NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competence and with regard for appropriate balance.
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The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Frank Press and Dr. Robert M. White are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
The Board on Science and Technology for International Development (BOSTID) of the Office of International Affairs addresses a range of issues arising from the ways in which science and technology in developing countries can stimulate and complement the complex processes of social and economic development. It oversees a broad program of bilateral workshops with scientific organizations in developing countries and conducts special studies. BOSTID's Advisory Committee on Technology Innovation publishes topical reviews of technical processes and biological resources of potential importance to developing countries.
This report has been prepared by an ad hoc advisory panel of the Advisory Committee on Technology Innovation, Board on Science and Technology for International Development, Office of International Affairs, National Research Council. Staff support was funded by the Office of the Science Advisor, Agency for International Development, under Grant No. DAN-5538-G-00-1023-00, Amendments 27 and 29.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 91-68332
ISBN 0-309-04686-6
S527
Second printing1993
Third printing, 1998
PANEL ON NEEM
EUGENE B. SHULTZ, JR.,
School of Engineering and Applied Science, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA,
Chairman
DEEPAK BHATNAGAR,
Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
MARTIN JACOBSON,
U.S. Department of Agriculture
(retired),
Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
ROBERT L. METCALF,
Department of Entomology, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, USA
RAMESH C. SAXENA,
International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, Nairobi, Kenya
DAVID UNANDER,
Division of Population Science, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
NOEL D. VIETMEYER, Senior Program Officer,
Board on Science and Technology for International Development,
Neem Study Director and Scientific Editor
STAFF
F. R. RUSKIN, BOSTID Editor
ELIZABETH MOUZON, Senior Secretary
BRENT SIMPSON, MUCIA Intern
JOHN HURLEY, Director (until November 1991)
CONTRIBUTORS
SALEEM AHMED,
East-West Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
K.R.S. ASCHER,
Department of Toxicology, The Volcani Center, Bet Dagan, Israel
EDWARD S. AYENSU,
Pan-African Union for Science and Technology, Accra, Ghana
MICHAEL D. BENGE,
U.S. Agency for International Development, Washington, D.C., USA
BARUCH S. BLUMBERG,
Division of Population Science, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
JEAN GORSE,
Paris, France
JEFFREY GRITZNER,
Public Policy Research Institute, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA
BRUCE HARRISON,
Board on Science and Technology for International Development, Washington, D.C., USA
MURRAY B. ISMAN,
Department of Plant Science, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
C.M. KETKAR,
Neem Mission, Maharashtra, India
T.N. KHOSHOO,
Tata Energy Research Institute, New Delhi, India
JIM KLOCKE,
ISK Mountain View Research Center, Sunnyvale, California, USA (deceased)
HIRAM LAREW,
U.S. Agency for International Development, Washington, D.C., USA
ROBERT O. LARSON,
Vikwood Botanicals, Inc., Sheboygan, Wisconsin, USA
DAVID PLUYMERS,
College of Engineering and Applied Science, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
MARTIN PRICE, ECHO,
North Fort Myers, Florida, USA
STANISLAW RADWANSKI,
Paris, France
HEINZ REMBOLD,
Max-Planck-Institut für Biochemie, D-8033 Martinsried bei München, Germany
HEINRICH SCHMUTTERER,
Institut für Phytopathologie und Angewandte Zoologie, Justus-Liebig-Universität, Giessen, Germany
PETER P. STRZOK,
Agency to Facilitate the Growth of Rural Organizations, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
JAMES F. WALTER,
W.R. Grace and Company-Conn., Columbia, Maryland, USA
DAVID WARTHEN,
Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, Maryland, USA
GERALD E. WICKENS,
Hampton Hill, Middlesex, England
Preface
Neem is a fascinating tree. On the one hand, it seems to be one of the most promising of all plants and may eventually benefit every person on the planet. Probably no other yields as many strange and varied products or has as many exploitable by-products. Indeed, as foreseen by some scientists, this plant may usher in a new era in pest control, provide millions with inexpensive medicines, cut down the rate of human population growth, and perhaps even reduce erosion, deforestation, and the excessive temperature of an overheated globe.
On the other hand, that all remains only a vague promise. Although the enthusiasm may be justified, it is largely founded on empirical or anecdotal evidence. Our purpose here is to marshal the various facts about this little-known species, to help illuminate its future promise, and to speed realization of its potential.
The report has been produced particularly for nonspecialists such as government ministers, research directors, university students, private voluntary organizations, and entrepreneurs. It is intended as an economic development document, not a scientific monograph. We hope it will be of interest, especially to agencies engaged in development assistance and food relief; officials and institutions concerned with agriculture and forestry in tropical countries; and scientific establishments with relevant interests.
This study is a project of the Board on Science and Technology for International Development (BOSTID), a division of the National Research Council. It is one in a series of reports prepared under BOSTID's program on technology innovation. Established in 1970, this program evaluates unconventional scientific and technological advances with particular promise for solving problems of developing countries. This report continues a subseries of reports describing promising tree resources that heretofore have been neglected or overlooked. Other titles include:
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Leucaena: Promising Forage and Tree Crop in Developing Countries (1984)
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Mangium and Other Fast-Growing Acacias for the Humid Tropics (1983)
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Calliandra: A Versatile Small Tree for the Humid Tropics (1983)
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Casuarinas: Nitrogen-Fixing Trees for Adverse Sites (1983)
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Firewood Crops: Shrub and Tree Species for Energy Production, Volumes I and II (1980 and 1983, respectively)
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Sowing Forests from the Air (1981).
Funds for this project were made available by the Agency for International Development (AID). Specifically, they were contributed by AID's Office of Forestry, Environment, and Natural Resources.
How to cite this report:
National Research Council. 1992. Neem: A Tree For Solving Global Problems. National Academy Press, Washington, D.C.
Foreword
The people of India have long revered the neem tree (Azadirachta indica). For centuries, millions have cleaned their teeth with neem twigs, smeared skin disorders with neem-leaf juice, taken neem tea as a tonic, and placed neem leaves in their beds, books, grain bins, cupboards, and closets to keep away troublesome bugs. The tree has relieved so many different pains, fevers, infections, and other complaints that it has been called "the village pharmacy."
To those millions in India neem has miraculous powers, and now scientists around the world are beginning to think they may be right. Two decades of research have revealed promising results in so many disciplines that this obscure species may be of enormous benefit to countries both poor and rich. Even some of the most cautious researchers are saying that "neem deserves to be called a wonder plant."
In particular, neem may be the harbinger of a new generation of "soft" pesticides that will allow people to protect crops in benign ways.
Although apparently justified by the evidence, the rising enthusiasm is based largely on exploratory investigations rather than controlled experiments or the widespread use of neem products in modern practice. The results have seldom, if ever, been subjected to the rigors of independent evaluation or use. Once that happens, everything may change.
Despite all the uncertainties, however, the possibilities are indeed intriguing. The following chapter, a composite of the visions of various researchers involved with neem, shows why.
Noel Vietmeyer
Study Director