COd Uganda 24775 The Contribution Of Indigenous V Vegetables to Household Food Security 0 z ~ lot of effort has been invested minerals such as iron, calcium, A by the Government of Uganda phosphorus, iodine and fluorine in ' to produce enough food for varying amounts but adequate for Uganda's population and a surplus for normal growth and health. For export. Howvever, the indigenous example, vitamin A which is required z \ j vegetables, often referred to as to prevent blindness especially in traditional vegetables, have been children is found in all dark green underrated in favor of introduced leafy traditional vegetables such as exotic vegetables (Rubaihayo, 1995). Amaranthus (dodo), Solanum Hence, the potential of traditional aethfioum (Nakati), Manihotesculkna vegetables has not been exploited. (cassava leaves) and Ipomea batatas Traditional vegetables are perish- (sweet potato leaves). On the other able, low yielding and their value as hand vegetables like Solanum indicum commercial crops has not been subsp.. distichum (Katunkuma) are N explored. Yet, the majority of local believed to control high blood farmers cannot always produce exotic pressure. The traditional vegetables, vegetables because of the unavailabil- therefore, meet the major protein- ity of seeds and/or high production calorie nutritional needs especially in costs of these vegetables. Unfortu- children, the sick, elderly, expectant No. 44 nately, the resource-poor urban and and lactating mothers (FAO, 1988). May 2002 rural population often find it difficult to purchase exotic vegetables from K -- - - - local markets because of the high IKNotes reports periodically on costs. They therefore, depend on Indigenous Knowledge (IK) initiatives traditional vegetables as a regular in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is published side ish o sauc accopanyig the by the Africa Region's Knowledge and side dish or sauce accompanying the Learning Center as part of an evolving staple foods such as maize, cassava, IK partnership between the WATorld sweet potatoes, banana, millet, Bank, communities, NGOs, develop- 5 ONAL 44~ sorghum and yams ubaihayo, 1994). ment institutions and multilateral The staple foods provide calories organizations. The views expressed in > fiA $ The staple foods provide calories this article are those of the authors MEMPM M. P.M!= needed for body energy but are very and should not be attributed to the S , V t low in other nutrients while the World Bank Group or its partners in traditional vegetables have a very this initiative. A webpage on 1K is %ON A~~~~~~~~~~~~~~D ~~~~available at //wvv%vworldbank.org/afr/ 'ON AND°S high nutritive value. The), contain hik/default htm vitamin A, B, and C, proteins and FIL COPYD 2 Unfortunately, the consumers have not been sensitized to several people from many countries including Uganda, appreciate the role of the traditional vegetables in fulfill- Ethiopia, Kenya. Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Rwvanda, ing the above human needs. Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Senegal, Most of the traditional vegetables are produced through- etc. although there is more focus on the Uganda situation: out the developing world mainly in kitchen and home Kitchen gardens. Kitchen gardens are common in urban gardens. Because of the importance of these gardens, an centers and their suburbs. They are normally made up of international Workshop on Household Garden Projects was very small plots of usually pure stands of traditional held in Bangkok, Thailand in May 1991 to consolidate vegetables as part of the garden of the residence. The lessons learned from experience with household garden vegetables are produced cheaply in these gardens using projects. The workshop analyzed the relevance and effec- compost rather than commercial fertilizers (Midmore et tiveness of household food production as a development al., 1991) intervention, targeted at the most nutritionally and The commonly grown traditional vegetables include economically disadvantaged people and identified viable interalia LeafyAmaranthus species, Basellaalba, implementation strategies of household gardens (Midmore Soklnumaethiopieum, Solanum gilo, Solanum indicum sub et al., 1991). sp distchum, Cqapsium species Colocasiaesculenta, The purpose of this paper is to prompt policy makers and Phaseolus vugaris, Gynendropsis gyrtndra, Vigna development managers to reassess and give more weight to unguiculata, Bidens pilosa, Manihot esculenta, Corchorus the neglected production and consumption