Adansonia-Consulting

Non-wood forest products (NWFP) play an important role for the livelihood and resilience of rural communities through their contribution to food and nutrition security (self-consumption) and by offering an interesting marketing potential. Wild edible mushrooms are abundant during the rainy season in the tropics and particularly plentiful in the Miombo woodlands of southeastern Africa. Most of the Miombo trees are ectomycorrhizal: Their roots live in symbiosis with mushroom mycelia and many of them are edible and have high nutritional and energy values. The risk of unsustainable use of mushrooms is low since only the fruit bodies of the macro fungi are harvested.

Fresh and dried mushrooms are frequently sold at local and national markets and along roadsides. However, their marketing is subject to several constraints: poorly developed market chain (low organisational structure and little networking of the actors amongst each other, missing engagement of private sector and little developed entrepreneurship), long transport distances and access during the rainy season, poor quality and conditioning of the product (drying technique, storage facilities, and hygienic aspects).