Enlarging Our Dietary Range for a Robust and Adaptive Tomorrow
In our global culinary landscape, an astounding array of edible plant species exist, yet our diets usually only indulge in a tiny fraction of that abundance. Just three plants – rice, maize, and wheat – make up a whopping 60% of the calories and protein we derive from plants, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.
When it comes to vegetables, the situation is even more precarious. Less than 10% of the vegetable crop varieties preserved in genebanks are found in plants themselves, and crops from Africa are severely underrepresented. This alarming statistic shows the dire need for preserving agrobiodiversity, which plays a significant role in combating plant diseases, improving food security, and reducing the impact of climate change on crop production.
Maarten van Zonneveld, Head of Genetic Resources at the World Vegetable Center, highlights the urgent demand for safeguarding African vegetable biodiversity to combat malnutrition. This necessitates strategic efforts, including the announcement of the African Vegetable Biodiversity Rescue Plan last year at the Africa Food Systems Summit in Kigali, Rwanda.
Led by the World Vegetable Center, this 10-year initiative, spanning from 2025 to 2035, aims to boost resources and attention towards native African crops. By utilizing these ‘forgotten’ crops, the African vegetable biodiversity can help develop more climate-resilient and nutritious food systems in sub-Saharan Africa, reduce food insecurity and malnutrition, and support local farmers and producers in serving their communities with affordable, nutritious food.
The African continent has historically relied on these vegetable crops as cornerstones of its food systems and will continue to rely on them in the future. But in the face of climate change, preserving these crops becomes an even more pressing challenge.
Clause 1 – Rescue and Conserve Genetic Resources
The African Vegetable Biodiversity Rescue Plan primarily focuses on rescuing and safeguarding the genetic resources of African vegetables, which are currently underrepresented in genebanks. This includes collecting, characterizing, and documenting thousands of germplasm accessions to ensure their continued survival.
Clause 2 – Support Integrated Seed Systems
The plan further supports the establishment of integrated seed systems for African vegetables. This entails sharing, characterizing, and documenting germplasm, promoting sustainable use in research, breeding, and cultivation among smallholder farmers.
Clause 3 – Conduct Innovative Research and Networking
The Rescue Plan also carries out innovative research and networking to improve and adapt vegetable varieties that cater to the needs of different stakeholders – farmers, traders, and consumers. Similar to breeding new, climate-resilient varieties of amaranth, which demonstrated a yield increase of over 6 tonnes per hectare, these modernized crops contribute to food security by providing nutritious produce.
Clause 4 – Enhance Human Resource Capacities and Awareness
The initiative aims to strengthen human resource capacities and raise awareness about the importance of African vegetables. Training and educating national genebank staff and professionals across Africa on operational and quality management techniques ensures that these valuable seeds continue to thrive.
By integrating African vegetables into national and regional policies and encouraging their use in diversified diets, the Rescue Plan not only enhances food security but also supports climate resilience and biodiversity conservation in sub-Saharan Africa.
The African Vegetable Biodiversity Rescue Plan, aimed at boosting resources for native African crops until 2035, highlights the importance of utilizing 'forgotten' vegetables to develop more climate-resilient and nutritious food systems. This could potentially decrease malnutrition and food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa while supporting local farmers. To achieve these goals, the plan focuses on conserving genetic resources of underrepresented African vegetables in genebanks and conducting innovative research to improve and adapt vegetable varieties.
This initiative also supports integrated seed systems, promoting the sustainable use of African vegetable germplasm among smallholder farmers. Furthermore, the African Vegetable Biodiversity Rescue Plan aims to enhance human resource capacities and awareness about the importance of these 'forgotten' crops, encouraging their integration into national and regional policies and diversified diets for improved food security and biodiversity conservation.
The urgent demand for preserving African vegetable biodiversity, such as highlighted by Maarten van Zonneveld, could potentially contribute to the 2035 goal of a more balanced diet, diversifying it beyond the top three plant contributors - rice, maize, and wheat - that currently make up a significant proportion of calories and protein intake.
Emphasizing the importance of a wide plant biodiversity in our diets, the African Vegetable Biodiversity Rescue Plan contributes to preserving agrobiodiversity and combating malnutrition, as well as mitigating the challenges posed by climate change to food production and system sustainability.
