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In East Africa, Esther Karanja explains how opportunities for women have opened up following the introduction of low cost, easy to grow fodder trees for cattle feed, boosting milk yields and increasing household incomes by US$30-120 annually.

The World Vegetable Centre in Tanzania carries out a variety of activities to increase the cultivation of indigenous food crops. These include the development of new and improved varieties and training for farmers in cultivation and processing. While visiting the Centre?s experimental plots, Laza...

Judith Kimiywe, a nutritionist from Kenyatta University, believes that traditional vegetables are an ideal solution for the micronutrient deficiencies that are a common cause of poor health. Leafy vegetables like spider weed, sweet potato and cassava leaves, and other food plants picked from the ...

Four scientists working in Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda and Sri Lanka comment on why they believe many indigenous African crops became neglected and forgotten. This may have been because they were difficult to process, or because of the promotion of exotic species. With new technologies, processing pro...

The baobab tree has been used by man as a source of food and other materials for tens of thousands of years. In some parts of Africa, such as northern Ghana, the leaves, seeds and fruit pulp are a vitamin rich supplement to diets, particularly during the hungry season. The roots are also valued f...

Every country has its national treasures. In this interview, Jackie Hughes of the World Vegetable Centre highlights the value of some food plant species, which she believes are treasures, but which have been neglected. These include plants such as amaranth, which can grow in marginal areas but wh...

Amaranth is widely regarded as an unwanted and stubborn weed, food for the poor during hungry periods. It is, however, a highly nutritious and tasty plant. Recently, the Kenya Seed Company has released an improved variety of amaranth which matures in just 2-3 months, has a long harvesting period ...

In Kenya, Margaret Wambugu explains how Kenya's small scale milk vendors have improved handling and hygiene of milk, raised their profit margins and increased milk supplies to consumers at home or in milk bars. This progress in the milk supply chain contributes US$33 million annually to the Kenya...