Rediscovering Indigenous Crops

Abstract. The Centre for Transformative Agricultural and Food Systems (CTAFS) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) in South Africa was established to contribute to building resilient, sustainable, and healthy food systems through transdisciplinary research. This mission derives from the realization that food and nutrition security is a complex and multi-faceted challenge, and tackling it calls for collaborative and transdisciplinary approaches. Through programs such as the Sustainable and Healthy Food Systems (SHEFS) and funding from the Water Research Commission (WRC) of South Africa, we conduct transdisciplinary research for informing policy. Sub-Saharan Africa faces a double burden of malnutrition, as both undernutrition and overnutrition, which poses a serious public health concern. People in rural and peri-urban areas are most affected. A major factor contributing to malnutrition is household food insecurity. Compared to other regions, sub-Saharan Africa has the highest incidence of moderate (30%) and severe (20%) food insecurity. In South Africa, although there has been a decline in the number of people with inadequate access to food, malnutrition remains problematic, with 21.3% of households lacking access to nutritious food. Many households cannot afford healthy diets; instead, their diets are predominately starch-based and lack essential nutrients. A food basket comprising 28 basic nutritious items costs approximately USD $50 per month, which is unaffordable to many. If nutritious foods are unaffordable, how can we provide a diversified diet, and what alternatives exist? A possible answer lies in underused indigenous crops, which historically underpinned dietary diversity. Such crops have potential to improve nutrition by providing affordable alternatives to monotonous diets. However, due to westernization, these traditional crops have been neglected, despite their nutrient contents. Communities now see them as poor people‘s food and shun them.