African Regional Expert Workshop on Sustainable Use of Biodiversity Nairobi, 12 -15 December 2006

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African Regional Expert Workshop on Sustainable
Use of Biodiversity Nairobi, 12 -15 December 2006

• CASE STUDY Conservation and Sustainable Use of
  Taro (Colocasia esculenta and Xanthosoma sp) in
  Makoni district
• By
• Mr. K. Kusena
• Curator for the National Genebank of Zimbabwe
• ngbz_at_mweb.co.zw or kudzaikusena_at_yahoo.com

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Brief Background

• Taro is a tuber crop
• Grows well in wetlands
• Tubers are the edible parts
• High nutritional value (Vit A, Dietary fiber)
• Prime source of carbohydrates
• Used mainly as bread or sweet potato substitute
• Breakfast, lunch

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Makoni district Background

• Makoni District of Zimbabwe
• High-veld agro-ecology 4 (tropical) and high
  altitude variation (600 to 1500 m asl)
• One ethnic group and one spoken languages
• 90 of population depending on Agriculture for
  their livelihood

• Farmers are relatively small holders (lt 0.5 ha)
• About four farmers groups including

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Why conserving Taro diversity in Zimbabwe

• Fast erosion of taro genetic diversity
• Adaptive management
• Series of droughts resulting in poor wetlands
• Poor technologies for bridging the dry season gap
• Invasive alien species
• Neglecting the crop as a low value crops in
  monetary terms.

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Taro, Diversity and Market Potentials

• Underutilized crop with low cost of
  production
• Over 30 different landraces in three provinces of
  Zimbabwe
• All parts (leaf, petiole, corms) are edible
• High economic value than sweet potatoes
• Traditional food crop linked with unique
  food habit and culture
• Long storage capacity
• Lower risk to pest and disease
• Seasonally harvested

• Market Potentials
• Growing Demands of Taro products in city areas
• Consumption by rich and educated people (Reduce
  obesity)
• Changing food habits in youth (Fast food to
  Traditional food)
• Global concerns on under-utilized crops

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Constrains towards sustainable use

• Localized market and varies quality of
  traditional products
• Farmers are not getting premium price
  
• Lack of adequate Research and technology for new
  product development
  
  
• Competition (substitute by potato)
• No clear supportive policies, laws and
  institutions
• Genetic erosion
  
• Weak co-ordination among the relevant
  stakeholders for the supply chain and on-farm
  management of taro diversity

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Existing Supply Chain of Taro Products
Production, Primary processing
Collection, Primary processing
Collection, Processing, Packaging and Marketing
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Analysis of Existing Market Chain
Key Issues
Capacity
Technology
Market Mix
Awareness
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Relevance and Impact of sustainable use of Taro

• Increased income to the farmer through better
  price
• Increase wetland management and Taro production
• Maintenance of diversity (wetland ecosystem)
• Easy access to market
• Quality of taro products available
• Regular supply of taro guaranteed
• Increased demand from urban population
• Increased number of entrepreneurs (competition)
• Awareness Increased
• A network of public-private sectors strengthened

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• Impact on ecosystem services on wetland
  management
• Meeting the high ecosystem service value in
  balance with high wetland management value
  (Four cell analysis)

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Who is responsible for its sustainable use

• Farmers own the crop by default and they are at a
  better position to report on the crop status
• Taro has been culturally or customary inherited
  from generation to generation.
• The crop has clear market incentives but they are
  not fully explored
• Usually characterized as a woman crop especially
  old age and widows
• There are no clear mechanism used to measure
  status but the National Genebank has two Taro
  field genebanks
• There is need for other conservation methods like
  tissue culture and cryopreservation