The fruits of success: a programme to domesticate West and Central Africa's wild fruit trees is raising incomes, improving health and stimulating the rural economy

There are around 3000 species of wild fruit tree in Africa, representing an enormously important, and largely untapped, natural resource. For proof of the difference that these fruits can make to the health and welfare of rural communities, you need look no further than the participatory tree domestication programme managed by the World Agroforestry Centre in West and Central Africa. This booklet describes the remarkable progress made by the programme in Cameroon, where farmers and scientists have worked together to develop and domesticate superior varieties of African plum, bush mango, kola nut and several other species. Instead of having to search for the fruits and nuts of these trees in the wild, as their forebears did, farmers are now planting them on their land. Thanks to the domestication programme, farmers can now pay school fees for their children, something many could not afford in the past. They also have a much healthier diet, and sufficient income to improve their homes and buy mobile phones and other consumer goods. In short, the domestication programme has helped thousands of families to lift themselves out of poverty.

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