Domestication of medicinal tree species in the Victoria lakeshore region

Abstract

A survey was conducted in the Victoria lakeshore region of central Uganda to identify tree/shrub species that are used and sold by traditional medicine practitioners. A workshop for stakeholders in traditional medicine was conducted. The purpose was to develop criteria for prioritising the tree/shrub species for on-farm growing. These criteria were then used to rank the tree species generated from the survey. Eighty-nine tree/shrub species were identified in this survey, others were mentioned but were not readily available on the market or farms because of scarcity. Several criteria were chosen for prioritizing the tree/shrub species for on-farm planting. These were: the demand (local and international), scarcity, level of domestication, socio-cultural attitudes and adoption potential. The tree species in the survey were ranked using the above-mentioned criteria on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 very low and 5 very high). Total score for each of the species was calculated and the following species were highly scored: Milicia excelsa, syzygium cordatum, Moringa oleifera, Dracaena steudneri, Albizia coriaria, Harungana madagascariensis, Alstonia boonei, Tamarindus indica, Senna floribunda, Ficus sur, Rhus vulgaris and Prunus Africana. The above listed species, including many others such as Warburgia ugandensis, Kigelia africana, Rauvolfia vomitoria, recommended by specialists and traditional medicine pratitoiners were included in our priority medicinal tree species for domestication. This study serves as a foundation for identifying, documenting, propagating and domestication of these multipurpose tree/shrub species.