As earlier mentioned elsewhere in this report, most trees used for ornamental purposes are exotics. This type of planting has been a pre-requisite of Local Authorities, a few elite farmers, Parastatal and Private Companies and individuals with resources to pay for landscaping costs. At one time the Mining Conglomerate, the Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM), had made it mandatory for occupants of houses in its townships to do landscaping and ornamental tree planting. This in a way served a dual purpose, that of beautifying the environment and that of regulating excesses Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This trend has now changed and we see a lot of uncoordinated ornamental planting and landscaping which is not compatible with environmental requirements for healthy standards.
The use of indigenous species has been confined to areas where these are in abundance and are, therefore, deliberately left standing and managed for purposes of shade and amenity. The aspect of establishing indigenous trees from seeds has not been well received by stakeholders because as a Department we have not ventured much into cultivation of such tree species for people to be able to have a practical test case which can motivate them to take up ornamental tree planting. However, Bauhinia petersiana, Khaya nyasica and Trichilia emetica have found a place in past planting programmes conducted by Local Authorities in most urban areas where you find them planted and growing along major streets.
This past trend in ornamental tree planting has continued to this day except that the three mentioned indigenous species are no longer propagated. This trends seems most likely to continue unless the Forestry Department can come up with a deliberate programme to encourage propagation of indigenous tree species for the purpose.
The notion that indigenous trees are slow growing should not hold because in most cases indigenous trees are cut in preference to exotic tree species. Where suitable trees for ornamental tree planting may not be found, it may be prudent to try raising these in nurseries, rather spend thousands of US Dollars annually on exotics which end up getting destroyed by termites. Ten (10) years of experimenting with indigenous could mean ten (10) years of success with indigenous species. Already experience has shown that it is almost impossible to raise exotic species in termite prone areas without having to spend lots of money on termicides. What is needed are educational campaigns on the value of indigenous trees for ornamental or amenity planting.
Fodder trees have been used in the past mostly as browse by livestock in open forest areas (Communally owned land) and in pastures on farmland. Fruits, leaves and at times bark have been browsed by most domestic and wild animals as fodder since time immemorial. Livestock such as goats have had a wider base for fodder because they are able to browse from all manners of trees except the poisonous ones. Indigenous trees have ably performed this task up until recently when unprecedented deforestation started to create local shortages.
Loss of soil fertility in farmlands has led to a situation where other land uses have had to be foregone for agriculture. This has resulted in the depletion of indigenous tree fodder and the prescribing of a recipe for the introduction of exotic multipurpose trees and shrubs for soil fertility improvement, fodder, food and other multiple functions of trees.
However, these introduced species have not been received well due to lack of programmes aimed at transforming research findings into practical field activities. With this inadequacy, critical shortages of fodder for livestock have continued in most parts of the country. So much research has been done in this field and all that needs to be done is the formulation of programmes and/or projects that will transform these research findings into practical activities. There will be need to supplement natural regeneration with fast growing exotic species, which will act to form a buffer during the period of natural regeneration.
The common Oxytenanthera abyssinica has always been harvested from natural forests and woodlands and used for making of products that command a market on both the local and international scene. However, with so much of bush fires, these species' regeneration has been seriously affected and we have seen reduction in their population sizes and structure. This is diminishing the highly potential product that could create an industry upon which so many Zambians could depend for income and raw material for construction. Bamboos have been used widely for fencing, hut construction, chair making, basketry, mat making etc. With local shortages, bamboo collectors have to travel long distances to find the commodity and this is bearing a negative impact on the pricing of bamboo products and therefore confining their use (especially in urban areas) to only the elite who can afford.
Future trends are presumed to be declining productivity unless forest management aimed at controlling and/or averting late forest fires are put in place and natural regeneration encouraged. Otherwise, the future of this industry will lie in balance and may tilt to the wrong end - extinction. We also need to improve production technology so that value-added goods will command a good price on both local and international markets.
Rattan products have been widely used for thatching, hat making and basketry in areas where they exist, but you find other products selling at almost all tourist centres and major towns. The only problem has been the limited resource base, which does not appear in many areas of the country.
