Africa’s Forgotten Crops: Reviving Indigenous Foods for Modern Markets
Indigenous crops are edible plants that have naturally evolved and are native to a specific region or country, often forming the basis of traditional diets and food systems in the area. These crops are essential for food security and nutrition often serve as a symbol of heritage, trademark, and culture. They include a variety of fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, and roots.
Indigenous crops are an important part of the local diet as they tend to be very nutritious, more so than some introduced and perhaps more popular plants. Secondly, they are well adapted to the regions they originate from, able to resist pests and diseases and grow in difficult climatic conditions. Their adaptability to local climate and resilience on traditional agroecological practices like intercropping and agroforestry reduces the need for chemical inputs, promotes agrobiodiversity and resource efficiency thus giving these crops a sustainability advantage. Finally, these crops provide diversity and hence contribute to food and nutrition security.
While these crops are important, they are often marginalized in mainstream agriculture due to associations with poverty or low social status, poor documentation of their benefits, colonial and post-colonial emphasis on cash crops like maize, wheat and rice and, a consumption shift toward more processed, non-native foods. Despite the diverse basket of nutrient rich indigenous crops, rice, maize and wheat continue to supply about 50% of all calories consumed globally[1]. This has led to a decline in agricultural yields in marginal areas where hunger, malnutrition and poverty continue to rise.
Indigenous and traditional crops hold untapped potential for addressing nutrition, sustainability, and economic opportunity in Africa. This is because, unlike modern farming which focuses on a narrow set of crops, indigenous crops sustain the natural resource base rather than depleting it thus making it more likely to achieve sustainable food systems. There is, however, a significant risk of the erosion of knowledge surrounding indigenous and traditional food crops. This calls for rapid response in creating collaborations and partnerships with these communities to identify the diverse crop species, their uses and benefits.
Africa’s underutilized indigenous crops offer exceptional nutritional benefits that make them powerful tools in the fight against malnutrition and diet-related diseases. Unlike many refined staples, indigenous crops are rich in essential micronutrients, dietary fibre, proteins, and antioxidants. Sorghum and millet, for instance, are naturally gluten-free and provide high levels of iron, zinc, B-vitamins and contain antimicrobial, anticancer, and anti-inflammatory properties. Additionally, millet has a low glycemic index, making it suitable for people with diabetes and ideal for diversifying carbohydrate sources in African diets[2].
Teff, native to Ethiopia, stands out as a super grain—high in calcium, iron, protein, and resistant starch, which supports gut health and lowers cholesterol levels. Consumption of teff can help manage celiac diseases and prevent and control iron deficiency and diabetes[3]. Despite its benefits, there remains limited knowledge on its rich nutrient profile. Amaranth, once revered by ancient African civilizations, is rich in lysine (an amino acid often missing in cereal crops), vitamin C, and flavonoids with antioxidant properties. Meanwhile, moringa, dubbed the “miracle tree,” provides exceptional levels of vitamin A, calcium, potassium, and complete proteins from its leaves thus contributing to improved immunity and maternal-child nutrition.[4] Reviving these crops can play a pivotal role in reducing Africa’s high rates of anaemia, stunting, and hidden hunger.
An economic advantage of these crops is that they can help increase income levels for low-income households, particularly in the face of climactic shocks. The increase in health-conscious awareness of gluten-free, plant-based foods further gives rise to opportunities among various players in the value chain. For instance, fruits such as jackfruits and monkey fruits are readily available and affordable in comparison to seasonal and exotic fruits like mangoes, pineapples and watermelons. Further, crops like Moringa, Amaranth, Teff etc. also hold untapped potential for value addition, from flours and porridges to ready-to-eat snacks, baby foods, and beauty products while fruits like Jackfruits can make jams and snacks. With appropriate investment in processing, branding, and market access, forgotten crops can anchor inclusive, local-to-global value chains, create rural jobs, and reduce Africa’s reliance on costly food imports. Aligning food system investments with indigenous food production can turn these neglected crops into drivers of sustainable economic transformation.
Although indigenous crops offer many benefits, scaling them up remains a challenge. One major obstacle is the limited research and breeding efforts focused on these crops. Many of these crops remain under-researched, resulting in a lack of improved seed varieties that are resilient to pests, diseases, and climate variability. This lack of support makes it harder for farmers to grow these crops successfully and sustainably, slowing their wider adoption.
Further, the market infrastructure for indigenous crops is often underdeveloped, leading to inconsistent supply chains, limited access to markets and lack of value addition facilities for farmers. These challenges make it difficult for farmers to profit from these crops. Moreover, the absence of organized value chains discourages investment and limits the scalability of indigenous crop production.
National policies often overlook indigenous crops, focusing instead on staple crops like maize and rice. This policy bias results in limited funding, research, and extension services for indigenous crops thus resulting in minimal support for their integration into national agricultural and nutrition strategies. An analysis of sub-Saharan African food and agriculture policies revealed that the agricultural policies rely heavily on increasing agricultural production of staple commodities such as cereal crops and lack attention to opportunities to address dietary diversity and micronutrient malnutrition[5].
In order to revive indigenous crops, there must be a concerted effort towards educating communities about the health benefits of indigenous crops. This can be achieved though multimedia campaigns highlighting their nutritional and economic advantages thus shifting perception. Additionally, the government also needs to incorporate indigenous crops into deliberate policy action to not only address food insecurity and malnutrition but also nutrition security as well, which remains an area of high concern. Such policies will promote investment into research and funding of these crops, thus encouraging farmers to grow and produce these forgotten crops.
Once overlooked in favour of globally dominant staples, indigenous crops are now making a strong comeback at the centre of Africa’s food system. These nutrient-dense, climate-resilient, and culturally significant crops such as sorghum, millet, teff, amaranth, and moringa offer powerful solutions to some of the continent’s most pressing challenges. They play a key role in fighting malnutrition, supporting climate adaptation, and opening up inclusive economic opportunities thus showcasing the powerful link between health, sustainability, and resilience.
By Joan Kagotho, Agri Business Financial Consultant.
[4] National Library of Medicine
[5] Agriculture and Food Security
Teff. Source: Schaer.com
Moringa. Source: New food magazine
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