Crossposted from the Worldwatch Institute's Nourishing the Planet.
You may not have heard of fonio, but it is Africa’s oldest cereal. For the Dogon people of Mali, fonio is "the seed of the universe" – an appropriate name considering its high nutritional value, and adaptability to the region’s soil and climate. From Lake Chad to the savannah regions of Senegal and Guinea, fonio is an important source of food for some 4 million people across West Africa.
Crossposted from the Worldwatch Institute's Nourishing the Planet.
Monkey oranges have all the characteristics of a successful crop–high productivity, high prices, extended shelf life, pest resistance, delicious flavor, and high demand. But , the fruit remains undomesticated and has rarely undergone organized cultivation.
Crossposted from the Worldwatch Institute's Nourishing the Planet.
Sorghum is Africa’s contribution to the world’s major food crops, with only rice, wheat, maize, and potatoes playing a larger role. Collectively, these five crops provide over 85 percent of all human energy. Sorghum was eaten in Egypt 4,000 years ago, and today is Africa’s second most important cereal. Ethiopia is the center of the crop’s diversity and sorghum is still an important staple food for most of the Horn of Africa. It has long been a staple food in South Asia,brought by traders as many as 20 centuries ago.
Crossposted from the Worldwatch Institute's Nourishing the Planet.
Egusi, a wild member of the gourd family, has the potential to spread its popularity on the global market nearly as quickly as it grows. Native to parts of Western Africa, this peculiar looking plant can grow just about anywhere, from humid gullies, to dry savannahs, to tropical highlands --making it possible source of food for farmers in even the worst conditions.
Crossposted from the Worldwatch Institute's Nourishing the Planet.
Though rarely consumed in the West, millet is a staple grain for much of the world’s population, particularly in South Asia and East Africa, and has been cultivated for thousands of years. The African native variety, finger millet, likely originated from the highlands of Ethiopia and Uganda and is one of the most nutritious all of the world’s major cereal crops. It can be used to make porridge, bread, malt, animal feed, popped millet (like popcorn), Ethiopian liquor called arake, and even beer.