‘Lost crops’ — a solution for opposing droughts in Southern Africa?
An article by Lulu Brenda Harris
Villagers at St Anna in Maphisa, Matobo District have pinned their hopes on growing ‘lost crops’ to defeat drought.
Matobo is located in Matabeleland South, the driest province in Zimbabwe. It’s classified under Region 5, receiving less than 650 millimetres of rain on average annually, with uneven distribution. Indigenous crops such as amaranth, millet, sorghum and raphoko, as well as other small grains, are known as ‘lost crops’ that grow well in dry areas.
“Besides being quite resistant to droughts, these small grains also offer a number of impressive health benefits. Amaranth, for example, releases iron, manganese, magnesium and phosphorus,” said Maphisa District Nutritionist, Isiah Sibanda.
Poor yields and recurring drought have forced St Anna farmers to focus their energies on growing a variety of lost crops. These were cultivated extensively in the past but were later overtaken by hybrid crops. But they are now making a comeback due to little or no rainfall caused by climate change. Sibanda said the district’s nutritionist office was prioritising the growth of Neglected Underutilised Species (NUS), a group of indigenous crops.
The problem with society, the nutritionist says, is their attitude to traditional foods, as locals shun indigenous products yet become sick. “Take okra, for instance: it grows naturally and is a good source of iodine, but people don’t eat it. Yet Zimbabwe started fortifying food products with iodine in 1982.”
Most of the farmers at St Anna are women who have become self-sufficient due to improved harvests. These women proudly showcased their produce for this year’s farming season at the 2019 Seed and Traditional Food Fair held recently at St Anna. Running under the theme: Promoting lost crop varieties and traditional foods, women concurred lost crops had improved their harvests.
The 2019 Seed and Traditional Food Fair was organised by Dabane Trust, which works with rural communities in the semi-arid areas of Zimbabwe to develop simple, appropriate and sustainable water abstraction and food production systems. Dabane Trust was supported by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and the Agricultural Technical and Extension Services AGRITEX.
Amanda Ncube (54) from Sihayi Village said planting indigenous crops had turned out to be a worthwhile investment for her family.
“Crops such as sorghum have multiple uses in a household, from food for consumption to using it as animal feed,” she said. Ncube also grows a variety of nuts such as izambane elimhlophe (white nuts) and congo (brown nuts).
“It is from these crops that I have managed to take care and feed my family including my seven grandchildren,” she said. The St Anna community is also a proud owner of a seed bank, where they store a variety of seeds in order to preserve indigenous crops and improve on post-harvest storage.
Project officer from Dabane Trust, Shepherd Moyo, said it was pleasing that St Anna community had easily adopted the use of indigenous crops as the area only received rainfall three times this year.
“In such dryness, these crops produce more yields than hybrids. I am also pleased to note that the community has a seed bank to store supplies. At the end of the day we know families here will not starve but eat nutritious meals,” he noted.
Sibikwaphi Lorraine Sibanda (44), another female farmer, confirmed that conservation agriculture was good for agronomic management practices, especially planting drought-tolerant crops and its adapted varieties.
“If you prioritise your crops, you are guaranteed a better yield. The work is strenuous but at the end of the day, one has more to feed on.”
Representatives from the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Settlement’s National Gene Bank, which tests farming seeds and certifies them before distribution to farmers across the country, were also present at the seed fair. Research Technician Esnath Chisveto said the Gene Bank’s mandate was to preserve indigenous crops and conduct farmer training programmes.
“We trained farmers at St Anna two years ago and we are proud to see positive results. Our facility has a lot of crop varieties so I urge farmers to submit requests for indigenous crops they need to multiply their growth in farms,” she noted.
In the same vein, the research technician also encouraged the community to back up whatever crop variety they had, as the National Gene Bank will also send samples to the regional SADC bank in Zambia, which would then send samples to the World Gene Bank. As climate change continues to threaten Sub-Saharan Africa, grassroots communities bear the brunt of disrupted rainfall patterns.
The Food Agricultural Organisation (FAO) says Southern Africa has experienced dented maize production, pushing up demand for cereal. Forecasts for the world cereal production in 2019 stands at 2 685 million tonnes.
Lulu Brenda Harris is a professional Zimbabwean journalist based in Bulawayo. Her focus is on sustainability, developmental issues and hard news.
Subscribe to The Beam Magazine to read more on the subject.
