Local Food Crops in Africa: Sustainable Utilization, Threats, and Traditional Storage Strategies

Abstract

In Africa, local foods produced from local food crops have social, economic, cultural, religious, moral, spiritual, symbolic, ethical, environmental, psychological, physiological, ethical, and intrinsic values and continue to evolve with indigenous systems. Local food crops include many orphan or minor crops that are indigenous or naturalized and invariably grown as well as wild edible plants that likely evolved with the hunter–gatherer–forager civilization of the Stone Ages and are as old as human prehistory. This chapter aims to discuss the diversity, distribution, and classification of local food crops in Africa as well as their utilization patterns, threats, and traditional storage strategies. Sesamum radiatum, Hibiscus sabdariffa, Vangueria infausta, Carissa macrocarpa, Tulbachia violacea, Eragrostis abyssinica, Oryza glaberrima, Eleusine coracana, Cenchrus biflorus, Echinochloa stagnina, Vigna unguiculata, V. subterranean, Detarium senegalesis, Tylosema esculentum, Parkia biglobosa, Allanblackia stuhlmannii, Dissotis rotundifolia, Coleonema pulchellum, Oxalis pes-caprae, and Agathosma apiclata are some examples of local food crops in Africa. These local food crops can be separated into several economic food crop categories based on their dominant utilization mode. The distribution of local food crops may be determined by the extent of human influence, for instance, either ex situ or circum situ (circa situm) in the case of minor or orphan crops (underutilized and neglected food crops), where they are held in human-managed agroecosystems or driven by in situ (and quasi in situ) considerations as in the case of wild edible plant species, wherein they are found in natural and or semi-natural environments without humans purposely managing their cultivation and growth. The mission of local food crop sustainability is to produce safe and quality food in sufficient quantity to meet the current needs of the human population in a locale without adversely altering the capacity of the environment and food systems to meet future needs. Some factors that contribute to the sustainable utilization of local food crops are humans and other biotic components and abiotic factors such as fertile land, water, soil amendments, and stable environment and energy source. Others are market systems, economic state, and connected emergent systems. Derivable benefits from local food crops in Africa include food, nutrition, and health, (agro)biodiversity and ecological, socio-cultural, and intrinsic and economic benefits. Traditional cribs and barns, pits or underground storage units, wrapping with other plants material, exposure to sunlight, drying on a bare floor, holding in baskets or trays, adding ground plant materials, bagging or sacking, wrapping with clothes, use of wooden shelf, and warehousing are some traditional storage strategies for local food crops. There is a need to promote the adoption, expansion, regular evaluation, breeding of improved varieties, and sustainable policies, production, and marketing strategies of Africa’s local food crops.