There is therefore need to investigate on the propagation of these very important commercial NWFP tree species so that plantations could be established which will expand on the resource base. Otherwise the few existing tree populations may be depleted in the not so distant future.
Fibres have been used since time immemorial for rope and/or string making. The ropes are used in hut construction, tying of bundles and for basketry in the case of Agave sisalana.
The resource base is plentiful only that in most cases fibre extraction, if not properly done, leads to death of trees. Trade in fibres, apart from sisal, is not advanced presumably because they can not be produced on a large scale as doing so may deplete the resource base. Therefore, fibre from trees is only obtained when there is real need and in most cases from young branches and shoots.
In future there may be need to expand on the resource base through tree planting on a large scale for fibre production. Alternatively, we may need to research on fast growing exotic tree species in order to cushion indigenous species from further abuse.
Resins and latex are not well documented especially in regard to their processing into final end products. Their use has, therefore, been confined to a local scale. However, knowing their potential and use elsewhere on the global scale, the need for future research into production and processing on a commercial scale becomes inevitable.
Tannins have been well documented in the past and are used both at the local and national levels, but their use on specific end products is not well documented. Lack of adequate information on specific use and market outlets has led to this field not to emerge fully. This trend should therefore, be reversed and studies on appropriate use and marketing embarked on.
These could be grouped together with resins, latex and tannin in their importance for local
consumption and trade. On a local scale, these have been used together with medicines for various ailments. Some have been used for cooking while others have been mixed with various lotions as body ointments. However, there still remains much research to be done to investigate their possible use on a commercial scale and to determine the exact marketability.
Fruits have been so important as a food security commodity for both rural and urban households while at the same time providing extra income through sales that are conducted almost throughout the year. Zambia is endowed with so many fruit trees, both exotic and indigenous us, which have been used as food. Some fruits are crushed to form juices, drinks and jams.
Exotic fruit trees such as Mangoes, Guavas, Pawpaw, Avocado and Mulberry, have been a permanent feature homesteads and some even grow naturally in open areas without any human interference. These, together with a number of wild fruits form a nutritious supplementary food in seasons when agricultural crops become scarce. Species like Anisophyllea and Uapaca are common features along main roads and at markets during the period from October to January, when they are offered for sale. The other species that are offered for sale include Annona senegalensis, Azanza garckeana, Diosphyros mesipiliformis, Flacourtia indica, Strychnos cocculoides, Strychnos spinosa, Tamarindus indica and Syzygiums.
Almost all exotic fruits have been on the market and still continue to command a place in almost every market countrywide. With the present harsh economic conditions, many more fruits are entering into the trade market and are gaining importance as major household income and food security commodities. Trade in fruits and fruit trees is therefore creating a lot of employment for many Zambians and offering a potential commodity that can break into international markets if well researched on.
There is a vast diversity of fruit trees, the list of which is difficult to exhaust especially for indigenous species. Many of these are highly consumed in many rural and some urban settings but have not been offered for sale previously because of the great abundance in the past years when they could not fetch a good price. However, most fruit trees are becoming significant trade commodities as many species continue to become scarce at the local level due to deforestation brought about by the demand for woodfuel and agricultural expansion.
Fires have also had their toil whereby a number of fire tender species have been completely wiped out in certain localities.
The future trend is, therefore, expected to be an upward trend in sales of many fruit trees (both exotic and indigenous) as the population rises and alternative income sources become scarce. The high costs of agricultural inputs has forced many people to abandon farming because fertility levels of most land can not support crop production without use of inorganic fertilisers and other pesticides/agrochemicals to ward-off pathogenic infections. This, therefore, means that many people are turning to the forests where, in certain areas, fruits are consumed even before they become ripe. This is scaring the resource base that in other areas is almost depleted.
There will be need to improve on processing technology so that value added products could be made from these fruits as a way of deterring constant visitations to the forests for fruit collection. Storage facilities will have to be provided and the whole industry transformed so those durable products could be processed and preserved for use in times of need. Currently, there is a lot of wastage because of lack of storage technology. Fruits, which could be consumed throughout the year, are made to be consumed in four months- many just rotting to waste. Zambian fruits have a high potential to be processed into juices, jams and other assorted drink types if only appropriate technology could be adopted.
