ABSTRACT
African indigenous vegetables (AIVs) have been collected from the wild and as ‘weeds’ in agricultural and disturbed spaces for millennia (Jansen van Rensburg et al, 2007). As such, they are a significant component of the diet of households throughout sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) (FAO, 1988; Grubben and Denton, 2004). Hundreds, if not thousands, of species are used (see Chapter 3), many as daily components of the diet. For example, Vainio-Mattila (2000) found that the Sambaa people in Tanzania consume 73 species of wild plant foods, most of which are ruderals growing by the roadsides or in arable lands. Ogle and Grivetti (1985a) identified more than 200 wild edible species used by the Swazi of Swaziland, most of which were collected on a daily basis, by women, just before the preparation of meals. These were sourced from agricultural fields (56 per cent) as well as from other disturbed environments that include ‘near home’ (18 per cent), cattle or goat kraals (2 per cent), or from household gardens (1 per cent). Many others are used less frequently, and some only in times of drought or as famine foods (e.g. Zinyama et al, 1990). Regardless, there is little doubt that these species and varieties are extremely important for food security, nutrition, culture and poverty alleviation throughout Africa. Some species have a wide distribution (e.g. Amaranthus spp., Solanum spp. and Cleome spp., to mention a few) and are used wherever they are found; other species or varieties are extremely localized and are hardly
known by anyone other than the few communities who make use of them (see Chapter 3). Collectively, they represent an immense store of species and genetic diversity. However, this resource is under threat due to changing lifestyles, land transformation and inadequate knowledge by scientific and conservation communities. This is also a consequence of the fact that the number of species and varieties involved is large, and many are used only locally.
