Helping Africa to become self-sufficient with its own crops
19 July 2005
PA114/05
Research into a drought-resistant crop could be the key to a revolution in African agriculture, experts at The University of Nottingham believe.
The bambara groundnut, which is native to Africa, could provide a major food source that is protein-rich, tasty and able to grow where most other crops cannot.
Researchers at the University have spent 17 years investigating the crop, producing its first ever hybrid. They have used lab and field technologies to increase yield and capitalise on the plant’s nutritional and drought-resistant properties.
They are now negotiating a new €1.5m Euro project from the EU INCO-DEV programme to take their work to the next stage with the selection of desirable traits and the development of new food products.
INCO-DEV (International Co-operation with Developing Countries) is an EU programme to support scientific collaboration between organisations in EU member states and those in developing countries.
The EU ‘BAMLINK’ project co-ordinated at Nottingham will link growers and researchers in Africa and scientists in Europe with the first large overseas trials of bambara groundnut in India.
Resembling a chickpea in taste and appearance, bambara groundnut is rich in protein — which makes it ideal for growing in Africa, where the diet is generally protein-deficient and sources of animal protein are scarce.
Dr Sayed Azam-Ali, of the University of Nottingham’s Division of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences, said: “There are vast areas of Africa that remain uncultivated — only 100m hectares of the total 400m hectares are cultivated. The aridity of the climate leaves very few options for agriculture in much of the remainder.
“But bambara groundnut can survive where most other crops cannot.
“If we can increase the yields of bambara groundnut and other indigenous African crops we’ve got a route to food security and sustainability because it can grow in hostile environments and produce yield. And that’s a combination you get very rarely in the major crops.
“In the future we could actually get this crop to grow far more widely outside its centre of cultivation in potentially vast new areas of the semi-arid tropics such as India where it’s never been grown before.
“We’ve demonstrated that if it is managed properly, you can get very good yields.”
The fact that bambara groundnut is native to Africa, rather than an imported species, means it could also give the continent a new foothold in the global food market that will boost the continent’s economic development. African countries cannot compete against the West on the major established crops such as wheat, but if they could develop their own indigenous species there could be opportunities for export and ‘niche’ markets.
And in the wake of G8 discussions on debt relief for Africa and improving trade conditions, the research is particularly timely, said Dr Azam-Ali.
He added: “If Africa cannot feed itself, progress will be difficult no matter what the G8 countries decide. We are improving an indigenous African crop that is locally popular and for which there could potentially be an export market.
“The bambara groundnut has never been selectively bred or improved in this way before. You can spend many years trying to improve varieties with conventional means, but if you combine new molecular and information technologies with established techniques — and the knowledge of the growers themselves - it can be done much more quickly.”
Traditionally, farmers in Africa have been encouraged to replace their indigenous food plants with exotic crops, such as soya and maize. Bambara groundnuts are currently only grown in very small amounts, typically by the women of the family in kitchen gardens. But production on a much larger scale could be a major boost for food production on the continent.
The name ‘Bambara’ comes from a tribe indigenous to Timbuktu, in Mali, close to the crop’s centre of diversity.
The BAMLINK team aims to take bambara groundnuts ‘to the plate’ on a large scale within the next four years. While not genetically modifying the plant, they will use genetic techniques to identify, for example, the characteristics that give it drought tolerance.
Computer modelling based on the Nottingham research and that of field partners in five African countries shows that the crop could also be suitable for a number of locations outside the African continent, hence the initiation of trials in India.
The hope is that these studies will establish its credentials as an international crop for which there could be a world market. Researchers’ ultimate aim is for it to be used in value-added food products such as weaning foods and breakfast cereals, as well as a legume to be incorporated into the daily diet in its own right.
University of Nottingham research work on the bambara groundnut is the subject of a new item on Research TV, a unique broadcasting service promoting UK university research excellence internationally. The film can be seen at: http://research.nottingham.ac.uk/ResearchTV/
Notes to editors: More information is available from Dr Sayed Azam-Ali on +44 (0)115 951 6049, sayed.azam-ali@nottingham.ac.uk; or Press Officer Tim Utton in the University’s Public Affairs Office on +44 (0)115 846 8092, tim.utton@nottingham.ac.uk
All stories are available to all APTN subscribers on Tuesday, July 19, 12.15 to 12.25GMT. Available for general viewing from 15.00 GMT on Tuesday, July 19. All script information and video previews on www.research-tv.com. For more information call Research-TV on +44 (0)207 004 7130.
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