Why Kenyan Farmers are Harvesting Prickly Pear Cactuses
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ก.ย. 2024
- Watch how rural communities in Kenya are turning invasive cactuses into usable products such as juice and soap.
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The Opuntia cactus, also known as the prickly pear cactus that is native to the Americas,
is depleting soil and water resources and reducing grazing area. As it does so, it’s ruining livelihoods in Kenya’s rural communities. The cactus’ needle-like spines injure livestock, and scratch cars as it spreads. It crowds out local plant life, and it has been linked to less livestock yield and increased costs for farmers.
To fix this, some are harvesting the cactus on a wide scale and asking youth to do the same. Pulp from the cacti fruit can be made into products including juice and lotions and the seeds can be pressed into oils for soap. The leftover leaves are put into a biodigester, which produces biogas that communities can use for heating and cooking.
To reduce the number of cacti, the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) teamed up with scientists and local government to release an insect species that feeds solely on the cactus. NEMA hopes the sap-sucking cochineal bugs, which only feed on the cactus, will help control the spread of the invasive plant
#Kenya #Cactus #Juice #Soap #Earth #Environment #Science #NowThis
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An ecologically responsive way of dealing with a problem that is sound on multiple levels. 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Most of the plant is edible you can eat the young cactus pads the cactus trunk ( cactus heart) and the fruit. They should teach the locals how to cook them.
Nopalitos
Y tunitas deliciosas!
I hope those insects really are that specialized... introducing _more_ invasive species doesn't usually go well
Agreed. Usually causes a larger problem down the line.
Doesn't sound like a smart idea at all to me...
Yeah, Australians could sharectheir experiences.
@@CZpersi that biological control insect was a resounding success when it was introduced in Australia. It brought the prickly pear problem under control without affecting other plants or animals. After the monumental stupidity that was the unplanned and unresearched introduction of the cane toad Australian scientists carefully evaluated it and were successful in using it to stop the land down under from becoming a huge cactus garden
Through a history of irresponsibly introducing biological controls I think we are starting to get better with it. The specific study of invasive ecology is relatively new compared to other sciences.
How is it that no one is telling them of the many benefits of this plant? Besides being edible, it is extremely good with kinky/coily hair. I cut up the leaves, soak it it water overnight and drain off that thick water. I use it to detangle my hair and as a leave-in moisturizer!
When life gives you prickly pear cactuses, make prickly pear cactus juice!
And jelly!
If the spines are disarmed with fire this plant makes a good fodder, as all parts are edible. The fruit is sweet, edible for people, as are young pads. The seeds may be milled into a high quality flour, and used like any other grain for people, or livestock. They are a native plant here. These are its traditional uses.
I Mexico we give the nickname of "green gold" to that plant. Mexicans know how to use the whole plant and it's grown widely for many commercial uses.
Noiiiice
Every part of that plant is usable
It's also native to southern Africa mostly the Kalahari desert
Hard cider made from Prickly pear cactus fruit.. 😍👌🔥
Oh i love prickly pear fruit. I only find the red variety in asian markets.
Do the yellow ones taste any different ???
As a Mexican, free food!!!
Hmmm...sounds like they need to learn how to use the plant for their benefit. The fruit and leaves are very nutritious.
This cactus grows all over our property in Arizona, I would be quite unhappy if bugs ate it up it is useful in so many ways.
How did it get there ? Did someone from the americas plant it there ?
lol europeans
Cut & harvest & send to Mexico. Instant market?
You gotta burn the cactus before you graze it with goats though. Those little bugs are worth more than the goats. lol
Prickly pear cactus, you can eat the fruit and the leaves. Mexicans are been doing it for millennia. Also burn the spikes with a weed burner and the goats will have a yummy meal.
IKR!? Seems a waste to simply incinerate it all. Why not feed the people, their livestock, and then make biogas from their biowaste and compost. THEN obliterate the remainder as seen fit.
Camels eat them with the spikes like it’s nothing.
You don’t incinerate it all, just the spikes and it ready for pick. For Mexicans it calls nopales and tunas they are pretty delicious and full of nutrients.
@@raven8sma we only burn off the needles.throw a leef in yhe fire turn it it a couple of times and its good to it. the plant has lot of sap so it stands up to fire betterthan u think.
@@gdiaz8827 For clarification, I meant, it seems a waste for the people in Africa to only be using it in juices, and as a biofuel component, when it can clearly feed and even create stuff like vegan leathers BEFORE serving the biofuel components as part of a composting system. I would say, put it all to good use, and THEN turn it into fuel.
We harvest the fruit in Greece. It's absolutely delicious!
We do the same in Mexico!
@@jaimejimenez3087 On my home island there are so few of these cactus plants left due to overdevelopment. Some people see them as a nuisance. I see them as a rare treat and a delicacy.
The leaves soaked in water is good for the hair, it helps with detangling!
That is so much food wasted, in Mexico we eat the cactus, we chop it and cook it with sauce by itself or with eggs delicious 🤤, as well the cactus fruit is very tasty of course.
