Traditional vegetables: improvement and development in sub-Saharan Africa at AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center

Dinssa, Fekadu F.; Stoilova, T.; Nenguwo, N.; Aloyce, A.; Tenkouano, A.; Hanson, Peter; Hughes, J. d’A.; Keatinge, J. D. H.

doi:10.17660/actahortic.2015.1102.2

Cited by 19 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…The Water Research Commission of South Africa, the Department of Science and Technology, and the Agriculture Research Council are among the research bodies providing funding support for the upscaling of ALVs in South Africa [18]. Tanzania also recorded many reports in this study, mainly because of the World Vegetable Centre, which has its regional office in the country [25]. One of the mandates of the World Vegetable Centre is the improvement and promotion of traditional African vegetables.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…Breeding Loss of biodiversity in Amaranthus, cucurbits and Plectranthus esculentus [20] Genetic diversity in ALVs is yet to be explored [21] A weak linkage exists among the value chain actors [22] Rediscovery of an African vegetable Plectranthus esculentus [23] ALV breeding strategy should involve pre-breeding, crossing, and participatory variety selections [24] The paper identifies gene-banks for breeding lines and improved ALV cultivars [25] There is wide phenotypic diversity conserved within Amaranthus species [26] Considerable germplasm for pre-breeding exists for a wide range of ALV species [27] The Agricultural Research Council of South Africa is a major ALV gene-bank in the region [28] farmers prefer Brassica juncea and Brassica rapa varieties with delayed flowering and drought tolerance [29] There is considerable genetic diversity within ALV species [30] Yield and taste are the most preferred traits for Amaranthus and Vigna unguiculata [31] Seeds of ALVs should be stored at 4 [±2]…”

Section: Production Component Conclusion Authormentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Another study reports a loss of biodiversity in Amaranthus, cucurbits, and Plectranthus esculentus. However, the World Vegetable Centre in Tanzania [25] and the Agriculture Research Centre in South Africa [28] are two major gene banks with extensive ALV accession collections useful for cultivar development. One study suggests that ALV cultivars' improvement should involve pre-breeding, crossing, and participatory variety selections [24].…”

Section: Production Component Conclusion Authormentioning

confidence: 99%

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African Leafy Vegetables for Improved Human Nutrition and Food System Resilience in Southern Africa: A Scoping Review

et al. 2021

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The economic potential of African leafy vegetables (ALVs) remains obscured by a poorly developed value chain. This scoping review assembled and examined scattered knowledge generated on ALVs across southern Africa, focusing on production, processing, marketing, and consumption. Two electronic databases (Scopus and Web of Science) were screened, and a total of 71 relevant studies were included and evaluated. The review provides a state of the art on knowledge related to utilisation of ALVs across the entire value chain. The findings show that functional properties are of prime importance in the production and consumption of ALVs. However, the lack of improved germplasm and a non-existent seed supply system are significant production bottlenecks. Pests and diseases affecting the productivity of ALVs remain mostly unexplored. Sun-drying and boiling were the most reported post-harvest processing methods, suggesting that traditional processing methods are still prominent. Many studies also confirmed the predominance of informal markets in the trading of ALVs as they fail to penetrate formal markets because of poor product positioning and exclusion from produce demand and supply forecasts. The inception of cultivar development, mechanised processing methods, and market linkages will enhance the profitability of ALVs in the region. This review enhances the gaining of insight into the state of different value chain components will assist in upscaling production, value addition of products, and enhance marketing efficiency. There is a great opportunity for basic and applied research into ALVs.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Section: Production Component Conclusion Authormentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Production Component Conclusion Authormentioning

confidence: 99%

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African Leafy Vegetables for Improved Human Nutrition and Food System Resilience in Southern Africa: A Scoping Review

et al. 2021

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“…Research on TAV and especially on the development of viable seed systems has received little attention (Afari-Sefa et al, 2013;Dinssa et al, 2015), exemplified by the limited number of studies relevant to be included in this review. Within Eastern Africa, Kenya and Tanzania are predominant in the development of TAV seed systems, for two main reasons: Project interventions like the Good Seed Initiative funded by Irish Aid through CABI (Kansiime et al, , 2018Rajendran et al, 2016), and the Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) to ASARECA (Kimenye, 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seed Systems of Traditional African Vegetables in Eastern Africa: A Systematic Review