Seeds and nuts have been important at the national scale because of the wider coverage of tree species from which they are obtained. Even though most are not offered for sale, seeds such as those for Adansonia digitata, and Cajanus cajan, have established a niche in the trade market especially in drought prone areas. Others are mainly used as household food security commodities. Livestock also browses many of the tree species for edible seeds and nuts.
What needs to be done is to determine how these NWFP could be processed on a large scale and possibly offered for sale. Research could also be carried out on possibilities of vegetative propagation because trees raised from seeds take too long to mature before they start fruiting.
Spices have not been well documented but there are a number of tree species that are used at the local level (from experience). There are a number of herbs that could be researched on because of the great potential they have to offer aromatic subsistence for use in many relishes.
Edible oils on the other hand are used widely on the national scale although the production is very low due to lack of appropriate processing facilities. What we need to explore are possibilities of extracting these with a high recovery rate and to a greater precision of quality so that these could compete with the conventional oils (cooking oils) that are offered for sale on the market.
Dyes and Colorants are used widely through out Zambia and there is abundance of knowledge on tree species for such NWFP. They have always commanded a good market on both the national and international scale even though such trade has not been well documented. Every day we see clothes adorned in different colours and when you inquire you are told to say dyes or colorants used are from indigenous tree substances.
The future vision should be that of trying to organise people involved in this business and seeing what other improvements could be made so that these dyes do not fade easily. Market outlets will also have to be determined so that value added and market specific dyes could be produced.
Gums like latex are widely used on the local scale but have got a high potential to break even into international markets if well processed according to market demands. What we need are adequate and appropriate processing facilities and market surveys. A number of lessons could be derived from other gum producing countries.
Mushrooms like honey and beeswax have got a well established market both locally and internationally. We only need to improve on the processing and seasoning of these mushrooms so that they can attain the quality that can be accepted that can be accepted and therefore command a good price on the international and national markets. The Miombo Project and Amanita Zambiana are already doing this while at the same time trying to educate local people from whom they buy the mushrooms, on the need for quality products and the necessity of sustaining the resources base. Deforestation and late forest fires should be avoided at all costs, and where these have already occurred, afforestation programmes in indigenous tree planting should be embarked on, or natural regeneration encouraged.
As the situation stands at the moment, we expect an increase in local trade with mushroom prices going up beyond the reach of many Zambians unless the current rates of deforestation and late fires are reduced.
Edible roots are some how many, but the lack of well documented information, especially on identification, has restricted the number of species that can be consumed. Many people have ended up dying after eating poisonous roots while yet others have suffered severe stomach pains, diarrhoea and/or vomiting ending up in hospitals. However, the easily identified species are widely used as foods and drinks and they command a good market price.
The rate of extraction of roots for food and drinks has increased in this decade when Zambia has experienced a lot of food shortages due to heave rains and/or droughts. Rhynchosia spp. and Satyria siva are widely used and sold such that they have now become national goods in providing income and food security to many Zambians. What needs to be done is to determine how much of the resource base is being used up with increased extraction, and also to determine the distribution of the resource base countrywide.
The distances from production areas are already increasing and there is a likely chance these resources, if not well conserved, may soon be depleted or become extremely expensive.
Information on reeds is not well documented, but experience has shown that these are widely used for basketry, mat making and thatching wherever rivers with reeds occur. Reeds commands good trade. Recently, cross-border trade has been noticed even though it still remains to be verified on the actual destinations.
However, future efforts will have to be directed at investigating whether their production from within rivers and streams may not have any ecological effects on aquatic life and future flow of rivers.
Beverages are well documented and widely used across the country. Some beverages command a good market price, such as beer made from roots of Rhynchosia spp. Efforts by the National Council for Scientific Research to produce a wine from Uapaca kirkiana almost bore fruits, but as usual, lack of appropriate technology and other ingredients, made this project not take off as expected.