of traditional olitoris, Solanum nigrum, Abelmoschum esculenta, vegetables so as to enhance nutrition, income generation Cueurbita maxina, and Acaiypha biparlita. Exotic veg- and food security for small scale households. The views etables such as Brassica oleracea, B. oleracea and Daucus expressed in this paper are a result of interviews with carota are also commonly grown. The yields of some fresh -_____________________________________________ _ -vegetables in Uganda are shown in Table 1. Home gardens. Home gardens are found in villages. The plots are larger than those of kitchen gardens and a K K N o tes number of vegetables and other crops are mixed are mixed would be of interest to: together including fruits, vegetables, medicinal plants, staple foods and shade trees. The home gardens in villages' Name surrounding the suburbs of the urban centers are often planted with cabbages, cauliflower, carrots, Amaranthus Institiition lividus (grown in swamps and water logged soils), Solanuin gilo, Solanum indicum subsp. dischum mostly as monocrops. Address These vegetables are sold in the neighboring urban and their suburbs markets. The contribution of indigenous vegetables to household food security Letters, comments, and requests for publications The home gardens of traditional vegetables in the rural should be addressed to: setting are characterized by intercropping systems and Editor: IK Notes volunteer plants during the rainy seasons. In many develop- Knowledge and Learning Center ing countries, where these gardens predominate, the Africa Region, World Bank contribution of traditional vegetable gardening as a food 1818 H Street, N.W., Room J5-055 production strategy.has been overlooked by policy makers Washington, D.C. 20433 E-mail: pmohan@worldbank.org and extension staff in favor of exotic vegetables which are mainly produced for commercial purposes (Rubaihayo, 1994). Unfortunately, the resource-poor rural households 3 Table 1. Dry matter yields of common vegetables in Uganda critical source of energy and protein, especiallv to wveaning- Crop Yield/ha Reference age children, the sick and elderly. Some of the traditional Cowpea 11.1 Vha. Ocaya, unpubl. vegetables can continue to be productive even during the Cabbage 24 tVha. Jabber, unpubl. dry season although at a reduced rate due to stunted Amaranthus sp. 20 tVha. Rubaihayo, 1994 growth. Habitat destruction and migration to urban areas Solanum aethiopicum 7.5 tVha Rubaihayo, 1994 mean that wvild foods are no longer available to these resource-poor rural farmers. Moreover, the commercializa- tion of agriculture has displaced many indigenous crops do not benefit from the remarkable increase in exotic that used to ensure a balanced rural diet (Rubaihavo, vegetable commercial production due to the costly inputs 1992). of agricultural chemicals needed for their successful It is important to appreciate that traditional vegetables, production. Therefore, it is extremely important to develop especially the leafy ones like Amaranthus, (dodo, Bugga) research and production strategies that directly enable the Solanum aethiopicum (Nakati) etc. can be handy under poorest of the poor to produce not only traditional veg- emergency circumstances and hardships arising out of civil etables but also staple foods. conflicts and natural disorders that result in the displace- Although the contributions from these gardens to family ment of communities. These traditional vegetables come welfare are supplementary in nature, such modest contribu- into production with a short time soon after the onset of tions are very important to those who have very little in, rains and can be harvested in three to four weeks after the rural and urban areas. These poor people often have planting. These leafy vegetables could then be followed by access to only under-utilized marginal land and others have crops like beans which take two to three months as culti- very small pieces of land. Intensive home and kitchen vated relief food, so that purchased foods are a temporary gardening can turn thiiisladiiin-to a poroductive s-ouroe of -or-supplementary measure-(Rubaihayo 1995b). food and economic security by using narrative agricultural Women and traditional vegetables. In Uganda, though practices and the traditional vegetables that are already rural women are responsible for feeding their household, locally adopted. yet they have limited access to resources. Household Importance of traditional vegetables. A large propor- gardening offers women an important means of earning tion of