Over the past half-century, agricultural production gains have provided a platform for rural and urban economic growth worldwide. In African countries, however, agriculture has been widely assumed to have performed badly. Foresight commissioned analyses of 40 projects and programmes in 20 countries where sustainable intensification has been developed during the 1990s–2000s. The cases included crop improvements, agroforestry and soil conservation, conservation agriculture, integrated pest management, horticulture, livestock and fodder crops, aquaculture and novel policies and partnerships. By early 2010, these projects had documented benefits for 10.39 million farmers and their families and improvements on approximately 12.75 million ha. Food outputs by sustainable intensification have been multiplicative—by which yields per hectare have increased by combining the use of new and improved varieties and new agronomic—agroecological management (crop yields rose on average by 2.13-fold), and additive—by which ...

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Sustainable intensification in African agriculture

Sustainable intensification in agricultural systems

Malnutrition, poor health, hunger, and even starvation are still the world's greatest challenges. Malnutrition is defined as deficiency of nutrition due to not ingesting the proper amounts of nutrients by simply not eating enough food and/or by consuming nutrient-poor food in respect to the daily nutritional requirements. Moreover, malnutrition and disease are closely associated and incidences of such diet-related diseases increase particularly in low- and middle-income states. While foods of animal origin are often unaffordable to low-income families, various neglected crops can offer an alternative source of micronutrients, vitamins, as well as health-promoting secondary plant metabolites. Therefore, agricultural and horticultural research should develop strategies not only to produce more food, but also to improve access to more nutritious food. In this context, one promising approach is to promote biodiversity in the dietary pattern of low-income people by getting access to nutritional as well...

https://tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/07352689.2016.1201399

Are Neglected Plants the Food for the Future

Objective 
The objective of this study is to test the extent to which, under different opportunities for market participation, the diversity of plant species rural households grow or collect (on-farm diversity), and the variety of foods mothers purchase (market diversity) are associated with their dietary diversity.


Methods 
Rural households from three districts in southern Benin were interviewed during dry (n = 472) and wet (n = 482) seasons between 2011 and 2012. Villages within districts and their households were selected randomly according to market accessibility, with a mother selected from each household. Information on on-farm diversity was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire. Market diversity was obtained through a 7-day food frequency questionnaire that elicited if foods were purchased. Dietary diversity was derived from a quantitative 24-hour food recall. A system of three simultaneous equations via a Generalized Methods of Moments was estimated to address potential endogeneity between dietary diversity and on-farm diversity and market diversity.


Results 
Results show rich on-farm diversity with more than 65 different edible plant species grown or collected by households. More than 70% of foods consumed by mothers were purchased in 55 market places. More than 50% of mothers met minimum dietary diversity with at least 5 food groups consumed. Diagnostic tests indicated the existence of endogeneity. Econometric results showed that on-farm and market diversities were positively associated with mothers’ dietary diversity (p < 0.05) once market opportunities, seasonality and other socioeconomic factors were controlled for.


Conclusion 
Results provide evidence of a positive relationship between on-farm diversity and dietary diversity among participant mothers. They demonstrate the important contribution of market diversity to their dietary diversity. Links among these three facets of diversity suggest that production for self-consumption and food purchases complement rather than replace each other in their contribution to dietary diversity and thus dietary quality.

/pdf/on-farm-diversity-and-market-participation-are-positively-21ney6m729.pdf

On-farm diversity and market participation are positively associated with dietary diversity of rural mothers in southern Benin, West Africa

Many Africans are presently confronted with nutritional insecurity as their diets are often deficient in essential vitamins and minerals owing to lack of sufficient consumption of fruit and vegetables. This results from problems of availability, affordability and lack of knowledge. There has been a substantive, long-term underinvestment in research and development of the horticultural sector in Africa with particular reference to those indigenous crops which are naturally high in nutritious vitamins and minerals. Lack of breeding effort, ineffective seed supply systems and an inadequate information, regulatory and policy framework have all contributed to the widespread occurrence of malnutrition on the continent. However, public sector research, development and policy amelioration efforts supported by a nascent private seed supply sector are now showing progress. Many new, improved, nutrient-dense indigenous and standard vegetable varieties are being released for which small-holder farmers are finding growing markets in both rural and urban settings. If such developments continue favourably for the next decade, it is expected that progress towards a reduction in poverty and malnutrition in Africa will be marked.

Vegetable breeding in Africa: constraints, complexity and contributions toward achieving food and nutritional security

African indigenous vegetables (AIVs) have been part of the food systems in sub-Saharan Africa for generations. The region is a natural habitat for more than 45,000 species of plants, of which about 1,000 can be eaten as green leafy or fruit vegetables that happen to be the mainstay of traditional diets. During the colonial era, adventurers and slavers sailing in Africa introduced exotic plants such as maize, cassava and beans and, later, commercial crops such as sugarcane, cocoa, coffee and cotton, which began contributing more to life. Farmers integrated these crops into their age-old livelihood strategies at the expense of traditional subsistence crops. AIVs were almost entirely neglected and considered ‘poor people's' plants. To reverse the trend, FARM-Africa and its partners reintroduced AIVs which are now forming part of families’ diets as well as becoming a source of income for smallholder farmers in Arumeru, Tanzania and Kiambu, Kenya. AIVs are robust and productive, and thus well suited to feeding...

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.3763/ijas.2010.0561

Mwangi Stanley

Papers

African indigenous vegetable enterprises and market access for small-scale farmers in East Africa