60% of Africa's Food is Based on Wheat, Rice and Maize—the Continent's Crop Treasure Trove is Being Neglected

By Tafadzwanashe Mabhaudhi

African countries have become reliant on a few food items. Just 20 plant species now provide 90% of our food, with three—wheat, maize, and rice—accounting for 60% of all calories consumed on the continent and globally. This deprives the continent of diverse food sources at the very time when research has found massive food and nutrition insecurity in Africa.

By 2020, about 20% of the continent's population (281.6 million) faced hunger. This figure is likely to have increased, given the impacts of successive droughts, floods, and COVID-19.

Yet historically, Africa had 30,000 edible plant species, and 7,000 were traditionally cultivated or foraged for food. The continent is a treasure trove of agrobiodiversity (a diversity of types of crops and animals), and its countries could easily feed themselves.

As society and agriculture evolved, many foods that defined diets and sense of self on the continent were lost. Many of these now occupy the status of neglected and underutilized crop species. Knowledge of their production is slowly fading away.

We reviewed studies and policies related to wild food plants, nutrition, and justice and found that many underutilized but nutritious and hardy crop species that could be grown to end hunger in Africa. These included Bambara groundnut, cowpea, pigeon pea, millet, sorghum and African leafy vegetables such as amaranth and wild mustard.

Our findings identify nutritious crops that can tolerate heat and drought and could be planted by smallholders on land that is unsuitable for mass monoculture.

But, for this to happen, policy changes are needed. Governments should encourage their production and consumption through incentives. Campaigns are needed to build awareness and education about the health and environmental benefits of the crops and to dispel the social stigma that they are only eaten by poor people.

Climate change is already affecting yields through recurrent floods and droughts, worsening hunger on the continent. Mainstreaming neglected and underutilized crop species could boost agrobiodiversity on the continent and improve plant resilience in times of climate change. However, this requires giving these crop species equal status with major crops by stimulating their production by smallholder farmers.

Governments also need to support and fund research into the development of the crops. Campaigns are needed to build awareness and education about their health and environmental benefits.

Research shows that smallholder agriculture in Africa is a vehicle through which poverty reduction and rural development can be achieved. Recent research into crop and dietary diversity, smallholder farming and malnutrition in South Africa found that smallholder farmers who grow a wider range of crops have a more diverse diet. They also make better sales in local markets and use the profits to buy a wider range of food.

The research also found that, if supported with training, market, and credit access, smallholder farmers could contribute to the dietary diversity of communities. This also translates to improved income for rural households and creates employment. Growing underutilized crops can promote pathways out of poverty.

Another potential positive outcome could be the empowerment of women. Women are mainly responsible for producing and conserving neglected and underutilized crop species.