Moringa Oleifera has its origins from India and in Cameroon different regions have different names for it. It has exceptional nutritional and medicinal values (which were treated in TFV 170)

It is a shrub that grows to a height of about 10m of the Moringaceae family and can grow in all the regions of Cameroon though for now, it is widely cultivated only in the northern parts of the country.
Moringa is an ideal plant to grow indoors or in your own backyard. You can pick its leaves and make it part of a delicious fresh salad or use it in any of your meals. Or you can dry the leaves to make a delicious green tea. You can also make tea with the leaf powder in a traditional coffee maker. If you have enough leaf, you can dry it and make it into Moringa powder, and use it‘s concentrated nutrition to balance your diet for increased energy and sense of well being. The possibilities are endless.

The first producers of Moringa Oleifera in Cameroon have so much praise for the plant for its curative virtues and the money they make from its products. They believe that with the present world food crises, it would be advantageous to turn to local products like Moringa to reduce dependence of poor countries on imported foodstuff and also improve the nutritional situation of poor families.
It is advisable for people to plant even a few stems in their com-pounds for personal consumption if one would not want to go into commercial production.
Moringa grows in a variety of climates and substandard soils and it is as fast growing as it is hearty. Normal growth ranges from 3-5 meters per year if left uncropped. It is one of the fastest growing biomasses on the planet when properly nourished. Moringa has varieties known to grow 7 meters in one year if left unchecked. A fully mature Moringa tree can grow to 35 feet.

Commercial Moringa plantations usually crop the trees so they don’t exceed 3-4 meters. Such a height allows the harvesters reasonable access and the cropping encourages horizontal growth enabling greater leaf production.
The production of Moringa can be very profitable be it in the sale of fresh or dried leaves because it can be harvested up to eight times a year though investment in the production is very minimal.