Workshop objectives
1. To exchange information on the conservation and use of genetic resources of traditional vegetables in different African countries.
2. To identify gaps and constraints in the conservation and use of traditional vegetables in Africa.
3. To investigate ways of forging links among plant genetic resources researchers working on these species, and between them on one side and social scientists, nutritionists and development workers on the other.
4. To discuss collaborative initiatives for the conservation and use of traditional vegetables in Africa.
5. To develop a regional strategy for the conservation and use of genetic resources of traditional vegetables in Africa.
Results of Working Group discussions
1. Indigenous knowledge and ethnobotany
Because traditional vegetables have been to a large extent bypassed by formal research, development and conservation efforts, much of the expertise about these plant genetic resources is held by local communities in the form of indigenous knowledge. Gaining access to that knowledge and using it in a fair and equitable way so that communities receive the appropriate recognition and benefits from the use of their knowledge is an important issue to address. Another concern is how to link local indigenous knowledge to scientific knowledge in a transparent information system of use to both scientists and communities.
Recommendations
1. There is a need to document and support aspects of IK and traditional practices that promote the conservation of genetic diversity of traditional vegetables in Africa.
2. Collection of IK on traditional vegetables should: (a) apply appropriate techniques that are sensitive to local cultures, sensitive to gender and participatory in approach; (b) be verified by the community and subjected to scientific evaluation; (c) be carried out by multidisciplinary teams.
3. 'Donors' of IK and genetic resources should be rewarded appropriately and recognized at all levels.
4. IK on traditional vegetables collected in a community should be fed back to the community after evaluation in a form that can enhance the welfare of the local people (e.g. nutritional data).
5. National plant genetic resources programmes should: (a) exploit available human and institutional resources involved in ethnobotany; (b) help develop or strengthen national information centres on IK; (c) encourage information exchange between different age groups within a community and among communities; (d) produce an inventory of traditional vegetables and associated IK; (e) involve local people in all stages of the development of traditional vegetable crops and the use of IK; (f) channel IK on traditional vegetables into the national education curriculum; (g) recognize the role that IK and farmers play in the maintenance of the genetic diversity of traditional vegetables and other crops; (h) explore areas where modern science can complement IK.
2. Production, consumption and marketing systems
It is not mainly environmental disturbance or loss of habitats that are causing genetic erosion or loss of biodiversity in Africa's traditional vegetables. Where they are threatened it is because they are falling into disuse, perhaps owing to their inability to compete with exotic vegetables (that are sometimes less nutritious), or because they are considered low-status food items in urban settings. The decline in use is leading not only to growing threats to the biodiversity base of African agriculture, but also to immediate threats to the welfare of producers and consumers. This working group reviewed experience of production, marketing and consumption practices to identify specific actions to promote and extend these species, allowing them to move into the areas and social situations beyond the rural setting where they predominate. Efforts to make traditional vegetables competitive with exotic vegetables will be essential components of a conservation strategy.
Recommendations
1. Promotion of traditional vegetables beyond the rural setting will be an important tool in conservation and use.
2. Promotion strategies should be comprehensive, involving consumers, producers, collectors and conservationists.
3. For the successful movement of traditional vegetables to the urban and peri-urban landscape, a key constraint will be the availability of seeds. IK will be important in managing the transition.
4. Policy- and decision-makers need to be involved at all levels.
5. Economic feasibility will be an important criterion for transfer and use.
6. Constraints in use must be identified and addressed and possible intervention points prioritized.
7. Entrepreneurship in the production of traditional vegetables should be promoted as an important tool in increasing use.
3. The potential for genetic enhancement
In many cases traditional vegetables are semi-wild and have not been subjected to agronomic selection. Knowledge of the genetic diversity within species is also inadequate. There are advantages from the standpoint of their rusticity and ease of cultivation, but domestication, selection and genetic improvement could make these species more competitive. This might remove constraints to increased use arising from problems in palatability, processing or productivity. One outcome could be to enable the production of traditional vegetables to move from the rural to the urban and peri-urban areas where poor consumers could benefit from cheap and nutritious foods. Genetic improvement could also improve their profitability and hence foster their increased use.
Recommendations
1. There is a need, and opportunity, for the cost-effective genetic enhancement of some traditional vegetable species. The choice of species and level of enhancement will depend on a number of criteria, bearing in mind that much of the selection work will be done under farm conditions.
2. It is inevitable that domestication/genetic enhancement of wild and weedy species will result in loss of competitiveness. The original forms of these materials should be conserved.
3. Rather than improve many traits for multipurpose species, several varieties and species, each with particular traits, should be made available to farmers.
4. Farmers select for types that are good tasting, disease resistant and stable under adverse conditions. Local communities should be involved in on-farm testing and selection.
5. Ecogeographic surveys are necessary to estimate the distribution and range of variation of important species, and the biotic and abiotic factors which affect their performance.
