Indigenous knowledge of rural communities in Malawi on socio-economic use, propagation, biology, biodiversity and ecology of Uapaca kirkiana Muell. Arg

Uapaca kirkiana Muell Arg. is one of the most popular indigenous fruit trees in the Miombo woodlands of southern Africa. An investigation into existing indigenous knowledge and socio- economic use ofthis fruit tree was conducted in Malawi. The survey revealed that U. kirkiana fruits contribute considerably to livelihood as a food supplement and for income generation among local communities.However, U. kirkiana trees are not widely cultivated due to lack of improved planting materials and difficulties in establishment outside their natural habitats. The results from the survey indicate thatfruits are the main non-timber products that contribute to demand for domestication and the attributes preferred by the rural communities for improvement are mainly related to fruit taste and yield. Poormanagement and anthropogenic activities have resulted in the destruction of forest reserves and the local people do not have maximum stewardship of U. kirkiana trees in the forest reserve. Theindigenous knowledge on U. kirkiana trees provides a valuable basis for domestication, propagation and improvement of fruit and tree attributes, and management issues on both co-managed and government forest reserve

Exploitation and progress of GMOs - past, present and future: exciting opportunities or a dead end?

A one-day symposium entitled "Genetically modified organisms in horticulture-past, present and future" was organized that provided a cross-disciplinary forum for policy makers, scientists and industry from around the world to consider policy issues relevant to the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in horticulture. Currently, many governments offer passive resistance to acceptance of GMO foods because of the starkly contrasting attitudes of stakeholders and in the media. As a result, the symposium has generated this policy paper that can be used to influence policy makers to make informed decisions on this topic in the future.status: publishe