Reviving forgotten foods to fuel agric. sustainability, climate resilience

Onome Amuge

Amid the search for effective remedies to the devastating effects of food and climate crises in Africa, an overlooked solution that has gained the attention of experts is the cultivation of neglected crops, also known as “forgotten crops.”

These plants, while often ignored in favour of more popular crops, have been highlighted to hold significant potential for alleviating food insecurity and the devastating impacts of climate change on the African continent, making them an underutilised yet valuable resource in the region’s fight against these crises.

According to agriculture experts, neglected crops, also known by a variety of terms including “indigenous,” “lost,” “native,” “orphan,” “traditional,” “underutilised,” and as ingredients in “forgotten foods,” hold significant potential to address food and climate crises in Africa. These crops, which include sorghum, millet, amaranth, eggplant, kale and many more, are native to the African continent and have traditionally been a key part of highly nutritious diets in the region.

Despite their rich history and nutritional benefits, these crops have fallen out of favor over time, becoming lost and forgotten by many. As a result, they have become  underutilised by farmers and producers, who have turned to more popular crops, while simultaneously being overlooked by consumers, plant breeders, policymakers, and donors. This unfortunate neglect has led to a loss of knowledge and resources for the cultivation and usage of these crops, despite their potential to help alleviate food insecurity and mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Highlighting the historical shift in the cultivation and utilisation of neglected crops, a report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), revealed that these crops were traditionally grown for subsistence but were gradually replaced by crops better suited for commercial farming as the agrifood sector underwent significant changes during the 20th century. These changes included the increasing specialisation, intensification, and concentration of the global agrifood sector, where a small number of dominant crops, such as maize, rice, and wheat, came to dominate the market, displacing the once-widespread subsistence crops that had sustained communities for generations.

In an effort to bring forgotten crops to the forefront of our collective consciousness, the Food and Agriculture Organisation recently launched a compreehensive report titled, “Compendium of Forgotten Foods in Africa.”

The initiative documents and details the remarkable properties and potential of 100 forgotten African food crops, including their botanical classification, agroecological suitability, agronomic requirements, traditional and medicinal uses, value-added prospects, and nutritional content.

The forgotten foods identified in the report include: African locust beans, African nightshade, baobab, Bambara nut, bush mango, moringa, African star apple,breadfruit, black bean, cherry tomato, dragon fruit, plantain banana,water yam, among others.

“The so-called forgotten food crops are nutritious, resilient and adaptable to local dietary practices. They thus offer a viable pathway to ensuring adequate food intake and dietary diversity, maintaining soil health, and achieving climate resilience amongst African farming communities.

“Mainstreaming forgotten foods in the daily diets of African communities should therefore be a core component of any attempts at sustainable food system transformation in the region,” the FAO report stated.

Beyond the changes in the agrifood sector, reports have revealed that neglected crops also fell out of favour with producers and consumers alike due to the perceived profitability and convenience of a limited number of staple crops. Producers increasingly focused on growing the more profitable crops, resulting in the gradual abandonment of these forgotten plants, while consumers showed a growing preference for crops that were easier to process into food products. This shift in preference not only led to the gradual disappearance of neglected crops from the market, but also contributed to the loss of traditional knowledge about their cultivation and uses.

In recent years, multiple crises have exposed vulnerabilities in global food systems, highlighting the fragility of our current approach to food production, distribution, and consumption. Economic downturns, both local and global, political and military conflicts, extreme weather events driven by climate change, pandemics such as COVID-19, and crop diseases and pests have all contributed to an increase in food prices, leading to millions of people experiencing hunger worldwide.

Africa has been disproportionately affected by these crises, suffering the consequences of high food prices and hunger to an alarming degree.

According to recent statistics, the number of people in Africa experiencing chronic hunger is relatively high, with 278 million Africans, which represents more than one-fifth of the continent’s population, struggling with food insecurity. Moreover, the impact of these crises was reflected in the unprecedented food price inflation in Africa in June 2022, which exceeded 20 percent, the highest level of food inflation recorded in the continent in over two decades.

Beyond the humanitarian crisis, climate change poses an alarming threat to the continent’s food security and nutrition.

On the one hand, the impacts of climate change, which include extreme weather events such as droughts and floods, have already reduced crop productivity and are expected to continue doing so in the future.

On the other hand, food systems, which are critical to ensuring food security, are responsible for a significant portion of global greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to the very problem they are struggling to overcome.

Adding to Africa’s challenges, climate change has a disproportionate impact on the continent, with extreme weather events such as droughts and floods becoming more frequent and severe. To address this urgent situation, agricultural experts have identified the need for a broader variety of food options and a more diversified global food market. These experts contend that increasing the number of food sources and creating a more varied marketplace will not only enhance food security but also help protect against the frequent shocks and disruptions that have become a hallmark of our era.

The forgotten harvest: Tackling hunger and climate change with neglected crops

According to experts at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the potential of these forgotten crops to address the challenges faced by the modern agrifood system can be unlocked through a combination of modern technologies and traditional practices and approaches. The key, they noted, is to harness both the power of modern innovations and the wisdom of traditional practices to ensure that these crops are more productive and profitable, while also appealing to the tastes and preferences of today’s consumers.

To realise the potential of neglected crops,the IFPRI, in a report titled, “Bringing back neglected crops: A food and climate solution for Africa,”noted that it is crucial to invest in further research and innovation. For example, understanding the nutritional value of these crops, including the impact of processing and storage, will ensure that they provide essential nutrients. Moreover, investing in the scalability of harvesting, processing, and distribution systems have been identified as essential to making these crops more widely available and accessible to consumers.

The IFPRI experts have also identified other valuable qualities of neglected crops, such as their inherent climate resilience and water-use efficiency. To encourage farmers to cultivate these crops, they urged thatthese qualities should be promoted through carefully designed financial incentives, technical assistance, and extension services.

Furthermore, they argued that collecting more and better data on these crops will be vital in driving investments in research and development and designing effective programmes and policies.

“With the right mix of interventions, neglected crops can be a sustainable food and climate-smart solution for Africa. Current lack of funding and infrastructure should not be an excuse to avoid action.

“If anything, this is another opportunity to meet Africa’s financing and development needs. Sustainable development actors and advocates should all rally behind reintroducing and scaling up neglected crops. Their many benefits make it clear they should be neglected no more,” the report concluded.