Gus Le Breton, an African plant hunter at Baobab Exports, has made a strong case for some African “forgotten” food crops, noting that they are key to supporting climate-resilient and profitable food systems.
According to Gus Le Breton, through climate niche modeling, new research has identified how forgotten food crops can diversify or replace major staple crops in sub-Saharan Africa by 2070 and benefit micronutrient supply. He noted that the study identified 58 crops, including better-adapted and more nutritious vegetables, fruits, cereals, pulses, seeds, nuts, roots, and tubers.
Around 10% of the production locations of major staples in sub-Saharan Africa – corn, rice, yams, and cassava may experience novel climate conditions in 50 years, meaning that they will no longer be suitable climates for these staple crops.
“I wholeheartedly concur with the study’s conclusion that Africa’s ‘forgotten’ food crops offer opportunities both for more climate-resilient agriculture and healthier food systems, and that their promotion has received limited attention.
“There are complex reasons that forgotten food crops have received such limited attention. The good news is that these can – and indeed must – be overcome. I believe we are on the brink of a new golden age of research into traditional and underutilized food crops worldwide and I’m convinced that Africa will be at the forefront.”
Gus Le Breton
Forgotten Food Crop Potential
Lead author Dr. Maarten van Zonneveld of the World Vegetable Center in Taiwan, explained that many of the 58 forgotten crops in the study are annuals and tree fruits that are rich in vitamins A and C and many are vegetables high in vitamins A, iron, folate, and zinc.
“Our study shows that in most locations where maize, rice, yams and cassava are grown in sub-Saharan Africa, one or more forgotten food crops from the different food groups will be suitable for cultivation under 2070 climate conditions and diversify production zones of major staples to support more nutrient-rich diets.”
Dr. Maarten van Zonneveld
Le Breton highlighted several examples of forgotten foods of Africa, such as the baobab fruit, “a superfruit that is both tasty and highly nutritious and is now making waves in the international market.”
“Our biggest success has been with the Baobab fruit, which is now relatively well-known and widely consumed, but we are seeing increased traction with many other species. I’m confident there will be an upsurge in demand for novel African food plants within and beyond Africa.”
Gus Le Breton
Le Breton added that currently, limited array of food crops available to consumers have resulted in a “catastrophically unbalanced diet, leading to a spiraling growth of metabolic diseases in Africa.”
Novel Climate Conditions
According to research, locations with still-suitable climates would decline strongest in West Africa (17.7%) and Central Africa (14.5%).
Though staples must be adapted to the new conditions through breeding, diversification of cropping systems and their replacement with other crops can help promote greater resilience.
Le Breton explained that most of the current food crops are grown in a monocultural system, which is highly vulnerable to pests and drought. “This creates a huge vulnerability that one adverse event can cause a total crop failure. These monocultures depend on the use of environmentally unsustainable agrochemicals and – often equally unsustainable – mining underground water resources through irrigation.”
The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) recently warned that COVID-19, climate change, and conflicts wiped out the progress made in malnutrition over the last 15 years.
The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), also that lack of access to appropriate planting material significantly hinders diversifying food production, as is a lack of markets for the foods produced. Le Breton adds that there is a need to “overcome consumer resistance within Africa toward food crops perceived as being old fashioned and outdated.”
Le Breton further noted that government agricultural extension services need to be reformed as these have been built around the currently limited array of food crops. Multinational agrochemical and seed companies must be convinced that increased production of forgotten food plants presents opportunities rather than threats. Moreover, Le Breton stressed that “restrictive regulatory environments (e.g., EU Novel Foods) inhibit the uptake of novel African foods in major export markets.”
African leaders recently called for more commitment and accountability in Africa’s efforts to achieve continental and global goals for nutrition, ahead of the 2025 World Health Assembly Nutrition target deadline.
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