Ayenan¹,

Aglinglo²,

Zohoungbogbo³

et al. 2021

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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Traditional African Vegetables (TAV) play an important role in the livelihoods, food and nutritional security of local populations. Access to high-quality seeds of improved varieties is a foundation for increasing crop productivity. TAV seed systems have received little attention. We systematically reviewed the literature to assess the sustainability (seed quality, availability, accessibility, affordability, and profitability of seed businesses) of TAV seed systems in Eastern Africa. The review revealed that the private sector mediated seed system (i.e., formal) offered higher potential for seed quality, and profitability for seed growers. The community-based seed system showed higher potential in ensuring a better access to seeds. The quality of TAV seeds was partially addressed in the studies with a focus on germination percentage and purity, which varied across systems, crops, and geography. While there was a trend of poorer seed quality in the informal system, seed quality in the formal and community-based systems was not necessarily better. The affordability of seed from the various systems (private sector mediated, community based and informal) needs further investigation. Because TAV seed systems are localized and differ significantly among and within countries, tailored interventions are required when promoting a given TAV seed system. We identified inter-regional gaps in TAV seed systems studies, with all the studies concentrated in Eastern Africa, mainly in Tanzania and Kenya. Filling these gaps will require more investment in other regions in sub-Saharan Africa to document existing initiatives or initiate interventions seeking to promote access to high-quality TAV seeds. This review sheds light on existing gaps in research on TAV seed systems to guide future interventions.

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“…26 Diversity of vegetables in food systems and in diets should be assessed therefore, just as dietary diversity across food groups is recommended in quantitative metrics studying diets more generally. 27,28 One clear category of vegetables that was studied in 15% of articles was traditional or indigenous vegetables, many of which are wild or semi-wild plants that are used in traditional cuisine but less likely to be commercial commodities 29 as opposed to "exotic" vegetables that are the focus of major global breeding initiatives. 30 In general, we know a lot about a small fraction of vegetables in the world, and very little about the rest, 31 and our review makes clear that these are neglected in food systems research for healthy diets too, even though increasingly there is global recognition of the importance of these in food and nutrition security.…”

Section: Summary Findingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vegetables for Healthy Diets in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Scoping Review of the Food Systems Literature

et al. 2022

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Background: Vegetables are an essential element in healthy diets, but intakes are low around the world and there is a lack of systematic knowledge on how to improve diets through food system approaches. Methods: This scoping review assessed how studies of food systems for healthy diets have addressed the role of vegetables in low- and middle-income countries. We apply the PRISMA guidelines for scoping reviews to narratively map the literature to an accepted food systems framework and identify research gaps. Results: We found 1383 relevant articles, with increasing numbers over 20 years. Only 6% of articles looked at low-income countries, and 93% looked at single-country contexts. Over half of articles assessed vegetables as a food group, without looking at diversity within the food group. 15% looked at traditional vegetables. Issues of physical access to food were among the least studied food system topics in our review (7% of articles). Only 15% of articles used a comprehensive food system lens across multiple dimensions. There is also a research gap on the impacts of different policy and practice interventions (13% of articles) to enable greater vegetable consumption. Conclusions: Food system studies necessarily drew on multiple disciplines, methods and metrics to describe, analyze, and diagnose parts of the system. More work is needed across disciplines, across contexts, and across the food system, including understanding interventions and trade-offs, and impacts and change for diets particularly of marginalized population groups. Filling these gaps in knowledge is necessary in order to work toward healthy vegetable-rich diets for everyone everywhere.

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Traditional vegetables: improvement and development in sub-Saharan Africa at AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center

Cited by 19 publications

References 3 publications

African Leafy Vegetables for Improved Human Nutrition and Food System Resilience in Southern Africa: A Scoping Review

African Leafy Vegetables for Improved Human Nutrition and Food System Resilience in Southern Africa: A Scoping Review

Seed Systems of Traditional African Vegetables in Eastern Africa: A Systematic Review

Vegetables for Healthy Diets in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Scoping Review of the Food Systems Literature

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