Projects: agroforestry germplasm

Together with its partners, the World Agroforestry Centre uses innovative research methodologies and approaches to ensure the availability of quality tree genetic resources through well functioning seed and seedling delivery systems.

Key projects

The Naturally African Platform
The Naturally African Platform is a forum that links research, information and policy geared towards promoting opportunities for small-scale African producers. The forum provides leverage for small-scale producers, processors, marketers, exporters and regulators to work together and improve their livelihoods. The platform gives priority to business development through creating new market opportunities, ensuring equitable returns to producers, networking opportunities, and developing international standards.

The Novella Africa project
Through a public-private partnership between the Centre and Unilever, the potential for sustainably harvesting edible oil from the seeds of an indigenous Allanblackia tree on a commercial scale are being investigated. The project is providing technical services on several aspects of Allanblackia conservation, cultivation and production to help local communities, small-scale businesses, research institutions and governments to produce the highest quality product.

Inaforesta
The Inaforesta group is increasing scientific, technical and public understanding of the dynamic relationships between cocoa, companion trees and forest across the world. Through creating a repository of available relevant information and supporting networking between research groups, the aim is to promote better decision making and increase the goods and services provided to the household, the environment and society by companion trees of cocoa.

Other GRP1 Projects

GRU
The Genetic Resources Unit (GRU) at ICRAF provides global support to ICRAF regional staff and partners for tree germplasm and tree information needs. It holds separately and/or in conjunction with national programmes collected and procured germplasm in both live and seed gene banks around the world.

In Kenya it also maintains a nursery and field facility at Meru for quarantine, testing and dispatch of introductions to all regions in Africa. Databases which compile information on tree taxonomy, uses, suitability and sources of seed are developed and maintained by the unit. Collectively these are part of the genetic resource activities of ICRAF. 

Medicinal Trees
Herbal medicines are becoming more widely accepted by many authorities as viable treatment for various ailments. This means higher demand for medicinal plant products

A large number of these plants are trees and shrubs, typically collected from natural forests. The unsustainable harvesting methods have occasioned the rapid decline of the plant resources.

ICRAF is spearheading efforts to conserve and cultivate medicinal trees in Africa with a broad range of partners. There is on-going research in morphological and molecular characterization, propagation techniques and markets surveys on a number of key medicinal tree species such as  Warburgia ugandensis, Prunus africana, and Pausinystalia johimbe

Research questions

A number of key research questions that ICRAF is currently addressing with respect to medicinal trees include
• How do socio-economic factors influence the decisions by farmers to cultivate or conserve medicinal plants?
• How can we develop cultivation technologies for medicinal tree species based on species ecological characteristics?
• What are the characteristics of the medicinal sub-sector in Kenya and the potential interventions to improve this sector?

Work in Progress

Potential bio-fuel species
Bio-fuels are liquid fuels derived from plant materials
Bio-fuel species have great potential for improving household income amongst the rural poor of the developing world.

ICRAF is addressing the Bio-fuel in the broadest sense as a possibility for small farmers to diversify their products, which enhances resilience of the farm. ICRAF concentrates on wood fuels, as charcoal and inedible seed oil for liquid bio-fuel.
Currently there are two post docs working on bio-fuels; Dr. Cristel Munster, dealing with issues agronomy and genetics and Dr. Miyuki Iiyama, on socio-economics. The project has a PhD student working on charcoal briquetting as well as several students at Masters level

The VECEA Project
Vegetation and climate change in Eastern Africa: A high resolution digital vegetation map for land use planning, natural resource management and conservation of biodiversity in Eastern Africa (VECEA)

Potential Natural Vegetation maps
In many areas in the Tropics with high population pressure, original forest cover has disappeared as farmland replaces forests.

Although many farmers practice Agroforestry and grow trees on their farms, agricultural landscapes are dominated by exotic species whereas densities of indigenous tree species have declined drastically. This decline has been occasioned by lack of ecological knowledge of where these species can grow.

Scientists from the World Agroforestry Centre and the Danish Centre for Forest and Landscape Planning adopted old vegetation maps into easy-to-use decision support tools to help identify the best indigenous trees to grow on farms.

This project which initially covered Central and south-western Kenya is now extending to several other countries

The current completed work is available on CDROM

Fruit-Africa: Promoting Wealth and Health through the Cultivation
Marketing and Consumption of Fruit

Fruit consumption in Eastern Africa is far below the recommended minimum intake per day. This is due to (1) lack of awareness on the nutritional value of fruits; poverty hindering fruit purchase; lack of well adapted improved fruit tree varieties and poor dissemination of quality planting material; low on-farm fruit tree productivity caused by poor farming practices; poorly organized marketing pathways, especially for indigenous fruits; the seasonality of fruits that results in many periods of the year when there is none available

Main objectives of the project include

• Improving and maintaining planting material appropriate for cultivation by smallholders
• Delivering high quality planting material and best practice for farm management to farmers
• Improving market value chains for producers
• Increasing fruit consumption and enhancing nutritional benefits for consumers

Fruit-Africa will involve four countries including Cameroon, Kenya, Malawi and Mali, focusing on a number of priority fruit species such as  Mangifera indica), Persea americana, Citrus species, Carica papaya, Passiflora edulis, Macadamia integrifolia  and some indigenous species such  as Adansonia digitata, Ziziphus mauritiana and Balanites aegyptiaca

As first steps, improved varieties of selected fruit species will be imported from India and South Africa. After evaluating their performance in Kenya and best tree management practices, the most suitable varieties will be propagated and disseminated. This will be performed in close partnership with Kenyan research institutions to build national scientific capacity in fruit tree research.