Scots scientists are helping to revive native African crops to help tackle a nutritional crisis, finds Sandra Dick

For generations of Africans, they were the “bare necessities” – small crops of odd-shaped, strange-tasting fruit and vegetables such as prickly pears, edible roots, leaves and seeds provided nutritional sustenance and played a vital role in their diet.

But as Western influences emerged, precious native crops like bitter yam, sweet bush mango, chocolate berries and horned melon were overtaken by belly-filling maize, wheat and rice.

Now scientists from Scotland’s Rural College are among an international team looking at ways to return largely forgotten “superfood” crops to African tables, in an effort to help offset deeply worrying levels of malnutrition across the continent.

More than 100 under-utilised plant species – known as “orphan crops” because they have been largely forgotten in the race towards fields of starchy wheat, rice and maize – have been included in the programme.

Researchers will look at ways of using genomics to enhance their production and harvesting to encourage food producers, while new marketing techniques to make crops appear “cool” will be introduced to encourage consumers to take advantage of their exceptional nutritional values.

As well as helping to improve nutrition, the programme could help strengthen food production in the face of climate change and population growth: Africa’s population is predicted to double to 2.5 billion people in 40 years, raising pressure on governments to deliver more food and better livelihoods.

It could also lead to a wave of African “superfoods” with exotic flavours and unusual textures being exported to Western markets.

Dr Ian Dawson of SRUC, who is part of the African Orphan Crops Consortium (AOCC) project, said the crops were “culturally important” but had been displaced by alien crops such as maize, rice and wheat, introduced by Western influences.

“Wheat and maize, for example, are very good at providing energy and have lots of starch,” he said. “But they’re not very good at providing the other range of nutrients that we need for a healthy diet.”

He added that farmers had often turned away from growing “orphan crops” despite their immense nutritional value, to meet rising demand for wheat, maize and rice.

“Production of these culturally important crops has decreased or become restricted.

“In some cases, the ‘orphan’ crops are not regarded as particularly profitable to grow, while a move to a more Western diet, increased urbanisation and people eating more processed foods which are unhealthy but based on staples, has also had an impact on their production.

“The project came from a recognition that there was a need to focus more on nutritional value and, in particular, producing better crops that farmers can grow.”

Malnutrition, or “hidden hunger”, in many African nations, is linked to human underdevelopment, causing stunted growth among children, anaemia and obesity.

Unicef’s 2019 report, The State of the World’s Children, singled out South Africa in particular as facing a burden of malnutrition, under-nutrition, hidden hunger and obesity.

It added that a lack of quality food put children at risk of poor brain development, weak learning, low immunity, increased infections and death.

The plants chosen for the project are mostly indigenous to Africa. However, some – such as the tellingly-named elephant ears which originated in South America – are considered “exotics”.

Elephant ears plants are popular in Puerto Rican cuisine, typically ground with squash, potato, green bananas and plantains, and mixed with pork and ham before being boiled in a banana leaf.

Some plants included in the programme have recognisable names but have suffered from a lack of research into their nutritional qualities which could make them more attractive to farmers and consumers.

They include tamarind, a large evergreen tree which produces sticky edible seeds similar to dates; jujube, which produce crisp, juicy fruit rich in fibre and vitamin C; and sour plums which, despite their tart taste, have a high potassium and protein content.

Dawson said genetic enhancement of the crops included in the AOCC programme could help revive interest in the plants among Africa’s largely female farming communities, who have particular interest in ensuring their families receive a quality, nutritional diet.

“Certain crops may not be very profitable – they might be hard to produce and there could be a lot of labour costs. Altering a plant’s architecture so it doesn’t fall over in the field or ensuring the seed or crop remains on the plant and doesn’t fall on the ground can make it easier to pick.

“Making the fruit bigger can also make it easier to harvest,” he added.

“Other genetics could enhance the processability of the crop so it’s easier to cook or easier to extract the seed from the plant so it can be incorporated into processed foods.”

He added: “There is an export market for some of these crops in a way that quinoa was a South American orphan crop and has now become popular in the UK.

“However, the risk is that nothing is left for the local people. So there’s a need not to export all the good stuff.”

First, however, a major element of the SRUC input into the project is aimed at encouraging farmers and food producers to shift focus from Westernised diets to accept the traditional crops.

That may require very Western-style marketing campaigns. “To have an impact and get crops to farmers’ fields, we need to do the genetic stuff but also promote the crops so we get consumers interested in eating them.

“One way is to make these crops look really aspirational and ‘cool’,” he added.