Importance Socio-Économique De Xylopia Aethiopica (Dun) A. Rich. Pour Les Populations Du Sud-Bénin

Abstract

Xylopia aethiopica is a multi-purpose Non Timber Forest Product (NTFP) which products are consumed across Africa. This study aimed at generating useful information to support the sustainable management of Xylopia aethiopica in southern Benin. A survey was carried out to interview 122 stakeholders, including consumers and traders. Data were collected on the consumption of Xylopia aethiopica products, the income generated by their marketing, and the management the species trees by local people. As results, the species was mainly used in traditional medicine. Other forms of consumption included: spiritual rituals, fuelwood, food, and construction timber. Among Xylopia aethiopica products, the fruits were the most commercialized. The stakeholders operating in the commercialization system were: collectors, processors-wholesalers, and retailers. The gross margin per 100 kg of fruits averaged XOF 4500 for collectors and processorsEuropean Scientific Journal November 2017 edition Vol.13, No.33 ISSN: 1857 -7881 (Print) e -ISSN 1857 188 wholesalers, and XOF 2500 for retailers. Xylopia aethiopica trees were privately managed based on land ownership. Given the decrease of the species, because of over-exploitation and cultural beliefs, the sensitizing of local people and the promotion of domestication are expected to support its conservation.

The Future of Food: Domestication and Commercialization of Indigenous Food Crops in Africa over the Third Decade (2012–2021)

“…NTFPs are known as an important source of income for many actors involved in their value chains, and the commercial value of these tree products is one of the important criteria when selecting candidate species for domestication. Income generation is an incentive for farmers to adopt the cultivation and domestication of useful and marketable species [181,249,263]. This leads to a 'win-win' situation combining poverty reduction with biodiversity conservation to achieve both forest conservation and income generation for rural people [3,22,264].…”

“…Likewise, the income-generating food and medicinal products of Xylopia aethiopica trees are greatly appreciated in southern Benin, as in many other parts of Africa, often leading to over-exploitation. This raises the need to sensitize local people to the opportunities for domestication and species conservation [249]. Taken together, these examples illustrate the crucial role of ethnobotanical studies in agroforestry programmes by helping to identify priority species for specific local needs and knowledge gaps for conservation and sustainable use of such resources.…”

“…Local use and socioeconomic importance were documented, as well as the pressure on natural stands due to overexploitation and unsustainable management of food, medicine and other services from Baillonella toxisperma, a multipurpose food, medicinal and timber species in Cameroon [247]; Garcinia lucida, a medicinal species in Cameroon [248]; Xylopia aethiopica, a tree species used as food, spice and medicine in Benin and other Central and West African countries [249]; Gnidia glauca, a medicinal tree species in Cameroon [198]; Cola spp., a group of food, medicinal and ritual species in Benin [250,251]; and Canarium schweinfurthii, a multipurpose tree species used for food, ritual and medicinal purposes [252][253][254][255]. This has provided evidence of unsustainable exploitation and has led to recommendations for the domestication of these species to create an alternative source of products.…”

“…Many species locally threatened by deforestation, land use change and unsustainable exploitation for food, medicine, fibre and other services, have little-known resource bases, habitats and unrecorded local knowledge [192,227,256]. The key challenges to sustainability that were identified were: unfavourable cultural beliefs [233,249], indiscriminate and illegal logging, low accessibility and low acceptability, as well as inadequate research on their cultivation [257]. Criteria were designed and used to assess the sustainability of wild harvesting based on biological type, part used, habitat type and status, popularity and stand structure.…”

Structural characteristics of Niaouli forests, biodiversity, and ethnobotanical importance of the valuable species

“…Among these forest relics in Benin, Niaouli forests require a particular attention taking into account the forest exploitation they suffer from humans leading therefore to a loss of biodiversity especially that of valuable species. The expression valuable species comes from the fact that some species provide forest products and then they are more used than other species which are considered as secondary species (Agbangla et al, 2015). Some previous research works have been carried out in different forest ecosystems in Benin and beyond.…”