ICARDA Caravan, Issue No. 24

Focus

Cash from Cactus

Ali Nefzaoui and Mohamed El Mourid

Cacti are tougher than most plants, able to survive in areas where nothing else will grow. But they have little or no value for agriculture or human livelihoods – or so people thought, until the early 1980s. Since then, a series of studies have documented the many ways in which indigenous communities have used cacti for centuries; and identified new uses for different parts of the plant.

Fruits, juices, pigments,
hangover cures — cacti
offer a range of opportunities for value addition.

The cactus family (Cactaceae) consists of about 1600 species in 130 genera. The most common and widespread genus, Opuntia, contains over 250 species, ranging from 2-cm miniature plants to 30 meter trees. Opuntia species have the ability to withstand prolonged drought, high temperatures, as well as wind and water erosion. This ability, plus a range of economic uses, makes them ideal for agricultural development in areas affected by the world’s two biggest environmental problems – desertification and climate change.

Cactus plantations are expanding rapidly in North Africa and elsewhere, thanks to efforts by ICARDA and a range of parters.

ICARDA is a major partner in CactusNet, an R&D network that covers North Africa, West Asia, the Arabian Peninsula and parts of Latin America (see box below). In parallel, regional and bilateral programs provide technical assistance to national programs. For example, a germplasm collection of forage plants was recently established in Oman, with technical assistance from ICARDA. It includes a number of indigenous cactus species that will support national efforts to boost livestock productivity and output.

Cactus is an important component of the eight-country Mashreq/Maghreb Project, led by ICARDA. The project studied cactus cropping and uses at pilot sites in Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Morocco. The results led to a major expansion in plantation of cactus to provide livestock feed, improve degraded rangelands, halt erosion and increase soil cover. Community surveys have shown how feed from cactus has enabled poor farmers to improve livestock productivity and maintain their flocks during drought years. And because cactus has a high water content, livestock watering requirements fell by 40% to 100% – creating huge water savings in very dry areas.

Opportunities from Opuntia

Supermarkets now offer a range of foods made from cactus

Health foods
There is a growing market for health foods – low in calories, fats and cholesterol, rich in fiber, minerals, vitamins and anti-oxidants, containing no artificial colorants. Cactus fits the bill.

Fruits

Large-scale processors use special equipment to remove spines and clean the fruit.

Cactus pear (Opuntia ficus indica) has been used for centuries in West Asia and North Africa. Today it is cultivated on every continent except Antartica. The fruits contain pectins that are used as additives in food and cosmetics, and as gelling agents.

Modern commercial orchards operate in Mexico, Italy, South Africa, Chili, Argentina, USA, and more recently in Tunisia and Morocco. With high fruit price and low production costs, acreage is increasing every year.

Traditional techniques can be more widely disseminated – for example the Scozzolatura technique, developed by Sicilian farmers in the early 19th century, to manipulate plant phenology, creating an off-season crop with higher quality and fewer seeds, targeted at high-profit niche markets.

Juice from cactus fruits – rich in vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants.

Juice, liquor, jellies, colorants
Cactus juice and liquor (e.g. the famous Mexican Tequila) are manufactured in Italy and Latin American countries. Jelly, marmalade and dried sweets are manufactured in Latin America and Africa.

Cactus pulp, a by-product, is a good source of natural sweeteners and colorants, with several advantages over currently used colorants (low nitrate levels, broad color range), especially for low-acid products such as ice-cream and yogurt.

Cactus pads

Cactus pads are an ideal livestock feed supplement, providing nutrients, energy and water.

Cactus pads (cladodes) are an important livestock feed in dry areas. In some countries, notably Mexico, they are also popular as human food – freshly cut pads; pickles made with pads, vinegar and vegetables; and health-food products from dried, powdered pads. Dried pads, in powder or capsule form, are now being exported to the USA and Europe as diet supplements and confectionery ingredients. They are also used in shampoo, lotions, creams and soaps.

Cactus colors
Cactus is a valuable source of natural colorants to replace synthetic dyes in food, drugs and other industries. The most important application is Cochineal, a crimson dye produced by crushing insects (Dactylopius coccus and related species) that live and feed on cactus pads. The dye is widely used in food products, drugs, cosmetics (it is one of the very few pigments safe enough for use in eye cosmetics), and microbiology laboratories. Peru, the Canary Islands and Chile are the main producers.

Cactus medicine
Many cactus species were used in traditional folk medicine in the USA, Europe, Latin America and Africa. There is now growing interest among drug companies, particularly in view of the increasing popularity of ‘alternative’ medicine. The potential applications include drugs to treat colitis, enlarged prostate, ulcers, diabetes, viral infections, high cholesterol, even obesity. There is even a capsule made from cactus cladodes, sold as a cure for hangovers!

The Mashreq-Maghreb project also introduced new alley-cropping techniques, with bands of cereal/legume crops between rows of cactus. This technology was highlighted by a CGIAR panel on impact assessment as an example of the huge benefits from resource management research.

Just two years after cactus alley-cropping was introduced in a pilot community in Tunisia, adoption rates already exceed 30%. Farmers have reduced feed costs by 13% and increased their farm cash flow by 7%. Soil nutrients (organic matter, carbon, phosphorus, potassium) have increased.

CactusNet
CactusNet is an R&D network, created by FAO in 1993, to promote the cultivation of cactus pear. It aims to collect and disseminate information on production, processing and trade; promote and facilitate germplasm exchange; develop new food and carminic acid uses; and strengthen the technical capacity of partner institutions. CactusNet is coordinated by Dr Ali Nefzaoui, an ecologist with ICARDA-Tunisia. Together with other FAO programs, the network has provided support to cactus R&D efforts in Angola, Argentina, Chile, Iran, Eritrea, Iran, Italy, Mexico, Peru, South Africa and Tunisia. Three more countries – Namibia, Mauritania and Pakistan – are soon expected to join this group.

Bio-economic modeling studies by an ICARDA-CIRAD team are helping to analyze the multiple factors (technical, social, policy-related) influencing adoption, and thereby help scale out cactus technologies more rapidly across large areas.

As a result of project linkages, these technologies, developed mainly in North Africa, have generated ‘spillover’ benefits in other countries – Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Oman, Pakistan, and Central Asia and the Caucasus. Cactus plantations are now being introduced in Mauritania, through two collaborative projects. A nursery has been established to provide planting material for the country-wide effort; and a special program provides support to poor women to grow cactus in family gardens.

Cactus, global
For centuries, indigenous peoples in dry and desert areas have used Opuntia cacti for food and medicine. Researchers continue to identify new uses, and to rediscover and better understand old ones. There are still huge gaps in our knowledge of cactus biology, but the potential has been clearly demonstrated. ICARDA and its partners have launched a series of pilot projects, where cactus is one component in an integrated ‘package’ to promote market-oriented agriculture.

Cactus can be grown on marginal or degraded land with very few inputs – and sold in high-end export markets. As a development opportunity, that is irresistible.

ICARDA’s cactus research and partnerships span four continents. Skills, resources and new technologies are being shared. And gradually, this wonder-crop is beginning to play its proper role in fighting hunger, poverty and environmental degradation in dry areas worldwide.

	___________________________________________
	Ali Nefzaoui (ali.nefzaoui@icarda.org.tu) is Livestock and Rangeland Scientist; and Mohamed El Mourid is Coordinator of ICARDA's North Africa Regional Program, based in Tunis, Tunisia.

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