Dave Cole, CRIAA SADC, P'O' Box 23778, Windhoek, Namibia

1
Devil's Claw How to Bridge between
Overexploitation and Underutilization

• Dave Cole, CRIAA SA-DC, P.O. Box 23778, Windhoek,
  Namibia
• Amnon Bustan, Agricultural Research
  Consultancy,
• 15 Kida Str., Lehavim 85338, Israel

2
The plant devils claw (Harpagophytum spp.)
3
The plant devils claw (Harpagophytum spp.)
4
The flower is beautiful, the fruit
harmful, and the roots are valuable.
5
Where does it come from?
Devils claw distribution region
6
The secondary tuberized roots contain iridoid
glycosides that have been found to be effective
in the treatment of degenerative rheumatoid
arthritis, osteoarthritis, tendonitis, kidney
inflammation, and heart disease.
harpagozide
harpagide
7
The indigenous San, Khoi, and Bantu peoples of
southern Africa use devils claw for a number of
medical conditions.
Harpagophytum spp. products are generally
registered as an Herbal Medicine or as a Food
Supplement, usually prepared as an extract
standardized between 1 and 4 harpagoside. No
chemically formulated medications based on
Harpagophytum spp. extracts have been registered
so far.
8
The Problem
An extremely low adding value that retains in the
range states. For them, devils claw is an
underutilized plant species!!
9
The Vision
10
The reasons for the unfair trade

• Wild harvesting endangered species!
• No cultivation unpredictable supply.
• Lack of organization.
• No relation between supply and demand.
• Monopoly on the extraction of the active
  ingredients.

A very low price for the raw material
11
How to make the change??
12
1. Cultivation

• Cultivation has been ignored or rejected due to
  the threat of losing the devils claw as a source
  of livelihood for the poor rural population to
  much stronger foreign ventures.
• Two other reasons were propagation problems and
  lack of available water.

13
Propagation - Seeds
Seeds - seeds have a high degree of dormancy and
germination seldom exceeds one percent, when sown
directly.
Still, focused research can lead to much higher
percentage, provided the use of well-managed
nurseries for seedlings production.
Seedlings may also returned to the wild
14
Clonal Propagation
Achievements have been made with clonal
propagation. In spite of the high cost of
seedlings, there are significant advantages to
this approach.

• Advantages
• Preserves the traits of selected
  ecotypes/varieties.
• Shortens the growing period from seedling to
  harvest to about 18 months.

• Disadvantages
• Costly seedlings.
• Loss of biodiversity.

15
Rain Harvesting
Water availability
Precipitation amounts at 150-500mm a year.
Micro-scale rain harvesting techniques can double
the water amount available for a small plot.
16
Supplement Irrigation
Water availability
Water should be shifted from livestock to plant
production it is far more productive and
sustainable. Small-scale systems can provide the
supplement irrigation required to overcome gaps
in the rainy season.
17
Family-size Low Pressure Drip Irrigation (LPDI)
18
Cleaning, peeling, slicing
19
and drying
20
Sliced tubers ready for export should this be
the end-product of Namibia???
21
Retailers (thousands)
Branders (hundreds)
Extractors 1? Few? Monopoly?
Exporters (5-20)
Middlemen, dealers (200)
Diggers, harvesters (5000-8000)
22
Retailers
Branders
Extractors Monopoly!
Exporters (5-20)
Middlemen, dealers (200)
Diggers, harvesters (5000-8000)
23
2. Organization

• Official Devils Claw Authority (ODCA)

• Conduct the research and extensions required to
  implement cultivation methods.
• Provide means of production (nurseries,
  seedlings, water, irrigation systems).
• Regulate and inspect the production.
• Buy and collect the produce.
• Develop the processing and marketing challenges.

The proposed ODCA will be a non-profit
organization, will act as a cooperative, and will
be shared between the farmers, workers,
government, and NGOs. This concept should be
reassessed by sponsors and members every 5 years.
24
Industrial venture

• The primary processing of the devils claw raw
  material, the extraction of the medically active
  ingredients, which is the bottle-neck of the fair
  trade, is rather simple. We see no reason why
  this step would not take place in the range
  states.
• Governments should provide the required support
  in legislation and in the negotiations with the
  present producers in Europe.

25
Marketing

• Branding, the production of end-products, can
  also take place, at least in part, in the range
  states.
• Worldwide marketing is a significant challenge,
  although the upsurge in the on-line
  pharmaceutical market is provides a promising
  opportunity.

26
Now, when we have a working plan, we need

• Governmental support in legislation.
• NGOs for expertise and financial support.
• Motivated people among the rural as well as the
  urban sectors in the range states.

27
Thank you