Cape Town — When a food crisis hits the continent, African countries tend to look to the international donor community to mobilise aid. But a fast-growing, drought- resistant tree with extremely nutritious leaves could help poor, arid nations to fight food insecurity and malnutrition on their own.

A 15-hectare plantation of the “miracle tree” with the botanical name Moringa oleifera has already started to make a positive change in the rural village of Tooseng, which is located in one of South Africa’s poorest provinces, Limpopo.

Moringa leaves are dubbed a “super food” because scientists found that they contain the calcium equivalent of four glasses of milk, the vitamin C content of seven oranges, the potassium of three bananas, three times the amount of iron found in spinach, four times the amount of vitamin A found in a carrot and twice the amount of protein in milk. It is like a supermarket on a tree.

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Malawi is one of the world’s top producers of macademia nuts, but the crop does not make it into the top five of the country’s exports in terms of revenue generated. Topping the bill currently are tobacco, sugar, tea and cotton.

The country faces a currency shortage at present and is putting into place plans to take advantage of its position as a producer of macademias, ranking alongside Australia and South Africa.

Industry and Trade Minister, John Bande said that the government wants to capitalise on macademia production to turn the country’s economic fortunes. “This is in view of the contribution the crop can make to import-substitution as well as generation of foreign exchange.

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Funds worth $2 million, in the shape of two $1 million grants, have been provided by the US Agency for International Development to the Horticulture Collaborative Research Support Programme. The funds are intended to provide support for small farm operators in Africa and parts of Asia.

The first grant is anticipated to aid seed related research of indigenous African vegetables. Amongst the goals of the project is the improvement of seed quality for farmers with limited resources with the development of affordable preservation methods for seeds in the face of high temperature and humidity, such as the use of desiccant drying beads.

The second grant was awarded to a team of researchers led by Stephen Weller of Purdue University. That project is focused on improving African indigenous vegetable systems in Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia. The plan is to improve the health and wealth of smallholder farmers by improving production, marketing, supply and customer demand of produce.

Source: www.news.ucdavis.edu

Kampala, Uganda — The Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA) has advised that food insecurity and the critical issues affecting the agricultural sector can be addressed through enhanced sustainable use of resources and regional collaboration.

“We should come up with science based, social and policy solutions through a forum for developing a shared vision and shared goals to enhance sustainable agriculture,” ASARECA Executive Director, Dr. Seyfu Ketema advised.

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AFRICA – The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is urging swift action to tackle a cassava virus that is affecting large parts of East Africa and threatening a staple food crop for much of the region.

From the first reports of cassava brown streak disease (CBSD) in 1936 in East Africa, it took 65 years before the causal agent was identified as Cassava brown streak virus (CBSV) in 2001. The discovery, by researchers in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Bristol, in collaboration with the Natural Resources Institute in Kent, was led by Professor Gary Foster and was one of a number of themes carried out within his group during his time as a BBSRC Advanced Research Fellow.

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