The Examination of the Abundance and Conservation Status of Chrysophullum albidum in Ifaki Region of Ekiti State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study which examined the abundance and conservation status of C.albidum in Ifaki Region of Ekiti State Nigeria was conducted in two stages.Stage 1 involved the examination of the production of C. albidum in theregion while stage 2 determines the acceptance and perception of residentsof the region on C. albidum. In stage 1, 10 farmers, who have maintainedcontinuous domiciliation in the region for over 10 years, were purposelyselected from 3 strata in the region while in Stage 2, 10 residents wererandomly selected from each stratum. All respondents were interviewedand the interviews were conversational, focused and two–way incommunication. The respondents traversed different socio-economic classesyet all were conscious of the species. Few respondents’ farmers possessed C.albidum but the number of stands was less than 10 in each farm. Productionwas mostly subsistent; fruits sale was slow and conducted throughvendors. Harvested fruits from the mother trees were not consumed, onlyripen fruits that fell themselves were consumed. The fruits are liable tofungal infections hence they have low shelf life. All these served asdisincentives to its cultivation. Gross decline was observed in the number ofstands and fruits as well as income derived from C. albidum in the regionwhen compared to those of a decade before the study. The slow growth ofthe species, burnings of vegetation and land tenure were constraints to itscultivation which is presently limited to wildlings preservation. The fruitsare still widely accepted in the region for their medicinal and nutritionalvalues and cost of purchase is still low enough to make the fruits availableto people in different economic classes. Strategies towards cultivation of thespecies were proposed.