Wild plant opportunities

First develop a ready market for a natural product, lower barriers to entry, and ensure sector-wide support and an adequate supply chain of the raw product. Where possible, do the groundwork using public funding. Then only start developing the wild plant products themselves, to prevent a possible crash of the market before things have even started.

These lessons learnt in developing the emerging baobab market were shared by Gus le Breton of the African Baobab Alliance at a dialogue on the role that wild plants can play in developing Africa's wildlife economy.

The event was hosted by the African Wildlife Economy Institute (AWEI) of Stellenbosch University (SU). Other speakers discussed the certification of wild-harvested products as being sustainably harvested, community benefit-sharing in the rooibos industry, and the potential for mangrove carbon as a wild plant service.

“Traditional definitions of wildlife technically exclude plants. However, as they provide both the habitat and the food for wild animals, they are obviously integral to the wildlife economy,” noted Gus, the CEO of African Plant Hunter based in Zimbabwe. “On a broader level, plants provide a range of economic opportunities for smallholders in