The Save Our Soul Sahel’s Africa Days Forum, held on June 27th and 28th, 2024 in Senegal, focused on the theme "Lost Crops, New Opportunities: Securing Our Future with the Crops of the Past." The forum introduced innovative strategies to address this pressing issue, as emphasized in an official statement.
Over the past three decades, Africa has witnessed a doubling of its population, yet food production has not kept pace with global averages. Despite this challenge, Africa possesses 65% of the world's arable uncultivated land and diverse agricultural environments rich in biodiversity, offering substantial potential for sustainable food systems. Indigenous African communities have historically relied on local crops for food, medicine, and cultural practices. However, these traditional crops are increasingly being supplanted by industrial agriculture staples such as maize, rice, and wheat, leading to reduced dietary diversity and the neglect of lesser-known crops, often termed "orphan crops."
An "orphan crop," also known as a "lost," "neglected," or "forgotten crop," plays a critical role in ensuring food security, nutrition, and livelihoods in specific regions, yet it often receives inadequate attention in global agricultural research, development, and policy arenas. Crops like millets and sorghum thrive in marginal lands with minimal inputs, demonstrating high adaptability and resilience.
Millets gained recognition as "The Year of the Millet" by the United Nations in 2023, highlighting their "Super Food" status due to exceptional nutritional content and efficient water usage and growth cycles compared to other grains. Despite these advantages, millets and similar crops continue to be overlooked due to a weak value chain that primarily supports established ecosystems for traditional wheat and grain-based products, from farm production to supermarket distribution.
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