Fighting one introduce species by another introduxed species is rarely a good idea.
For sure. This is fact.
The good thing is that both, the frit and the insect can be use. The fruit can be eaten and the insect can be use as a dye for clothing. We use like that in Mexico and Spain.
Wow!🧐
The fruit makes a good jam. You shouldn't eat much at a time. It helps with constipation.
In Mexico, those bugs are collected and dried and then ground up to make a beautiful red dye that is used to dye wool and made into beautiful Oaxacan rugs. I believe the dye is used in many things.
Thanks for sharing
If I remember correctly, cochineal dyes are (or else were up until recently) also used in makeup (especially lipstick) and bright red foods like candy shells and red velvet cake because the carmine dye made from them is non-toxic and food-grade.
Yep, used in food coloring too. Enjoy!
As a Kenyan.... The way she says chuka university is so on point considering it's a name from of the dialects in Kenya called Bantus = Meru people... Of which I am from
So how do you pronounce it
It is not a problem, it is a blessing!!!!
They should just eat them!… they are delicious and full of excellent stuff… the whole of the plant can be used.
Its fruit is very tasty, here in Egypt farmers plant it and is sold. People in Kenya can export it world wide
This is weird to call this cactus invasive
It have slow growth a lot of plant can outgrow them.
Ok I rewatch the vid, ok it can beat grass on the soil which too few water for tree to grow but you know only weird human choose grass over fruiting cactus
why can't it be dragon fruit???
I would prefer ppl harvest the cactus n turn it into a business rather then introducing bugs to eat it. /:
As a Mexican I can only say... Yummi! nopales y tunas, los amo 🤤
Remember primos, you can eat almost the whole cactus.
Don't introduce more variables!! They are tricky and can go wrong making it worse, opuntia is edible!! We use it a lot in Mexican culture, what I see is a ton of food for people and livestock!! Opuntia is also a cacti so it growa slower than other plants, if people start harvesting and processing it for food it could be good
It is a source of food to humans and to the cattle, Kenyan Farmers need the advice of experts from México.
I wonder who brought a prickly pear cactus to Kenya in the first place?
Invasive plant. How did the plant get there?
Does anyone know how this invasive species came to be then in this area? How did it get introduced?
British colonization. The change is subtle, but now clear. It may have been introduced by British colonizers, not surprisingly because they can't stand to consume whatever Kenya had before. They also bring the prickly pear cactus as an ornament or decoration. The seeds must have been spread by wind or rain, like any plant. However, these cactus had no natural herbivores due to its physical appearance, and with the right climate in Kenya, it is perfect for it to thrive, which disrupts the local ecosystem.
The same applies to the kudzu vines that have been brought from Japan to the US, but these vines are more aggressive.
In simple words: plant + no natural herbivores = invasive plant species.
Correct me if I'm wrong or missing anything, ecologist TH-camrs.
And the can make red dye from the beetles!
"launched a biological agent to get rid of..." NOW HOLD ON A SECOND, THAT SOUNDS WAY TOO FAMILIAR. 🤨 HMMMMM
Goats and cactus don't mix. A better plant is needed I would suggest kudzu.
Omg you can eat that cactus. I am from Mexico. Everyone eats it. Plus the prickly pears are great. Then you can make all those products from it. Plus if you burn the needles the livestock can eat it. In Mexico the put the cochinilla on them on purpose. When the cochinilla grown it is collected and used to die things like wool.
Oh my goodness!!! Prickly pear cactus oil is used in the cosmetic industry and is extremely expensive.
Those cactuses are Nopales from Mexico. The fruits are known as tunas.
1:30 cool… those are the same bugs that ruined my basil plant and infests my chillies all the time
Bro it’s food fruit and vegetables
Also invasive in my country South Africa.
The leafs can be eaten has well you take the thorns out and boil it then wash it and season it and i Cook them with eggs and sometimes rajas
in turkey we call this cactus "tongue of mother of law"
Is this plant, a native species or was it brought in with the invaders?
If you can't beat, harvest them.
We have these here in Tennessee, snow doesn’t even kill them.
Wait till they find out you can eat them
I hope it doesn't become the cactus cane toad
You’ll never get rid of these.
What part of Kenya?
Laughs in Mexican
How did it get there?
Where can we support these products being made? I’d love to help do my part.
So you have invasive species that a lot of people eat? We eat cactus pears in California. So you now have a new crop.
And if you don't want to have a new crop you could get camels to eat them. Camels eat cactus just fine. So if you wanted to keep livestock bam now you have new livestock.
Can't get milk and cheese from camels.
@@Ikajo looks like you can use the milk from camel's.
We need this for Garlic Mustard here in Ontario...
I know sokka approves
Welcome to kenya 🔥
Yikes.
Plot twist, the bugs released eat WAY more than just cacti.... Like every other intervention like this that has happened.
Just get the Chinese to mow over it with heavy machinery...
They are there anyways ..
Might as well get some help before they colonize
Throw some CCP members to that jam for a good measure. They are red, so nobody will tell the difference.