Peach palm - World Agroforestry Centre

6 2 Peach palm. Bactris gasipaes Kunth
other products. Although these profits may appear small, most farmers currently
cultivate only 20-50 peach palms in their agroforestry systems, but could produce
much more with improved agroforestry systems and germplasm. Farmers around
Pucallpa would like to produce more peach palm fruit for sale, but most of them do
not have access to the preferred spineless germplasm (Brodie et al. 1997). Those
who do have spineless peach palm are expanding their own production, and
distributing the seed to neighbours who also want to increase production. ICRAF
concluded from this research that peach palm should be the top-priority
agroforestry species for its genetic improvement programme in the Peruvian
Amazon Basin. This means that ICRAF will dedicate much of its research and
development efforts in the Amazon Basin to agroforestry systems centred around
peach palm, and actively seek additional international donor funding to promote
development of these production systems.
The national and international gourmet markets for hearts from cultivated
peach palm are growing (Villachica 1996), and some countries are expanding
production in anticipation of continued market development (notably Costa Rica
and Brazil). While significant for future economic development, this may benefit
only the large-scale farmers in many regions, unless farm credit policies are
liberalized. In relatively poor regions with undeveloped infrastructures, such as
the Peruvian Amazon Basin, farmers may prefer to produce the fruit rather than
heart-of-palm because of food security concerns (C. Sotelo-Montes and J.C. Weber,
unpublished data; R. Labarta-Chavarri and J.C. Weber, unpublished data; Brodie
et al. 1997). While this situation may be true in a large portion of the Amazon Basin,
it is not the case in Central America. In Costa Rica, small-scale farmers produce most
of the fruit and heart-of-palm and their new success is inducing them to get
organized into associations for better marketing and to install their own industrial
plants.