the Ugandan population do not consume adequate income without overtly challenging cultural and social amounts of traditional vegetables to meet their daily restrictions on their activities. Home and kitchen gardens requirement of vitamins, minerals and proteins. Even what can enhance women's purchasing power and food produc- is consumed has a large proportion of these nutrients tion capacity which has a direct impact on household destroyed or lost during preparation and cooking. There is nutrition, health and food security. reduced effectiveness in ensuring food security all year Where traditional vegetables have been commercialized round due to the fact that very few traditional vegetables such as, Malakwang (Hibiscus spp.) Nakati (soklnum are cultivated, with the majority being collected from the aethiopicum), Egobe (vigna unguiculata), Entula (Solanum wild or fields and plantations. In some of the ecosystems gilo), Katunkuma (Solanum indicum subsp. Disticum), they are regarded as weeds and are often weeded out and Doodo (Amaranthus dubious), Bbugga (Amaranthus livicltus) are not available during the dry season (Rubaihayo, 1994). particularly around the city of Kampala and in other urban But this situation can be reversed through concerted efforts areas, it is mainly the men who cultivate them. Middle by the government to educate the general population and men purchase these vegetables from the farmers (men) and extension services to cover traditional vegetables and transport them to the markets, and in the market women increase research to produce improved cultivars, process- buy them and retail them to the general public. The sale of ing, marketing and storage methods. This would lead to traditional vegetables in women-accessible markets do not the increased consumption of traditional vegetables and only provide food security to those with purchasing capacity their contribution to food security will be enhanced. but the trading women are able to educate their children Family gardens are far more common in less well-to-do and, dress and provide their household with essential items households, and constitute the major or the only source of in the home thus avoiding abject poverty. food between harvests or when harvests fail. They provide a 4 Home and kitchen gardens and the environment. References Although there has not been an extensive study of the effects of traditional vegetable gardening on the environ- FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization), 1988. "`Tadi- ment, it is generally believed that household gardens tional Food Plants." FAO Food and Nutrition Paper 42. conform to ecologically sound land management systems. FAO, Rome. Hlousehlold food production uses organic farming practices Goode, P.M. 1989. "Edible plants of Uganda. The value of w,hich arc friendly to the environment. The traditional style wild and cultivated plants as food." FAO Food and Nutri- of hotsehold gardens is also critical in conserving diverse tion Paper 42/1. FAO, Rome. plant genetic resources (Midmore et al., 1991). Midmore, D.J., Vera Nines & Venkataraman, R. 1991. "Household gardening projects in Asia: past experience and future directions." Technical Bulletin No. 19. Asian Conclusion Vegetable Research and Development Center. Rubaihayo, E. B. 1992. "The Diversity and potential use of Traditional vegetables are a common household food and Local Vegetables in Uganda." Pages 109-114. In: The mna.ke a substantial, though rarely appreciated contribution First National Plant Genetic Resources Workshop: Conser- to the food security of the rural people in many African vation and Utilization. countries. Therefore, extensive education about their Rubaihayo, E. B. 1994. "Indigenous vegetables of Uganda." importance as a nutritionally balanced food and as a direct African Crop Science Conference Proceedings 1, 120- and indirect source of income, particularly for the resource- 124. poor families, must be undertaken byAfrican governments. Rubaihayo, E. B. 1996b "Conservation and use of tradi- tional vegetables in Uganda." In: Proceedings on Genetic Resources of Traditional Vegetables in Africa: Optionfor Conservation and Use, 29-31 August 1995, ICRAF Kenya (in press). This articlewaswritten byE.B. Rubaihayo, KawandaAgricultural Research Institute, PO. Box7065, Kampala, and was first published in the African Crop Science Journal, Africa Crop Science Conference Proceedings, Vol. 3, pp. 1337-1340. The present version has been lightly-edited and excludes the text of the abstract in English and French.