Underutilised plants with the potential to earn significant income (New Agriculturist)

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http://www.new-ag.info/en/research/innovationItem.php?a=3140

Baobab and marula – Zimbabwe’s top tips for success

While Baobab trees enjoy iconic status as a symbol of Africa, their furry-skinned fruit contain a seed-covering pulp with some properties that are attracting more than just admiring looks. Containing more vitamin C than oranges, more calcium than milk and more antioxidants than Chinese ‘superfruit’ Goji berry, Baobab has recently been identified by researchers in Zimbabwe as one of the country’s top underutilised plants, with the potential to earn significant income for families living in drought-prone areas.

Now, with funding from USAID and the EC, a public-private partnership is working to commercialise production and processing of ten of the country’s wild plant species, as well as a variety of high value crops, for local and global markets – food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical.

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