Charles Dhewa
To the majority of urban dwellers in Zimbabwe, wild fruits may seem insignificant. However, over the past few years, these fruits have been making their presence felt in urban food markets. In almost all urban areas the fruits have found a space in the market.Demand slows down mid-season when there is a glut, causing prices to go down, only for the prices to rise again when they start going out of season. Over the past four years, eMKambo has been tracking the supply, demand and performance of a number of wild fruits in Harare, Bulawayo, Mutare, Gweru, Masvingo, Kwekwe and other markets.
This effort has revealed how wild fruits maintain market share, tastes, preferences as well as supply and demand patterns. The following analysis captures the story of a selected wild fruits.
Baobab Fruit
As shown above, baobab fruit comes from many areas across Zimbabwe, covering a wide range of climatic regions. Intensifying production and conservation in these areas could unlock numerous opportunities.
Dates/Nyii
Just like baobab fruit, nyii comes from many areas across Zimbabwe.
Masawu
Masawu fruit now comes from many areas than before because the tree can easily adapt to different climatic conditions. The tree has also become part of many agro-forestry and afforestation programmes in the country. Since more than 60 percent of the urban population does not have access to Masawu during some periods of the year, the market ensures there is sufficient access to the fruit.
For wild fruits like Masawu, seasonality contributes to price fluctuation. That is where they differ from tomatoes whose price is mainly determined by demand and supply.
Matohwe
There has been a notable increase in the consumption of Matohwe fruit with some found in supermarkets.
Mazhanje
Mazhanje tend to dominate several markets when in season. In drought-prone areas Mazhanje are an important food supplement. While in some communities, abundance of the fruit signals a bumper harvest, in some communities the fruit is a prediction of poor harvest. There is need to harmonise these conflicting interpretations. Research can shed light on why different communities attach divergent knowledge to the availability of wild fruits.
Tsubvu
This is also becoming a popular fruit when in season. Quantities supplied depend on season. When the fruit is in season supply is high as shown in graphical presentations.
Wild fruits and climate change
In response to a changing climate, many communities are increasingly harvesting and selling wild fruits as a source of income for buying food. This is more prevalent in natural regions four and five where crop production is very low. Prices range from $2,00 to $10,00 depending on the product. Most wild fruits have a relatively longer shelf life than exotic fruits.
For instance, Matohwe can be cooked and stored for more than six months. Mawuyu and nyii can also be easily preserved through drying. However, there is so much secrecy around their nutrition. The old generation are attracted to wild fruits which they grew up eating. On the other hand, the market ensures the young generation have an opportunity to taste these fruits.
Policy implications
Besides the pride of being associated with a fruit from one’s home area, the market uses fruits to bring people closer to their home areas. To be associated with a commodity from your home area brings you closer home. Each wild fruit has a lot of practical knowledge associated with it.
Harnessing traditional notions of using wild fruits to predict drought can help communities, policy makers and development partners to devise coping strategies based on that knowledge. Commercial value from wild fruits is contributing to preservation of wild fruit trees. Unfortunately more researchers are still interested in conducting research on exotic fruits than on wild fruits.
However, the good thing is that wild fruits have adapted in their environment and can easily adapt to conditions in other regions.
To that end, nature is giving us an indication that these fruits do well in particular regions. They can teach us a great deal about climate change than we can learn from hybrids where dozens of demonstration plots are being designed and implemented.
Charles Dhewa is a proactive knowledge management specialist and chief executive officer of Knowledge Transfer Africa (Pvt) (www.knowledgetransafrica.com) whose flagship eMKambo (www.emkambo.co.zw) has a presence in more than 20 agricultural markets in Zimbabwe. He can be contacted on: [email protected] ; Mobile: +263 774 430 309 / 772 137 717/ 712 737 430.