Food security does not mean fencing off your veggie garden

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Africa Day for Food and Nutrition Security reminds us of the need to end hunger and malnutrition on the continent. Hunger and malnutrition are on the rise in Africa, currently affecting about 23% (278-million) of the continent’s population. Unsurprisingly, the African Union (AU) declared 2022 the Year of Nutrition. It is predicted that the situation will worsen, mainly due to climate change and other global challenges such as inflation, rising fuel prices, the coronavirus pandemic, the Russian-Ukraine war and conflicts in some African countries.

Though significant developments have been initiated, the challenges are a huge roadblock to combating food insecurity, malnutrition and hunger. The AU’s Agenda 2063, adopted at its assembly in 2013, highlighted a wide range of continental issues that need tackling to end poverty, malnutrition and hunger by 2063. These align with the U N’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030 (specifically SDG1 – No Poverty, SDG2 – Zero Hunger, and SDG3 – Good Health and Wellbeing) as frontline issues of concern. There is a need to find easily adaptable, comprehensive and lasting solutions for these challenges. Underutilised crops could be one such solution to the problems of hunger and malnutrition.

The re-introduction and promotion of neglected and underutilised crops in Africa is a growing topic in agricultural research. These crops, also referred to as lost, orphan or understudied, are defined as indigenous crops of the continent (and other parts of the developing world) grown and consumed during the pre-colonial period but later substituted by the introduction of major crops that are predominantly starch-based, especially maize, wheat and rice.

Indigenous and underutilised crops are usually cultivated in rural communities on small and non-arable fields for subsistence uses. They have social and cultural significance in such communities. They are also seen as part of a holistic approach to adapting to the changing environment and mitigating food insecurity.

The crops cover all categories – grains (millet, sorghum, tef, African rice), roots/tuber (sweet potato, cassava, amadumbe), leafy vegetables (amaranth, okra, blackjack), legumes (cowpea, Bambara groundnuts, yam bean) and fruits (baobab, marula, monkey orange). Also, indigenous and underutilised crops can feature in various categories. For example, amaranth can be consumed as a grain and a vegetable, sweet sorghum can be eaten as a grain and used as fibre, biofuel and animal feed, and sweet potato can be used as a vegetable and tuber.

As far as malnutrition and hunger are concerned, underutilised crops are highly nutritious and healthy for a balanced diet. They are rich in proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, essential amino acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids and numerous minerals such as iron, zinc and calcium. The same cannot be said of major crops. Additionally, underutilised crops have antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

As chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) continue to rise people are paying more attention to the types of food they eat, avoiding gluten, high fat and low-fibre products that are prevalent with the consumption of major crops. These foods have been deemed major causes of chronic NCDs. Since underutilised crops are low in or free of gluten and fats and high in fibre and nutrients, this is an opportunity to show how they can help improve nutritional deficiencies on the continent.

Despite their widespread utilisation and consumption, major crops are vulnerable to climate change, loss of soil fertility, pests and diseases, which are all threats to agricultural production globally, and especially in Africa. Also, major crops rely on farming input costs such as chemical fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides, which can be hazardous to the environment and human health. By contrast, many underutilised crops require minimum input costs because they depend on the biological functioning of natural ecosystems.

With Africa’s population expected to reach 2.5-billion by 2050, underutilised crops might be the solution for the continent because they are well adapted to marginal environmental conditions. Thus, we should intensify our efforts to cultivate them.

The promotion and improvement of underutilised crops for commercial and industrial use will require much work at grassroots level. This will necessitate the inclusion of farmers, scientists, governments, agro-processing industries and other stakeholders. Amalgamating ideologies of stakeholders will foster policies and implementation strategies that promote opportunities for the cultivation and utilisation of these crops. Intensive and extensive research and development should be a priority because little is known about many of them, especially regarding their seed, agronomy, breeding and genetics, nutrient composition, local and physiological adaptation, agro-processing and marketing.

Additionally, scientists should collaborate with farmers who have rich indigenous knowledge that can be combined with research findings to help optimise the crops’ potential. Research centres that concentrate on underutilised crops have launched initiatives to expand the number of available gene banks.

On Africa Day for Food and Nutrition Security it is important to realise that we cannot just rely on major crops to reduce hunger and malnutrition. We need to recognise the potential of the continent’s underutilised crops if we want to address both successfully.

* Phiri is a lecturer in sustainable agriculture, Mabitsela a PhD candidate and Motsi an MSc candidate in agronomy in the Faculty of AgriSciences at Stellenbosch University