‘Time to commercialise indigenous fruits’

Fildah Gwati 

WITH indigenous fruits fast gaining recognition in the culinary and agricultural industries on the backdrop of a growing consciousness on healthy eating globally, stakeholders in the fresh produce  sub-sector are mulling commercialising their production and tap into their rising demand to make money.

Guest of honour at the recent ZimTrade Exporter of the Year Awards, then acting Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Prof Amon Murwira said to attendees: “On the day you realise that masau, matamba and mawuyu are just a fruit like grapes then you are empowered. There is need to make room for heritage based products across the continent and make them easily tradable.”

Prof Murwira was highlighting the need to make money out of the indigenous fruits.

Knowledge Transfer Africa (KTA) chief executive officer Mr Charles Dhewa concurred with him, saying commercialisation of indigenous fruits has been happening in Zimbabwe over the past decades rather quietly. 

He said: “Some white people who have seen value in mawuyu, matohwe, masawu, mazhanje and others are actually the ones benefiting from exporting these indigenous products. Some are being funded by USAID, EU and other foreign funders. They have silently studied our indigenous fruits and that knowledge is being used to promote our indigenous fruits behind our back.”

Traditionally, these fruits have been underutilised and overlooked in international trade due to limited knowledge about their potential. Commercialising the fruits increases knowledge exchange between Zimbabwe and the global north where scientific breakthroughs have been perfected. Communities where indigenous fruits grow naturally can benefit directly from export proceeds, he observed.

Dr Dhewa explained that it was one of the ways of climate-proofing our food systems, as we moved away from depending too much on farmed crops whose production is being increasingly threatened by climate change. Indigenous fruits are well-adapted to the local environments and require minimal inputs such as water and pesticides. By promoting their cultivation and trade, sustainable agricultural practices can be encouraged, reducing the ecological impact of conventional farming methods. Furthermore, the conservation of indigenous fruit species helps protect genetic diversity, preserve valuable genetic resources for future generations and contributes to maintaining a balanced ecosystem and mitigating the effects of climate change.

“Making indigenous fruits tradable will create employment and anchor rural industrialisation as value addition, aggregation and processing centres will be set up in production zones. Indigenous fruits give us uniqueness in a congested global market where everyone is trying to do the same. 

“We will build a strong profile as the source of unique products. There is a market for indigenous fruits globally, especially among health-conscious consumers who associate our indigenous food with natural remedies. The health and wellness industry is a multi-billion-dollar industry waiting to be tapped into as the demand for unique and healthy food options, indigenous fruits are now attracting attention from consumers, investors, and agricultural experts alike,” he said.

However, Dr Dhewa explained that it would take hard work to break into global markets, which are mostly dominated by power, privilege and resistance from established value chains such as citrus that want to continue controlling the market and hinder the commercialisation of indigenous fruits.

“Market development is a long journey, so we will need a lot of investment in research, development and marketing to change tastes of Western consumers so that they replace their fruits with African indigenous ones. One more challenge is to do with geo-politics and sanctions, which have created a negative perception about Zimbabwe and its products out there,” he added.

Dairibord now produces a baobab fruit-flavoured cascade drink. It seems indigenous fruit has been left to Small to Medium Enterprises (SME) mass markets and several NGOs that are working with communities to dry fruits. 

“Universities like Chinhoyi University of Technology (CUT), Harare Institute of Technology (HIT) and the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) are producing juices and dried fruit products mostly for experimentation and exhibiting at events like science symposia and agricultural shows. That’s where it ending because the products are not available in shops. A company called Bio Innovation is now working with communities to do a bit of commercialisation,” further observed Dr Dhewa.