The Cultivation of Camu Camu (Myrciaria Dubia): A Tree Planting Programme in the Peruvian Amazon

New initiatives in agroforestry are giving increasing importance to the domestication of indigenous trees whose products traditionally have been gathered from the forest, in order to achieve substantial increases in the quantity and quality of produce through cultivation. These efforts seek to enhance rural livelihoods by generating cash income through the sale of agroforestry tree products. Myrciaria dubia (camu camu) is a small tree of riparian habitats, native to Amazonia. Its fruits have increasing commercial potential in local, regional and international markets due to their high Vitamin C content. The government of Peru has been promoting the cultivation of the tree in support of a new export industry and to increase rural incomes. This paper examines: (i) the initial processes of domestication for M. dubia, (ii) new forms of land use and farmer experimentation with this species in floodplain agroforestry systems, (iii) the environmental implications of this new practice, and (iv) the influence of extension agencies, markets and recent challenges facing small farmers in northeastern Peru.