sugar plums - WOODland, Bears, honey. lol, nice one.

Actually that was a brilliant article, really informative and heartwarming, i very much enjoyed it, thank you Charlie.

I sure got hungry! It certanly would be ironic if Africa became the world's fruit basket, but if it is done i hope it doesn't exploit the local population like those exports which the native population never get to enjoy. Its starting with smallholders; will it stay that way or when massive companies see the market develop enough will they use their financial clout to compromise any susceptable local politics and take over?

However the organisations involved sound like they are quite commited to 'social/environment as well as economical sustainable production' if i may use the words of the article; and that it has developed without the usual big-business mentality may make this a good baby that will grow up healthy and wise.

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Great article. While there is hope and potential in the domestication of these wild fruits, I agree that there are always going to be drawbacks.

But sending in western business minds is not going to improve it in my opinion. Just as natives have accepted new ways of farming they can learn new methods of doing business locally and internationally. So, support and development rather than "Here comes the mighty west with all it's know how" is the key.

Monsanto's practices to date have made me sick and I've read that varieties and species of fruits and vegetables that were once common have disappeared because of their patents on so many other crops as well as them crowding out the market. Greedy western businesses should stay away and what is already in motion with these farmers should be developed and not "westernised".

It is quite sad really how few species we (yes us in the developed world) use in agriculture. There are many plants out there that we have ignored, seemingly only because they have not been subjected to artificial selection by our ancestors over millenia to improve their qualities beneficial to us. Who knows how much improvement can be made on these wild species? And with modern technique, we should be able to pick the genes we like without the loss of diversity that can result from choices based on only visible attributes such as size.

Sure, these are African trees and they might not grow as well here. But even so, it could provide an industry there supplying much needed income, and us developed folks can try tasty new fruits. Less poverty, more yum!