Utilization and on- farm conservation strategies of Canarium schweinfurthii in Buikwe district.

Abstract

Canarium schweinfurthii (Engl.) is one of the indigenous fruit tree species belonging to the Burseraceae family. It is part of wild and semi-wild foods that form a significant portion of the global food basket. In Uganda, it grows mainly in Central and Eastern parts of the country.This study aimed at enlisting local knowledge on the uses and on-farm conservation strategies of C. schweinfurthii in Buikwe district. The specific objectives were: i) to describe ethno-uses, management practices and conservation strategies of C. schweinfurthii, ii) to asses challenges associated with its utilization and on-farm conservation, iii) to describe the threats and opportunities for enhancing its conservation and iv) to examine the socioeconomic and demographic factors influencing participation in its on-farm conservation. A descriptive research design was utilized. Sixty (60) households spread over six villages were selected for the survey using multi-stage sampling technique. Data were collected through household interviews, key informant interviews, observation and guided field walks. Collected data was checked, cleaned, coded and entered into SPSS for analysis and presented as tables and graphs. The results showed that C. schweinfurthii has over 10 uses ranging from food, medicine, firewood, timber, spiritual values, income, shade, manure, boundary marking to lighting. Canarium schweinfurthii trees are being managed through protecting the trees on farms, regulating use and harvest of products, weeding and pruning. The reported conservation strategies included protecting naturally regenerated wildlings, planting and regulating use and harvest. Challenges such as long maturity period, being easily susceptible to diseases, competition with other crops, and the ability to attract trespassers into the gardens. Insecure land tenure system, small size of land/farm size, available crops on land that cannot grow together with C. schweinfurthii, the length of time the tree takes to grow, no knowledge of how to grow C. schweinfurthii and lack of planting material constrained farmers from participating in on-farm conservation of C. schweinfurthii. Major threats to conservation of C. schweinfurthii included poverty, insecure land tenure system, weak or no laws, expanding charcoal and brick business, increasing demand for timber, ignorance, bad harvesting methods and the sugarcane farming. Opportunities for on-farm conservation of C. schweinfurthii that exist in the area include people’s willingness to conserve C. schweinfurthii trees on their land, existence of organizations in the area, knowledge of how to plant C. schweinfurthii trees and ready market for products. Thus, to maximize the potential of C. schweinfurthii, local community efforts should be geared towards promoting the diverse uses of various parts for both food and income generation. There is also need to raise awareness about sustainable harvesting techniques of both fruits and resins. Efforts should be made to establish nurseries for shortening the maturity period.