Research Highlights: This study reviews the available literature on processed non-timber forest products (NTFPs) in order to comprehensively identify relevant factors enabling or constraining their potential to contribute to rural development. Background and Objectives: NTFPs, such as wild foods, medicinal plants, and raw materials for handicrafts, make significant contributions to rural livelihoods. NTFPs can help fulfil households’ subsistence and consumption needs, serve as a safety-net in times of crises, and provide cash income. In particular, the processing of NTFPs has often been suggested to positively influence sustainable economic development in rural areas. However, despite rising interest and recognition of the potential contributions of such industries as key sources of employment and their strategic role in overall growth strategies of developing countries, many NTFP processing enterprises remain in the informal sector and an in-depth understanding of the underlying factors is lacking. This review aims to identify enabling and constraining factors affecting NTFP processing enterprises. Materials and Methods: Using systematic review methodology, studies investigating commercialized, processed NTFPs and their economic impacts have been identified and the current evidence base with regard to NTFP processing and small and medium sized enterprise (SME) development synthesized. Results: Despite the diverse nature of NTFPs, a number of constraining and enabling factors affecting NTFP processing and commercialization were identified. The former includes aspects such as the lack of resource access (finances, skills, technologies, etc.), market information, and basic infrastructure; the latter, amongst others, the role of key entrepreneurs; and cooperation across the value chain, amongst producers, and among members of the institutional environment or an abundant resource base. Moving from small-scale NTFP commercialization in local markets to more mature NTFP value chains reaching export markets, the increasing role of cooperation and having a supportive institutional framework in place, becomes apparent. Conclusions: Overall, successful NTFP processing strongly depends on the socio-economic and environmental context in question, requiring a holistic approach tailored to the respective context and value chain.

The importance of forests to safeguard agricultural production through regulating ecosystem services such as clean water, soil protection, and climate regulation is well documented, yet the contributions of forests and trees to provide food for the nutritional needs of the increasing human population has not been fully realized. Plants, fungi, and animals harvested from forests have long provided multiple benefits—for nutrition, health, income, and cultural purposes. Across the globe, the main element of “forest management” has been industrial wood production. Sourcing food from forests has been not even an afterthought but a subordinate activity that just happens and is largely invisible in official statistics. For many people, forests ensure a secure supply of essential foods and vital nutrients. For others, foraging forests for food offers cultural, recreational, and diversified culinary benefits. Increasingly, these products are perceived by consumers as being more “natural” and healthier than food from agricultural production. Forest-and wild-sourced products increasingly are being used as key ingredients in multiple billion dollar industries due to rising demand for “natural” food production. Consumer trends demonstrate growing interests in forest food gathering that involves biological processes and new forms of culturally embedded interactions with the natural world. Further, intensifying calls to “re-orient” agricultural production provides opportunities to expand the roles of forests in food production; to reset food systems by integrating forests and trees. We use examples of various plants, such as baobab, to explore ways forests and trees provide for food security and nutrition and illustrate elements of a framework to encourage integration of forests and trees. Forests and trees provide innovative opportunities and technological and logistical challenges to expand food systems and transition to a bioeconomy. This shift is essential to meet the expanding demand for secure and nutritious food, while conserving forest biodiversity.