4. The link between PGR conservation and development: nutrition, gender and income
Our focus on traditional vegetables allows conservation and agricultural scientists, development workers and local communities to work together to demonstrate how conserving and using biodiversity improves people's welfare. Women farmers, urban migrants, people who have been bypassed by earlier development efforts and people suffering nutritional deficiencies are among those who would benefit most from conservation through increased use of traditional vegetables. Designing research and conservation strategies with these clients as targets and participants will require novel methods bridging biological and social research with development programmes.
Recommendations
1. Strategies for the conservation and use of genetic resources of traditional vegetables in Africa need to be sensitive to cultural issues at all stages from planning to implementation. Awareness of, and sensitivity to, gender differences are particularly important.
2. The educational system has a role to play in promoting the conservation and use of traditional African vegetables, but important changes are needed in both curriculum and attitude. In schools, practical exercises such as school gardens and field days should be promoted. The value of traditional vegetables (e.g. nutritional) should be discussed at an early stage in the educational system. In universities, undergraduate and graduate projects on traditional vegetables should be encouraged and supported.
3. National research and extension services should be encouraged to study and promote traditional vegetables. The basis of such an initiative must be a thorough knowledge of the range of species involved, of the genetic diversity within key species and of the uses to which the material is put by different local communities.
4. Farmers and other local people with knowledge of traditional vegetables should be more involved in educational, research and development work.
5. The role of entrepreneurship in the conservation and use of traditional vegetables should be recognized, documented and publicized.
6. The public in general - but in particular policy- and decision-makers - need to be sensitized to the value (nutritional and otherwise) of traditional vegetables. The media will be an important vehicle for this.
5. Complementary options for conservation
Ex situ conservation in genebanks and in situ conservation in a protected area or community-managed agricultural system are the two main conservation strategies that have been proposed thus far. The very nature of traditional vegetables poses some difficulties for both. For example, there are many species involved, they are often highly localized and fragmented in their distribution and use, and they are found in tiny patches, micro-environments and areas that are difficult to demarcate as a conservation site. A third approach is emerging: conservation of plant genetic resources through support and promotion of production and consumption systems. Finding a way to combine genebank conservation, in situ conservation and promotion is essential for developing a conservation strategy for Africa's traditional vegetables.
Recommendations
1. No single approach will be adequate to conserve the full genetic variation of the different species of traditional vegetable species.
2. For most species of traditional vegetables, more information (on ecogeography, variation, use, marketing, etc.) is required to develop a viable integrated conservation strategy.
3. Local communities should play a central role in the conservation of the genetic diversity of traditional vegetables.
4. Farmers should be encouraged to actively participate in in situ conservation of traditional vegetables, for example through incentives of various kinds. This approach will be particularly appropriate for wild and semi-wild/weedy species.
5. Traditional conservation approaches, for example sacred groves, should be given a role in formal-sector conservation strategies.
6. Ex situ conservation in genebanks is best seen as a back-up to on-farm and in situ conservation activities.
6. Institutional issues: collaboration among formal institutions, NGOs, networks and local communities
Identifying the relative strengths, objectives and levels at which the various actors can support the conservation and use of traditional vegetables is a major task for building successful national and regional projects in this area. Procedures and experience for establishing common objectives and complementary actions will be crucial for the strategy. Projects that do not build upon interinstitutional collaboration and existing capacities will have little chance of success in focusing resources and expertise on minor crops and neglected species such as most traditional vegetables.
Recommendations
1. There is scope for collaboration between the formal and informal sectors with regard to the conservation and use of genetic resources of traditional vegetables in Africa, from germplasm collecting to policy formulation and information exchange (see 5).
2. National programmes for the conservation and use of African traditional vegetables should involve informal-sector institutions such as NGOs, farmer groups and local community groups and provide training and coordination. They should also involve the private sector where possible, e.g. seed production.
3. The informal sector will have a particularly important role to play in in situ and on-farm conservation activities, but should not be excluded from ex situ conservation initiatives.
4. The ready access by farmers and other informal-sector users to genetic resources of traditional vegetables conserved ex situ must be guaranteed and facilitated. The taking out of IPR protection on such material should be discouraged.
5. Regional and international organizations can assist in linking national initiatives on traditional vegetables into networks. Specifically, IPGRI could assist with information exchange through (a) the IPGRI-SSA regional newsletter, (b) workshop proceedings, (c) a directory of vegetable workers, institutions and networks, and (d) bibliographies.
Final plenary
1. It was decided that some kind of network on African traditional vegetables would serve a useful purpose. However, it was thought necessary to first develop a list of existing relevant activities and initiatives. IPGRI offered to produce a database of traditional vegetable workers, institutions and networks.
2. A committee consisting of Prof. Chweya (Chair) and Drs Okafor, Diouf and Swai was established to coordinate follow-up activities to the workshop.
3. IPGRI will look into the possibility of publishing proceedings of the workshop.
4. IPGRI will make available two pages of the regional newsletter on a permanent basis for exchange of information on African traditional vegetables. All participants will be placed on the IPGRI mailing list and were encouraged to send in news and information.
5. IPGRI will develop and distribute a bibliography on African traditional vegetables.
