African indigenous vegetable enterprises and market access for small-scale farmers in East Africa

Abstract

African indigenous vegetables (AIVs) have been part of the food systems in sub-Saharan Africa for generations. The region is a natural habitat for more than 45,000 species of plants, of which about 1,000 can be eaten as green leafy or fruit vegetables that happen to be the mainstay of traditional diets. During the colonial era, adventurers and slavers sailing in Africa introduced exotic plants such as maize, cassava and beans and, later, commercial crops such as sugarcane, cocoa, coffee and cotton, which began contributing more to life. Farmers integrated these crops into their age-old livelihood strategies at the expense of traditional subsistence crops. AIVs were almost entirely neglected and considered 'poor people's' plants. To reverse the trend, FARM-Africa and its partners reintroduced AIVs which are now forming part of families' diets as well as becoming a source of income for smallholder farmers in Arumeru, Tanzania and Kiambu, Kenya. AIVs are robust and productive, and thus well suited to feeding the hungriest and most vulnerable sections of society.

Consumer Demand for Value-added Products of African Indigenous Vegetables in Coastal Kenya: The Case of Sun-dried and Frozen Cowpea Leaves

“…The challenges of maintaining the participation of poor smallholder farmers in horticultural export value chains are leading to an increased emphasis in development work on domestic horticulture, including some work on African indigenous vegetables (AIVs) (Abukusta-Onyango, 2003) that until recently were neglected by policy-makers and treated as "poor women's subsistence crops," a low-value nontradable commodity, and a crop for the poor that merited no attention (Muhanji, Roothaert, Webo & Mwangi, 2011). As the value of these crops becomes more recognized, three additional factors are contributing to the increased interest in AIVs.…”

Sustainable intensification in African agriculture

“…One FarmAfrica project in Kenya and Tanzania is focusing on the revival and extension of indigenous vegetables on small beds (Muhanji et al, 2011). With 500 small farmers organized into 20 groups, and on average 20 beds cultivated per farmer (0.05-0.1ha), farmers have been able to obtain greater returns from markets as well as use 50 per cent less fertilizer and 30 per cent less pesticide than for conventionally grown vegetables.…”

“…The success of the spread of indigenous vegetable cultivation (such as African nightshade, okra, amaranths, spider plant and eggplants) on raised beds in Kenya and Tanzania has been because of a focus on both crop management and markets where consumer demand for vegetables is high (Muhanji et al, 2011). The several hundred farmers involved in vegetable cultivation have tripled their area of cultivation in response to sales and demand.…”

Consumption intensity of leafy African indigenous vegetables: towards enhancing nutritional security in rural and urban dwellers in Kenya

“…Their expansion in production, marketing, and consumption could be attributed to increasing consumer awareness about their health and nutritional benefits (Schippers 2000). High marketing returns have motivated commercialization of AIVs by small-scale farmers, who produce and supply them either individually or collectively in groups (Ngugi et al 2007;Muhanji et al 2011;Weinberger et al 2011). Currently, most food retail outlets sell AIV leaves, and their availability and diversity in high-valued retail outlets such as supermarkets have further induced their consumption in urban areas (Ngugi et al 2007;Irungu et al 2008).…”