## 3 Results and Discussion  
### Main Results of the Survey  
The profiles of the respondents are presented in Figure S1. Regardless of the study area, the respondents were predominantly women (Figure S1a), with an average of 79%, of whom 47% were between 15 and 25 years (the age distribution was very similar in the four survey areas), and all the men were between 15 and 25 years old (Figure S1b). Indeed, in these regions, the harvesting of wild fruits is generally carried out by young female adults. This prominent role of women is reported in the numerous studies on this subject [25; 26]. Only the elements that seem to us to be the most relevant and significant are presented below for each of the different sections of the survey. According to 50 to 70% of respondents, the harvest period spanned from August to March (Figure 3a). The peak in production began in October. Altitude and latitude had little influence on the ripening process and fruit harvest, as the production season coincided across all areas. These results were consistent with those reported by [PERSON] and [PERSON] (2017) in the Huambo area, and also by [PERSON] et al. (2019) in Burundi, who observed that loengo generally ripens from mid-November to the end of December and sometimes until January. It was noticed that in all the locations studied, the respondents only knew one variety. For 69% of them, the loengo is a non-climacteric fruit. Activities such as the felling of trees and anarchic fires were the reasons that led 60% of the respondents to state that this fruit could be in danger of extinction. Figure 3b showed that the quantity of fruit harvested was on average higher in the Huila and Benguela areas, with about 2 kg per day per tree, while in the other two areas (Malanje and Huambo), it was around 1 kg per day per tree. The selling price of this underexploited fruit fluctuated at the time of the study (Figure 3c). This fluctuation depends on the time of year, access to the production area, and demand. Indeed, prices fluctuated by a factor of 10, most often ranging from EUR 0.16 to 1.00 \(\cdot\)kg\({}^{-1}\) in 2015. According to [PERSON] et al. (2019), the price of one kilogram of _A. boehmi_ fruit in Burundi was close to EUR 1, which was similar to the prices observed in this study. Figure 4a shows that 54% of respondents kept the fruit for between 4 and 6 days. It could only be stored for a few days, meaning that without any specific preservation method, loengo was a highly perishable fruit. None of the respondents used preservatives. The fast dehydration of the fruit and changes in color were the main defects mentioned. In the Huila and Huambo areas, respondents reported that this fruit could be stored for a longer time (around 3 days more) compared to in Malanje and Benguela. This was probably explained by the average temperatures during the harvest season, which were lower in Huila and Huambo (19-20 \({}^{\circ}\)C) and higher in Malanje and Benguela (22-26 \({}^{\circ}\)C). Figure 3: Survey response analysis of harvest and sale of loengo fruit: (**a**) harvest period; (**b**) daily quantity of loengo harvested per tree; and (**c**) average selling price, where Kz (kwanza) or AOA is the currency of Angola. Exchange rate (21/01/2025): 1000 Kz \(\equiv\) EUR 1.05. In terms of consumption frequency, about half of the respondents did not know exactly how often they consume the fruit (Figure 4b). Among those who answered quantitatively, more than four out of five consumed the fruit frequently, with a frequency of over 10 times per month during the production season. However, respondents were unable to provide precise details about portion sizes. One hundred per cent of the respondents stated that they consume the fruit at all times, without knowing the exact quantity consumed. However, it was observed that there are no age restrictions on consuming the fruit in Malanje and Huambo, while 58.3% of respondents in Huila and 8.3% in Benguela said that restrictions apply to children under 5 years old.