Plant Resources of Tropical Africa

The Useful Plants Project (UPP) was initiated by the National Museums of Kenya in 2007 to document information on local plant uses and to undertake seed storage of these plant species in a seed bank. The Useful Plants Project goal is to improve the welfare of poor communities and safeguard from extinction useful Kenyan plant species. On the other hand, a sister project known as the Seeds for Life Project is a Kenya plant conservation project targeting conservation of Kenya’s dry land plant taxa on-farm, in-situ and ex-situ

According to Dr. Patrick Muthoka, the UPP Coordinator, a seed bank was desired in Kenya in the 1990s since the country was losing indigenous plant species due to factors such as deforestation, forest excisions, over-grazing, agricultural expansion, drought, climate change and poor implementation of plant conservation policies among other factors.

Dr. Patrick Muthoka of the National Museums of Kenya demonstrates to pupils of Kabuabua Primary School how to plant a tree seedling

The UPP used PROTA publications to execute most of the project activities. The PROTA handbook on medicinal plants and the PROTA basic list were used prioritize Kenyan medicinal plants for conservation, both in situ and ex situ. This was done through a workshop on “Conservation Assessment and Management Planning”, involving partners from 10 Kenya government institutes and two from the Eastern Africa region. This strengthened the capacity of Kenyan institutes to implement in-situ and ex-situ conservation mandates bestowed within their respective Acts. The project then strengthened the capacity of local communities to successfully collect, store and propagate the prioritized plant species. The Seeds for Life Project, developed a priority list of Kenyan plants demanding immediate conservation (2000-2010). The PROTA basic list informed this priority list since species use was a key criterion.

Both projects, the UPP and the Seeds for Life prepared training and extension materials and protocols on how to collect seeds, their post-harvest handling and setting of tree nurseries. Again, this borrowed heavily from PROTA publications. The materials were used to train farmers and teachers from Tharaka District. More than 60 farmers and 16 teachers (males and females) were trained on cultivation and sustainable use of local plant species through the Useful Plants Project. The Seeds for Life has trained over 180 farmers on plant uses, seed collection, propagation and seed storage. For a long time, community members harvested plants for different local uses, yet knowledge on how to propagate them on-farm was ignored, according to Dr. Muthoka. Further, community members had for a long time focused on planting exotic species such as Mangifera indica, Azadirachta indica, Grevillea robusta and Eucalyptus spp. compared to the well adapted indigenous species.

Pupils of Gaciongo Primary School, Tharaka District, Kenya participate in a tree planting exercise organized by the Useful Plants Project.

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} During the trainings, information gathered from PROTA BASIC list and the Medicinal plants handbook was used to indicate the precise use of plant species conserved ex-situ. UPP has produced a booklet entitled 'Selected Useful Plants of Tharaka- a guide to seed collection, propagation and use´ which will support farmers to conserve useful plants for their well-being. Information booklets were also prepared for farmers to aid in propagation of the plants, using PROTA publications as a major resource. Species with booklets published include; – Acacia mellifera, Tamarindus indica, Terminalia brownii, T. prunioides, Sclerocarya birrea, Adansonia digitata, Kigelia africana, Milicia excelsa, Albizia anthelmintica etc.

Members of Manyirani Self-Help Group from Tharaka Districts with their tree nursery.  Farmers in the area are now earning additional incomes from sale of tree seedlings

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} Over 300 community members are currently benefiting from the projects. In addition, a number of schools through their environmental clubs were guided to initiate seed collection and nursery establishment within their compounds. From three community groups that were directly supported by the UPP project, the members collectively raised Kshs. 48,000 from the sale of tree seedlings between February and May 2010 while over the same time, one individual farmer raised Kshs. 17,000. This additional income has contributed greatly to household incomes and savings for other domestic needs. One farmer precisely paid fees for his son in high school using income derived from seedling and seed sales. On the overall, the project contributed to food security among the local community. Women and youth are at the forefront in project training, open days, exchange visits and workshop events. They have therefore gained invaluable experiences desired in environmental conservation and raising income for better quality of life within the framework of vision 2010 and the global millennium development goals.

Tharaka North FFS farmers at a training session conducted by the UPP project staff

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