The increased awareness of the health protecting properties of non-nutrient bio-active
compounds found in fruits and vegetables, has directed immense attention to
vegetables as vital components of daily diets. For sub-Saharan African (SSA)
populations, this attention on vegetables as vital dietary components is significant, as
leafy vegetables have long been known to be indispensable ingredients in traditional
sauces that accompany carbohydrate staples. African indigenous and traditional leafy
vegetables thus have a pivotal role in the success of the World Health Organization’s
(WHO) global initiative on fruits and vegetables consumption in the sub-continent.
The joint WHO/FAO 2004 report on a Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and
Health, recommended a minimum daily intake of 400g of fruits and vegetables. Also,
at their 2004 joint Kobe workshop, the WHO and FAO developed a framework that
proposes ways to promote increased production, availability and access, and adequate
consumption of fruits and vegetables. This framework is expected to guide the
development of cost-efficient and effective interventions for the promotion of
adequate consumption of fruits and vegetables at the national and sub-national level.
This paper explores ways to integrate African indigenous leafy vegetables into the
global fruit and vegetable programme initiative, and identifies some existing barriers
to their effective mobilization. African Leafy Vegetables are increasingly recognized
as possible contributors of both micronutrients and bio-active compounds to the diets
of populations in Africa. Available data on the more commonly consumed varieties
point to antioxidants containing leafy vegetables that can also provide significant
amounts of beta carotene, iron, calcium and zinc to daily diets. How can the
successful Nairobi leafy vegetable experience, be mainstreamed across the subcontinent
to ensure their mobilization and integration in WHO’s fruit and vegetable
initiative? The Kobe framework recommends that fruit and vegetable promotion
interventions should consider the process from production to consumption.
Very little is known about the production and consumption of African Leafy
Vegetables. An expert report on patterns of vegetable consumption in the subcontinent
lists common vegetables as onions, carrots, tomatoes and cabbage. Clearly,
information on production, processing, distribution and marketing, preparation and
consumption of vegetable species relevant to SSA, are vital and constitute the prop on
which intervention programmes can be developed. Through its long collaboration
with national governments, Bioversity International is well placed to catalyze the
process of data generation and dissemination by countries in the sub-continent.