The miracle mix of moringa : status of moringa research and development in Malawi

Abstract

Moringa oleifera and Moringa stenopetala are grown in Malawi in different agro-ecological zones. Moringa oleifera is the most widely cultivated pan-tropical species of a monogeneric family, the Moringaceae, regarded as versatile because of its ability to provide edible food, oil and purify water for local communities. The tree is sometimes referred to as a “Miracle Tree” because of nutritional and pharmacological properties. Despite its great importance, M. oleifera is still not well exploited and hence considered as underutilized in Malawi. Natural distribution of M. oleifera in Malawi and elsewhere reveals rich variability in fruit types of semi-domesticated populations. Distribution pattern among others has had an influence on domestication trends in Malawi in terms of diversity. Despite the great variability of M. oleifera, there is no properly established genebank or database with either cultivated or spontaneous accessions in Malawi and elsewhere. Absence of elite varieties adapted to local conditions and use of seeds obtained through open pollination from planted plants are some of the major factors that limit productivity. In Malawi, there is limited knowledge of available genetic diversity present in Moringa species to warrant serious breeding programmes for meaningful scaling up. Furthermore, commercialization of Moringa products in Malawi is still very informal making it difficult to get reliable information of production volumes and prices thereby making it unattractive for scaling up. There is however a growing interest to upscale Moringa species distribution nationwide. Moringa oleifera is fairly distributed in specific agro-ecological zones of Malawi and easily adapted to new sites. This offers an opportunity to be planted much more widely by introducing the species within the existing farming systems as the species can also survive in degraded soils. As such, increased use of the species could have a positive impact on the nutritional and health status of people of Malawi.