A wild nut expert in Vanuatu, Charlot Longwah, says the country's farmers could earn thousands of dollars from the natapoa trees growing in the country.
The trees grow wild throughout Melanesia but Mr Longwah, who sells the nuts, has encouraged villagers to grow both natapoa and another nut tree, nangae.
He has developed a method for preserving the nuts and says farmers could earn much more from this crop than copra.
"The tree has a lot of nuts and it can contribute about 2000 [US] dollars of nuts in kernels for the farmers - one of the most important ways for them to get money because at the moment they are working on low value crops like copra, root crops, and all that. They are not making money and this nut is growing well and growing fast in Vanuatu."
Charlot Longwah
