Plant Resources of Tropical Africa

Surveys among PROTA information users in Benin indicated that research institutions use PROTA information as literature sources to develop new research topics, whereas development organizations, in addition, apply PROTA information to train communities on nature conservation and livelihoods issues, with direct economic impacts. A survey carried out among five development organizations revealed that these organizations too have found valuable information from the PROTA information resources. Four of these organizations: St. Salomon, Nature tropical, AGRO Group and CRA Nord, reportedly had used PROTA information to initiate activities in their organizations.

St. Salomon: The St Salomon NGO is located at Klouekanme town, in south-west Benin at about 150 km from the capital city Cotonou. The use of PROTA information by the NGO benefits two main groups: children through improvement of nutritional status, and traditional healers through training on selected medicinal plants. In the community where the NGO operates there is a real problem with child malnutrition. Thus, the organisation, using information from PROTA’s books in combination with other sources, identified and developed enriched meals with products of Moringa oleifera and Glycine max. This treatment has helped improve the nutritional status and saved many children in the community.

St. Salomon also developed a partnership with traditional healers, through its health unit. By this collaboration, the NGO promotes the use of natural products in health care to patients. Many plants available to them were unknown for the medicinal virtues. According to NGO members interviewed, information in the PROTA handbooks have helped them discover and explore the huge natural heritage of medicinal plants surrounding them. The ‘surgery’ unit in collaboration with the traditional healers prescribed medicinal plants to some patients who have tested and confirmed their activities. In the partnership between the NGO and traditional healers, the later were invited for treatment some difficult cases where diseases could not be cured with conventional medicines. In this process, the NGO identified training needs to their partners on properties of selected plants used in traditional medicine. The PROTA information served here has basic content of the message to their beneficiaries. By promoting the use of natural medicinal products which are cheap, the NGO found this as a strategy to reduce health costs and also to combat child malnutrition in the community.

“Information produced by PROTA is very important to us”, contends the Secretary General of St. Salomon. “We are discovering the properties of plants around us. Some of the species have never been used by practitioners before. Our knowledge of plants has been improved. We have now developed a plan for dissemination of the information to the wider community”.


Mr Antonin Sewadan, Secretary General of St Salomon NGO

The NGO has identified, from the information some rare species for which they are to start domestication. However, they find it difficult to recognise some of the species as they are designated by scientific names. They therefore suggested the inclusion of names in some Benin national languages. It would also be easier to recognise if photos of the plants were in colour.

Nature Tropicale: Nature Tropicale is an NGO dedicated to nature conservation and is a member of the IUCN. It promotes, amongst others, the conservation of local plant genetic resources by traditional means. Target species in their activities include Khaya senegalensis and Adansonia digitata. School students are strategically targeted for environmental education activities and are trained on importance of species. The PROTA information was used to prepare training materials and also enrich the library of the Museum of Natural Sciences of the NGO. According to the Director of Nature Tropicale, ‘utilisation’, ‘habitats and geographical distribution’, ‘ecology’ and importantly the ‘propagation techniques’ are found most useful sections of PROTA handbooks. However, the outputs from the use of PROTA information in the organization could not be quantified.
“I am satisfied by the presentation of species in PROTA handbooks, all the information needed to know the importance of the species and possibilities for production are available. However, I would like to suggest inclusion of names of species in some Benin national languages” says the Director of Nature Tropicale”.

AGRO GROUP: This NGO has used PROTA information in two projects, one on agroforestry and the second on soya bean processing. For the agroforestry project, Acacia auriculiformis was used to improvement soil fertility, and PROTA information was used to train farmers on its propagation and handling. This has had an impact on the local management of soil fertility and farmers are using Acacia auriculiformis on degraded lands.
Processing of soya bean was identified as an activity that can procure substantial revenue to women in rural areas. By training them on how to make various soya food products they would improve their livelihoods. Thus, PROTA information is used in training these women to add value to their products. As output this has helped them to increase their revenue, hence improve their lives.

The M&E specialist, the vice-coordinator and the training manager of AGRO GROUP

CRA Nord: Through a project initiated for Development of Roots and Tubers (PDRT), Mr Prosper Nonkoudje, the coordinator of the NGO used PROTA information for the development of botanical insecticides for the conservation of dried tubers of yam, which are food products. The use of natural insect repellents is important in a context of reducing risk of consumers intoxication from chemical pesticides used to conserve edible products. The project trained the community in the utilisation of those plant-based pesticides for the conservation of dried tubers. Species used in the project are Mucuna sp and Moringa oleifera. As output of this project the beneficiaries have started to use the botanical insecticides for crops protection. For Mr Nonkoudje, PROTA information is very important. He suggested that illustrations be in colour.