Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Apr 24;12(8):3493.
doi: 10.3390/su12083493. eCollection 2020 Apr 2.

A Review of Indigenous Food Crops in Africa and the Implications for more Sustainable and Healthy Food Systems

Racheal Akinola  1 , Laura Maureen Pereira  2   3   4 , Tafadzwanashe Mabhaudhi  5 , Francia-Marié de Bruin  4   6 , Loubie Rusch  7
Affiliations

A Review of Indigenous Food Crops in Africa and the Implications for more Sustainable and Healthy Food Systems

Racheal Akinola et al. Sustainability. .

Abstract

Indigenous and traditional foods crops (ITFCs) have multiple uses within society, and most notably have an important role to play in the attempt to diversify the food in order to enhance food and nutrition security. However, research suggests that the benefits and value of indigenous foods within the South African and the African context have not been fully understood and synthesized. Their potential value to the African food system could be enhanced if their benefits were explored more comprehensively. This synthesis presents a literature review relating to underutilized indigenous crop species and foods in Africa. It organizes the findings into four main contributions, nutritional, environmental, economic, and social-cultural, in line with key themes of a sustainable food system framework. It also goes on to unpack the benefits and challenges associated with ITFCs under these themes. A major obstacle is that people are not valuing indigenous foods and the potential benefit that can be derived from using them is thus neglected. Furthermore, knowledge is being lost from one generation to the next, with potentially dire implications for long-term sustainable food security. The results show the need to recognize and enable indigenous foods as a key resource in ensuring healthy food systems in the African continent.

Keywords: ITFC; economic; environment; food system; nutrition; social-cultural.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: “The authors declare no conflict of interest.”

References

    1. Turner NJ, Turner KL. Traditional Food Systems, Erosion and Renewal in Northwestern North America. Indiana J Tradit Knowl. 2007;6(1):57–68.
    1. Bvenura C, Afolayan AJ. The Role of Wild Vegetables in Household Food Security in South Africa: A Review. Food Res Int. 2015;76:1001–1011. doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2015.06.013. - DOI
    1. Demi SM. African Indigenous Food Crops: Their Roles in Combatting Chronic Diseases in Ghana. University of Toronto, ON, Canada: 2014.
    1. Ineke V, Rensburg HJJVan, J.J.B VZ, Venter SL. Re-Creating Awareness of Traditional Leafy Vegetables in Communities. Africa J Food Agric Nutr Dev. 2007;7(4):1–3.
    1. Vorster HJ, Stevens JB, Steyn GJ. Production Systems of Traditional Leafy Vegetables: Challenges for Research and Extension. S Afr J Agric Ext. 2008;37:85–96.

LinkOut - more resources