Further research is, therefore, needed in order to determine the actual potential of these beverages to break into the trade market. We will also need to determine how these beverages could form an essential component of household food security.
Live animals have been used mostly as tourist attractions in National Game Parks and in Zoological Parks. Other animals are tamed at the household and/or organisational levels, but all for purposes of offering aesthetic value and tourist attraction. These animals fetch hundreds of US Dollars and earn the Country a lot of foreign currency.
However, there seems not to be adequate documentation of information, especially on small animals and/or big game or livestock in open areas outside the mandate of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Service. Without this information we risk extinction of certain species like the case of Chimpanzees in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where these primates are extensively killed for consumption and many others exchanged for cash.
We will, therefore, need comprehensive information on a number of species that are used live for business purposes and/or aesthetic reasons. We will also need to know how much this industry is worth and how it affects total animal populations in areas from which they are obtained. Other studies may have to look at the possibility of any effects of this trade on ecosystems and the balance of nature.
Bushmeat and edible insects were used in the past to provide a cheaper and more accessible means of animal proteins for most rural households. This was attainable as long as animal populations were optimal. Abundance of animals was courtesy of the well-stocked forest areas that provided a good habitat for these wildlife forms. With change in time, however, increasing human populations exerted more pressure on both the forests and wildlife resources. More forests were cleared for agricultural food production to meet the needs for vitamins and carbohydrates. Massive deforestation, therefore, set-in and most animals that depended on these forests disappeared with them. This created local shortages and consequently resulted in increased prices for bushmeat and other edible insects, to levels where the local poor could not afford. Coupled with increased demand for these NWFP in urban areas, rural population have almost been deprived of access to these resources. Licence fees for game are extremely high making it impossible even for those living near to where these resources are, to gain access for food security and income generation.
The ADMADE Programme has, however, tried to address this problem that the rural poor are facing, by involving them in the management and protection of wildlife resources. Cost and benefits are shared and in this programme, signs of sustainable management are being noticed.
Insects such as caterpillars, termites and grasshoppers have been major sources of income and proteins for many rural households probably because harvesting or collection of such animals does not require any form of licence. There is, however, a risk of over utilising these resources if proper management practices and educational campaigns are not instituted at the local community level. This is very important because harvesting of insects also involves larvae and therefore affecting total populations in subsequent generations.
Looking at such trends we expect continued increases in prices of these commodities as their overall populations continue to dwindle. The way forward will therefore, be to combat and reverse the trend of deforestation and to enforce laws regarding the conservation/preservation of wildlife species.
Past trends indicate that beekeeping was in most cases done illegally in forest reserves and other open areas. Collection and processing was seasonal as most people did not have their own land and resources to make beekeeping a profitable venture. Harvesting was only for household consumption because only inappropriate traditional hunting methods were used. The honey produced was thus of poor quality to be offered for sale.
Harvesting was from standing trees, holes in the ground or any other place where bees could collect and produce honey. Whole trees were cut down and smoke/fire used to inactivate or kill the bees. Unripe combs were also collected and used in honey beer and beeswax production.
Collection of unripe combs with brood in them led to destruction of future genetic material for the procreation of bee populations. This had an impact on subsequent honey production levels, as bees were greatly reduced in numbers. Burning of bees during harvesting further complicated this problem, endangering even the very continued existence of bee populations. Such disturbances caused a lot of absconding of bees from particular localities resulting in local scarcities of honey and other bee products. In certain areas these scarcities have become almost permanent.
Bee forage on the other hand was affected by deforestation, which depleted certain tree species in particular areas. Deforestation had an impact also on water availability in such areas making bees to abscond in search of water and forage.
The other group that was involved in beekeeping were the farmers who operated on a part time basis. This was mostly through extension programmes conducted by the Forestry Department. Production was at a small scale due to lack of adequate market information and production/processing technology. Beekeeping was, therefore, only a secondary venture and mostly for crop pollination and honey production for household consumption. As long as crop yields were stable or increased, beekeeping remained a farm activity. It was only when production started to decline when beekeeping was abandoned in order to concentrate resources on farm inputs like fertiliser.
