FAO says Africa’s “forgotten crops” can improve nutrition security

24 Apr 2024 --- The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recently released its report titled “Integrating Africa’s forgotten foods for better nutrition,” as well as “Compendium of forgotten foods in Africa.” The research was conducted alongside experts from the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA). 

Nutrition Insight continues its conversation regarding the significance of the report’s findings for local consumers and industry with FAO’s senior nutrition and food systems officer and co-author, Dr. Mphumuzi Sukati, based in Accra, Ghana. 

“Promoting shared value chains and foods that are locally available can go a long way in supporting food and nutrition security and shielding the continent from price shocks created in other food markets around the globe,” he comments.

The publication and compendium, published in Accra, aim to highlight the diversity of food crops that are indigenous and/or locally adapted in comparison to fastidious cultivars. This is relevant as these species face the loss of “cultural image, denigration and neglect.” As a consequence, these have thus been labeled as “forgotten,” “neglected” or “orphan” foods.

Instead, the production and consumption of food on the continent has shifted a limited number of “globally promoted” commodities, which has relegated indigenous food crops. 

Link to food insecurity 
The publication outlines that food security across most African countries is dependent on the affordability (or lack thereof) of food items, largely stemming from the continent’s largely being a net importer of food.

FAO’s Dr. Mphumuzi Sukati shares further insights into the significance of the compendium.“As you know, there are food security issues in Africa. Our recent estimates suggest that close to 300 million people are still food insecure, and there is a prevalence of undernourishment in certain regions. You will also find that Africa is still depending on a lot of food imports from countries outside the continent,” Sukati outlines. 

“We are is still dealing with shocks that are affecting the food systems, including upheavals and shocks in markets outside the continent. We had a lot of COVID-19 cases. This was a very big problem that also clogged the transportation of food. Documents point to the fact that the war in Ukraine resulted in an increase in food prices.”

In this context, Sukati “absolutely” agrees that the move to promote plants indigenous or well-suited to the local natural environment is the way to go, not just in terms of bringing food prices down and securing the strategic independence of Africa’s food chains, but also in terms of directly supporting local producers and sellers. 

“If we are promoting local farmers and opening up the markets, using free trade areas like the AfCFTA (African Continental Free Trade Area) definitely expands markets local producers have access to while also increasing their income.” 

Compiling the compendium 
To identify and characterize the 100 crops highlighted in the compendium, the FAO team conducted a semi-structured questionnaire to obtain first-hand and context-specific information from key informants in various countries.

The 40 responses were received from 16 African nations, the majority coming from Nigeria, Ghana and Uganda. Most (685) were from research and academic institutions. The experts initially identified over 150 crops, including roots and tubers, cereal and legume grains, leafy vegetables and fruits. They were further asked to specify the agroeclogical zones in their respective countries where the named crops were predominantly grown.

While cassava is a staple food in West African nations, it has the potential to help local farmers and improve food security in Southern Africa, where it remains uncommon.Respondents were asked to score the crops based on nine attributes of relevance to their integration into the evolving African food systems. The sum of scores was based on the frequency of mention factor and the weighted scores. 

The top 10 of the ranked list includes Bambara groundnut, yam, taro, sorghum, African yam bean, cowpea, pearl millet, pumpkin, pigeon pea and African nightshade. The final 100 crops selected for the compendium were characterized based on their nutritional and phytochemical composition.

“The name itself — forgotten foods — you might find that in one country, they will say ‘no, this food is not forgotten,’ ‘how can you classify it as forgotten?’ while in any other country, it will indeed be forgotten,” explains Sukati.

“For example, cassava, one of the 100 crops, is eaten widely here in West Africa, so it cannot be considered forgotten here. However, in the Southern African regions, cassava is basically non-existent — it is not eaten there. That doesn’t necessarily mean that it couldn’t or shouldn't find a place on the table of consumers even in southern Africa.” 

Today, the FAO warned that El Niño (warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures) is likely to lead to a maize harvest failure across Southern Africa. 

Cassava is the third most significant source of carbohydrates in tropical regions, after rice and maize, also according to the FAO, and can be grown in drought conditions. The root can be prepared by slicing and boiling, while in Ghana and other West African nations, it is pounded to make flour for fufu or fermented for lafun. 

“The identified crops are better suited to the climate of the African continent and that is why they should get the right investments, so they can thrive across the African markets,” concludes Sukati. 

By Milana Nikolova