Food in fashion

When the European colonisers came to Africa they did what Africans themselves had been doing for thousands of years; they influenced the choice of locally grown horticultural crops. Just as the tribes who migrated across Africa over many centuries took with them the vegetables they valued, so cabbages, cauliflowers, carrots, onions, leeks and even salad crops such as lettuce and cucumber became established as Africans became dedicated followers of European fashion. And, as with any fashion, that which is out of favour gets forgotten.

Credit: NRI

It is estimated that as many as 350 types of vegetable, many derived from trees, were once used in Africa. These could be in the form of leaves but also stems, roots, seeds, flowers, fruits or the bark of trees were used as vegetables. They were either eaten fresh or cooked, steamed or roasted and in many instances new products were generated by drying the crop and grinding them for use in soups etc. Many of these have been neglected, abandoned and then forgotten, and only the elderly can remember which are good to eat and which are not. Much of the natural vegetation has also disappeared and with it the source of what was once important not only as a tasty source of protein but also for its medicinal value. For decades, market gardeners in Africa have struggled to grow exotic vegetables, despite their poor resistance to local pests and diseases, knowing that they will fetch a better price than traditional varieties. However, in the last ten years or so, there has been a noticeable resurgence of consumer interest in African traditional vegetables. A consumer in Nairobi or Lagos, for example, can now find traditional leafy vegetables in their city centre supermarkets and may have to pay more for them than for exotic 'western' cabbages and carrots.

There are, however, major challenges facing those who wish to exploit the demand for African traditional food crops. There is very little published technical guidance available for their cultivation. Seeds are very hard to get and when they can be obtained at village markets they tend to be of variable quality. The leafy vegetables are, of course, highly perishable and neither the transport nor the somewhat chaotic marketing systems do anything to extend their short shelf life. So what are the options?

Credit:NRI

One area that is receiving increased attention but where much more could be done is in plant breeding. Although traditional species tend to have better resistance than exotics to pests and diseases they are nevertheless prey to a wide range, with some landraces showing greater resistance than others. Also, their lack of uniformity detracts from their market value and many have traits, such as bitterness or thorny stems, that are undesirable. Conventional plant breeding could get rid of undesirable characteristics and at the same time enhance those that are more desirable such as sweetness or leaf crispiness. Lagos spinach (Celosia argentea L.) is a fast-growing crop which is popular in south-west Nigeria but it is highly susceptible to root knot nematodes. Plant breeders have until now concentrated on a closely related, inedible ornamental, C. cristata L. which comes from South Asia. There is no reason to suppose that it would not be possible, with more research, to find germplasm of Lagos spinach that has a tolerance to root knot nematodes. Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) and its close relatives roselle and false roselle are used as both vegetable and fibre. Kenaf grows faster than roselle which could be an advantage when it is produced as a market gardening leaf crop but it is much more sensitive to nematodes, a major limiting factor. However purple or pink flowered varieties - most are creamy coloured - are more resistant.

Wish List
The first task is to consult widely with growers, traders and consumers to establish a wish list of improvements. Plant breeders would then need as much genetic variation as possible in the given species in order to have the best chance of selecting for the desired characteristics. "It is commonly thought that traditional vegetables are highly local," says Rudy Schippers of Horticultural Development Services, a UK based company specializing in the development and promotion of African vegetables, "but it is amazing to find that a particular species that may have become very scarce in one country, can be found thousands of miles away in another". This has potential for a plant breeder looking for landraces that have adapted to local conditions. Not only are there differences in the genetic make up from one region to another, because of different selections made by people during previous centuries or millennia, but the way in which the vegetable is used may be different. The African eggplant is one example. In some places it is the fruit that is used as a vegetable, in others the leaves and, in other parts of Africa, fruit are specifically grown for their medicinal value. Production guidelines for growers of indigenous crops, coupled with better varieties, could do much to support the market for African vegetables.*

Processing in some way, and especially drying, has always been the standard solution to the problem of perishability and short term glut. Early in the season, for example, the young red leaves of the baobab tree are harvested in huge quantities. From Senegal in the west to Mozambique and Zimbabwe in the east and south, people pick the leaves to the extent that the trees could well be damaged were they not of such great height. In markets in Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal, the leaves that cannot be sold fresh are dried, ground into a powder and sold later in the season - when the leaves on the tree are coarse and unpalatable - for making soup. But according to John Orchard, head of the Food Management and Marketing Group at the Natural Resources Institute at the University of Greenwich, much more could be done to improve drying techniques. Simple techniques, such as drying on a protected table rather than laid out on the ground, or packaging that includes a label to give the product an identity, can help to add value. "We work with local partners to transfer appropriate systems to farmers and producers," says John Orchard. "People forget that it's not developing the technology that is important but how it's adapted locally with local people and how they can take it up." Whereas local people know what they want to achieve, and have the technical know how, they often need an outside partner to bring in overall development understanding, especially in terms of social and economic impact, to bring useful partners together and to help in accessing funds.

In addition to the undoubted potential for producing traditional vegetables for local markets, expatriate communities of Africans in Europe and North America offer opportunities for export. But, again, attention will have to be directed to quality production, grading, rapid transport and marketing. African vegetables could one day join the exotic western horticultural vegetables that are currently grown in Africa and flown in their pre-packed, pre-priced, plastic containers into Europe to satisfy the food fashions of the day.

* Readers may be interested in a book and CD published by NRI and HDS, which provides an illustrated overview of cultivated vegetable species. African Indigenous Vegetables, written by Rudy Schippers, can be obtained by writing to NRI Catalogue Services, CAB International, Wallingford, Oxon OX10 8DE, UK and quoting CRG7. The CD can be obtained from NRInternational, Park House, Bradford Lane, Aylesford Kent ME20 6SN. Further information on African vegetables could be obtained by contacting Horticultural Development Services LLP, 19 Travertine Road, Chatham Kent ME5 9LQ or by email: hortds@aol.com