The other major Group that was and still is involved in beekeeping is the Forestry Department. Due the importance attached to the production of honey at a national scale, a Division was created within the Department to specifically address issues pertaining to beekeeping. The Division was mandated with the responsibility of ensuring that adequate amounts of honey and beeswax were produced to the greatest possible benefit of the Zambian population and some for the international market. But lack of a clear Policy on the exportation of local goods by a government department, made international trade not to be achieved. Inadequate production and processing facilities also affected honey and beeswax production levels.
Efforts to establish a modern processing facility in the 1970s could not materialise due to lack of the same policy framework and other logistics. Honey and beeswax production was, therefore, mainly for the local market that could not satisfied either.
With the liberalisation of the economy, however, came parallel policies in government circles that accommodated the aspect of international trade. Export and import restrictions were, therefore, removed and anybody was free to enter or remove the trade market as they desired or as determined by market forces. We consequently saw the establishment of a number of beekeeping programmes; some run by NGOs and other private companies and individuals. Most of these were trade based and produce a lot of honey for both the local and international markets. The most pronounced are the Kabompo Bee Products Development Company in North Western Province and the Mpongwe Beekeeping Development Project on the Copperbelt. The new government policies encouraged stakeholder participation in all sectors of national development, with the main thrust being that of transferring production and processing technology to private ownership and control. Government Departments are envisaged to provide the technical backup to these programmes. The Forestry Department has, therefore, enhanced its extension programmes on beekeeping and today we see a number of individuals venturing into beekeeping on a commercial basis.
The Mpongwe and Kabompo Beekeeping Projects are development projects that aim the fulfilment of socio-economic needs at both the local and national levels. The main thrust of these two Companies, therefore, is to produce honey and beeswax that meet international quality standards for both local and international markets.
These Projects use box hives for honey production. They have also trained a number of farmers in modern methods of beekeeping for quality honey and beeswax production using both traditional barkhives and improved frame hives. Farmers are trained in quality standards that meet customer requirements and the international market.
The Provincial Forestry Action Programme (PFAP), a joint venture between the Governments of Zambia and Finland, has conducted a number of beekeeping courses for selected communities in Central, Copperbelt and Luapula Provinces. Even though these ventures have not fully matured, a lot of potential exists to further improve their performance if they are to be converted from consumptive to commercial ventures. The knowledge, human resource and raw material base are there in abundance and all that remain are financial resources to meet processing, transportation and bottling costs so that the products can reach and be accepted at both local and international markets. The programme will also need to explore potential markets within and outside Zambia.
Kaloko Trust in Mpongwe District is also involved in the training of farmers in commercial beekeeping as a way of improving their food security and income levels. So far the Project has trained over 80 contact farmers (Handavu, unpublished, 1998).
Outside the PFAP areas, the Forestry Department has trained a number of farmers using both government and Donor resources. These programmes are on-going, and with improved funding, it is hoped to greatly improve the standards of living in rural households.
Looking at the beekeeping industry in Zambia as it stands at the moment, future prospects for further development will depend on how well market research is done and the provision of inputs to resource poor farmers. We will need to formulate sustainable joint programmers based on inventory surveys, in order to be able to determine forest stocking for bee forage tree species. Comprehensive forest inventories were last conducted in the 1960s and therefore, need updating.
These inventories are inevitable if the forest resource base and associated resources are to be managed in a sustainable manner. Deliberate publicity and educational programmes will have to be put in place so as to sensitise the general public on the dangers of deforestation, especially on how it affects sustainable production of NWFP.
Existing projects in beekeeping must be supported financially if they are to continue operating profitably. Already this industry has created a lot of employment and it is hoped that this will continue as long as the resource base is maintained or expanded.
From all the aforesaid, it can be pointed out that bee products will continue to command a steady and rising market for both consumptive and commercial functions. Trade will continue to increase as long as more people are trained in quality honey and beeswax production. With the opening up of further market outlets, more people are expected to enter into the industry.
