Work to increase production of njansang by the World Agroforestry Centre in partnership with Berinyuy Women's Development Cooperative in Cameroon is featured in the New Agriculturist.

Seeds of the forest tree Ricinodendrom heudelotti contain a kernel which Cameroonians roast and grind to produce njansang; used to flavour food and thicken soups. Producing njansang is a tedious process, taking from six to eight weeks, but worth the effort as it can fetch a high price.

The Centre and cooperative have now managed to cut the processing time to a mere eight hours, opening up the potential for smallholder farmers to produce much higher quantities and earn far greater incomes.

Already 100 njansang producers in Cameroon have adopted the new technology and the World Agroforestry Centre has helped them form into groups, linked them to markets and provided training on vegetative propagation techniques. While njansang has traditionally been collected from the wild, farmers are being encouraged to plant the trees on their farms.

The key challenge now is to increase the adoption of this new innovation. "Involving local communities in all stages of the experimental design and scaling-up efforts can enhance adoption," says Dr Steven Franzel, who leads the Centre’s research into marketing and extension.

Read the full article: A hard nut to crack