The baobab tree (Adansonia digitata L.) is an important source of non-timber forest products in sub-Saharan Africa. Its fruits contain high amounts of vitamin C, calcium, and dietary fibre. In addition, other parts of the tree are traditionally used for human consumption, particularly during lean seasons. In line with the increasing demand for natural, healthy, and nutritious food products, the baobab has great potential to contribute to human nutrition and rural livelihoods. In Malawi, where demand for baobab has substantially increased within the last decade, baobab fruits are being processed into a variety of food and non-food products, such as fruit juice, ice-lollies, sweets, and cosmetics. Yet, information on the sociodemographic background and quality preferences of baobab consumers is scanty. The current study, therefore, aimed to (1) map the diversity of baobab products available in Malawi; (2) determine consumer segments and their preferences for the most common baobab food products; and (3) examine the contribution of major attributes of processed baobab food products on their price. We employed a mixed-methods approach including the analysis of 132 baobab products and a survey of 141 consumers in formal and informal retail outlets, adopting multistage and purposive sampling. Qualitative and quantitative data were analysed using cluster analysis, cross tabulation, and hedonic regression. Results pointed to two distinct consumer segments for baobab food products, largely following the formal–informal product divide currently existing in Malawi. Both segments clearly differed with regard to preferred product attributes. We also showed that extrinsic product attributes such as packaging quality, labelling, conformity with food standards, or health claims provided distinct differentiation potential for baobab food manufacturers. In addition to providing empirical evidence for the transition of baobab food products into higher-value market segments, our results can help food processing enterprises to improve the composition and marketing of their baobab products.

The baobab tree (Adansonia digitata L.) is an integral component of many dryland farming systems in sub-Sahara Africa. Such traditional agroforestry systems can foster a variety of benefits; besides positive livelihood implications baobab can particularly address food security objectives due to its highly nutritious fruits. However, many bottlenecks persist inhibiting the broader potential of indigenous trees in farming systems and their increased utilisation and commercialisation. We suggest that traditional farming systems with baobab trees can be advanced by stimulating the emergence of local markets for baobab products while promoting businesses and innovations aimed at meeting the arising market demand. Increasing the perceived value of local agroforestry products in combination with facilitating additional commercialisation pathways will in turn lead to food security and livelihood benefits. Using a multi-stakeholder approach such considerations were put into practice in Kilifi, Kenya, by initiating a community-based enterprise development producing high-quality baobab powder and oil. Initial results demonstrate behavioural changes, an improved practical knowhow with regard to baobab management and utilisation, and an increased consumption of baobab, which may already contribute to food security objectives. Baobab is increasingly seen as a valuable resource as opposed to ‘food for the poor’ and a tree possessed by evil spirits. This may lay the groundwork for further value addition activities and enterprise development in the communities. With baobab being a common, yet so far underutilised feature of local farming systems in Kilifi, activities based on its increasing commercialisation can be complementary and easily integrable to prevailing livelihood strategies.

The importance of wild food resources, particularly from our forests, is increasingly recognized in the context of food systems transformation and derived products are increasingly also entering modern food supply chains. The transformation of a wild, solely traditionally used resource to a product available in retail, however, has consequences, not all of which are currently well understood. Using the rapidly increasing commercialization of baobab fruit products in Malawi as a case study we, therefore, aim to shed light on aspects such a transformation may have on product quality and supply chain organization. Using a mixed-methods approach a total of 68 baobab value chain actors targeting either formal or informal markets were interviewed, focusing on perceived baobab quality characteristics as well as linkages across the value chain, concurrently collecting product samples if the interviewees had these at hand. The baobab supply chain was shown to have elongated in recent years, with a variety of actors now active on the scene, including baobab collectors, a variety of traders often directly picking up baobab resources at source, microenterprises producing baobab ice lollies for informal markets, or more formal juice processors targeting retail outlets. A broad variety of harvest, storage, or processing practices was observed and product quality differed widely, whereas mycotoxins were detected in two of the analyzed samples. Storage of baobab products can last several months with harvesting activities peaking in April, yet sales dominating in the hot months toward the end of the year. Dryness was commonly identified as the most important quality indicator, but other factors such as cracks in the shell were more heavily disputed amongst different value chain actors. Although different quality standards have to be observed to be able to sell in formal retail outlets, risks of low-quality baobab entering formal retail outlets remains with the majority of more formal baobab processors obtaining their raw material via informal pathways. There is a dire need to strengthen the institutional framework and enabling environment to foster the best-possible integration of forest resources into prevailing agri-food systems and enable the production of high-quality products for both the formal and the informal sector.