Cactus pear : an underutilised crop

Abstract

Cactus pear, formerly referred to by its more abhorrent name of prickly pear, is once again on the agenda of many researchers and institutions, which consider this plant as the panacea to many environmental and food supply problems. Terms like deforestation, land degradation, desertification, and climate change, implicate negative changes in the actual state of the environment. Current intensive agricultural practices, which have temporarily deferred the specter of famine over many nations, are recognized as being unsustainable over the long term. Many marginal regions, where subsistence farming is the sole means of livelihood of the native populations, are in a precarious state due to overexploitation of resources. This has led to a decrease in agricultural production and a consequential fall in the standard of living of many farming communities. Cacti and cactus pear in particular have been identified as the ideal agricultural crops for arid and semi-arid regions, plants that can help reverse the current worsening trend in agricultural production. For this reason in 1993, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) formed an international network under its auspices called CactusNet, with the aim of facilitating collaboration and at the same time coordinate the study and dissemination of information on cacti. The aim of this work is to focus on a singular species, cactus pear, which locally is under appreciated as a crop, and which can contribute substantially to the income of the local farming community.