondent had formal education. This finding is consistent with other
reports that education increases people’s environmental awareness and
appreciation of the value of trees (Agea et
al., 2009; Agea et al., 2005; Obua et al., 1998). The marginal change on the willingness to plant
these fruit trees as a result of occupational status was 0.17 implying that
the probability of planting IFTs increases by 17%. Farmers usually attach
values to trees and withstand high risks associated with planting and
managing trees on their farms. Farmers’ willingness to plant the IFTs was
also influenced by farm size (R = 0.16, P = 0.04). The larger the farms the
more willing people are to plant IFTs. Age, family size, income, land
ownership and marital status did not have significant influence on people’s
attitudes and willingness to plant IFTs.
Local knowledge of propagation
and management of IFTs Table 4 revealed
that farmers generally do not manage IFTs. Only a small number (21%) of the
respondents indicated they were carrying out some form of management such as
pruning, weeding, pollarding, fire, and termite control. Knowledge on
propagation was very low among the respondents. Only 25% said they were
practicing some form of artificial propagation (Table 4). It is clear that
farmers still regard IFTs as wild and God given. There has been little effort
to plant IFTs. Lack of awareness and unavailability of seedlings were said to
be major constraints to planting IFTs.
Constraints
and opportunities
to planting and managing IFTs Lack of clear
market for indigenous fruits, limited knowledge by farmers to plant and
manage IFTs, inadequate information about food values of wild fruits; lack of
planting materials, slow growth and lack of money to buy planting materials
hindered on-farm plantings (Table 5). Lack of a developed market for
indigenous fruits could be explained in part by the fact that many people
have free access to wild fruits and do not perceive them as commodities that
can be sold. The other reason for lack of a developed market for indigenous
fruits could be related to consumers taste and preference for exotic fruits
like apples and avocado. Many urban
consumers perceive indigenous fruits as food for the poor and famine stricken
households. This perception affects the market demand and consumption of the
fruits. Development of markets for indigenous fruits is a challenge that
needs to be addressed under PMA. Farmers also fear competition of trees with
agricultural crops. Many said fruit trees attract birds, which destroy their
crops. The finding compares closely with those of Maghembe
et al. (1998) who reported similar
constraints as hindrances to planting of IFTs by farmers in southern In spite of
the numerous constraints, there are opportunities to planting IFTs e.g. land
availability, interest in and willingness to plant IFTs, time availability,
increasing support by the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) and
the district agricultural extension agents and willingness of the local
people to be trained on indigenous fruit tree propagation techniques. As noted by Chweya (1997), such opportunities could be used as an incentive to
lure people to plant indigenous food plants on their farmlands In conclusion, the population of IFTs is generally
declining. This is a major concern at a time when the currently government is
trying to show case its achievements in all most sectors. The major driving
forces behind the decline are charcoal burning, firewood collection,
clearance of land for agriculture and wild bush fires. Attitudes towards
cultivation of IFTs were influenced mainly by gender, education level, farm
size and occupation status. Lack of clear markets for indigenous fruits, lack
of awareness on the need to plant and manage IFTs, unclear information about
their food values, lack of seedlings in local nurseries, and dearth of
information propagation techniques were the major hindrances to cultivation
of IFTs. There is a need especially by local governments and local councils
to formulate clear strategies on conservation of IFTs for example by
establishing a community nursery and propagation center for IFTs. There is a
need to address the issue of marketing and pricing of indigenous tree fruit
products. Lastly, there is a need of further study to analyze the market
environment for indigenous tree fruits compared with alternative possibilities
such as exotic fruits or agricultural crops. Acknowledgements We are
grateful for the financial support from the Network of Ugandan Researchers
and Research Users (NURRU) that funded the study that leads to this paper. References Agea, J.G., Nansereko,
S., Obua, J., Waiswa, D.,
Buyinza, M. and Yikii, F.
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of Maghembe, J. A., Simons, A. J., Kweisga, F. and Rarieya, M.
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Paper presented at the workshop on utilization and exploitation of indigenous
and often neglected plants and fruits of Eastern and Southern Africa, Ondachi, P.W. 1999. Nutritional studies of indigenous fruit trees in support of
conservation. Annual Research Report Part 1. Table 1. Demographic and socio-economic
characteristics of the respondents (N = 120).
Table 2. Farmers’ attitudes and their reasoning
towards IFTs cultivation in
Table 3. Logistic regression of socio-economic
characteristics that influences the local people’s attitudes and willingness
to plant IFTs in
Table 4. Local knowledge of propagation and
management of IFTs in
Table 5.
Constraints to planting and managing IFTs in
Figure 1.
Conservation status of IFTs in
Figure
2. Conservation threats to IFTs in
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