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Identification of indigenous fruits with export potential from Mukono district, Uganda: an assessment of two methods

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Abstract

Ethnobotanical studies and scorecard-based assessments have been used in identification and prioritisation of indigenous fruit trees with domestication and income potential at local levels. Less has been done to systematically identify species with potential for international markets. This study compared the applicability of the two methods to identify indigenous fruits with economic potential for export. The ethnobotanical study consisted of household and market surveys based on questionnaires, focus group discussions and key-informant interviews. The scorecard was based on pre-determined scoring criteria applied to species identified in the ethnobotanical study. Priority indigenous fruits identified in the ethnobotanical study included Canarium schweinfurtii, Vangueria apiculata, Garcinia buchananii and Tamarindus indica whereas the scorecard assessment identified a different set of species; i.e. V. apiculata, G. buchananii, Myrianthus arboreus, Pseudospondias microcarpa, Phoenix reclinata and Rhus vulgaris as having export potential. The ethnobotanical methods were effective in identifying species with local economic potential and hence high likelihood of adoption by local farmers while the scorecard method was found more useful to identify species with export potential.

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  1. UGX 100 approx. = EUR 0.032.

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Acknowledgments

The author wish to thank the National Forestry Resources Research Institute (NaFORRI, Uganda) and Dr Jacob Agea (Makerere University Kampala) for co-operation and assistance during the field work; Ernest Bongole, Moses Basoga, Thomas Musoke, Milly Lubanga, Moses Budya, Moses Kayizzi and Scovia Mdondo for their role as research assistants during the field work; The communities of the Kimenyedde and Nagojje sub-counties and market vendors at Nakifuma, Kasana, Kinyolo/Kawolo, Lugazi, Mukono, Nakasero, Owino, Nakawa and Banda markets for their participation in the study; Per Moestrup Jensen (Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen) for statistical support; Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen and Oticon Fonden (Denmark) for financial support.

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  1. Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Riikka Nieminen & Marten Sørensen

  2. Department of Food and Resource Economics, Faculty of Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Ida Theilade

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  1. Riikka Nieminen
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Correspondence to Marten Sørensen.

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Nieminen, R., Sørensen, M. & Theilade, I. Identification of indigenous fruits with export potential from Mukono district, Uganda: an assessment of two methods. Agroforest Syst 91, 967–979 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-016-9971-6

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