Underutilized fruits: Challenges and constraints for domestication
James S. Chacha, Chigozie E. Ofoedu, Rashid Suleiman, Theresia Jumbe, Kissa Kulwa
Abstract
Globally, innumerable research has been carried out on many underutilized fruits. These studies have highlighted their nutritional, ethnobotanical, and ethnomedicinal value; breeds and seeds development, and their resistivity to adverse climatic and soil conditions compared to modern crops. Underutilized fruits are cultivated or found in the wild, traded, and consumed both locally and internationally. They are good sources of both the macro and micro-food elements and therefore their consumption has shown great potential in addressing hidden hunger by ensuring that communities are well-nourished. In addition, the fruits contribute significantly to economic welfare and poverty alleviation among smallholder households by providing income and profits from sales of fresh and value-added products. Nevertheless, their domestication receives less attention to the extent that they continue to be branded “underutilized” and “underexploited.” The existence of their botanical information and knowledge on their nutritional value should lead to promotion and popularization for commercial small-, medium-, and large-scale business enterprises. These solutions will pave the way to their acceptability, adoption, and domestication.