Improvement of neem and its potential benefits to poor farmers
Neem trees
Background
The neem tree, Azadirachta indica A. Juss. (Meliaceae), is an evergreen, multipurpose tree native to the Indian sub-continent and south-east Asian countries, where it has a long history of traditional use. Neem provides fuelwood, fodder, timber, medicine and shade, however, its most important products are compounds, especially azadirachtin, derived principally from its seeds and leaves, that are used for pest management.
Research on neem has focused on the development of pesticidal products both for resource-poor farmers and the commercial market, including identification of neem seed that have higher concentrations of azadirachtin. This 9-month project, was developed to assess whether a genetic improvement programme aimed at increasing the azadirachtin content of the seeds would benefits to poor farmers. The project also examined the current benefits poor farmers and communities derive from the neem tree and the constraints to these benefits being fully optimised.
Research activities
Information was obtained through fieldwork in Ghana and India, a postal survey of 146 organisations working with farmers using neem, an extensive review of published and unpublished literature and consultation during a global electronic workshop.
Findings
The main use of neem was for medicinal purposes, with few farmers using neem for crop protection. A number of resource-based, information-based and technology-based constraints to the use of neem for crop protection were identified, along with research and development interventions likely to have positive impacts on the poor.
A report summarising this work is available free of charge. The report includes a bibliographic reference database on diskette.
Outputs
Childs F.J., Chamberlain J.R., Antwi E.A., Daniel J., Harris P.J.C. 2001. Improvement of Neem and its Potential Benefits to Poor Farmers. Garden Organic, Coventry, UK. ISBN 0 905343 29 8. 32p.
Childs F.J. and Chamberlain J.R. 2000. Neem in the Community. Training leaflets. Garden Organic, Coventry, UK.
Staff
Phil Harris
Felicity Childs, no longer at Garden Organic
Collaborators
Green College, Oxford University
Ghana Organic Agricultural Network, Ghana
BIAF Development Research Foundation, India
Contact
Julia Wright, International Research Coordinator, research@gardenorganic.org.uk
Top of pageGarden Organic is the working name of the Henry Doubleday Research Association (HDRA).
We are not responsible for the content of external web sites.
Bookmark this page on: