VOA常速英语:Certain Vegetables Among Africa’s ”Lost Crops”

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Many of Africa's crops are among those considered "lost," meaning they haven't been studied and developed enough for people to get their full benefit. They haven't fulfilled their potential to serve as inexpensive, commercially available food. The National Research Council, a private non-profit group in Washington, has published three volumes on these crops. The books are called "Lost Crops of Africa." They cover fruits, grains…and volume 2 explores the importance of vegetables.  

Martin Price is the senior agricultural scientist for Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization (ECHO), which promotes better access to food in Africa. In this third of a five-part series, Price says among the 18 vegetables listed in the book, the Moringa tree stands out, especially for its value in treating malnutrition,"The leaves of this tree are incredibly nutritious, just right, with a lot of things for human nutrition."

He says the group Church World Service has identified a way of using the Moringa that enhances its value even more:

"They came up with the technique of drying the leaves, turning them into a powder, running them through a screen and then using this as a nutritional supplement for porridges or soups or desserts…as well as giving it out in nutrition centers."

Price says the seeds from the Moringa tree can also be used to purify water. He says the equivalent of one seed, mashed and stirred into a liter of unclean water, filters out most of the micro-organisms, leaving the water clean and safe for human use.

The ECHO expert says he's excited about all the vegetables mentioned in the book, but he mentions two more that stand out and have been successfully grown by ECHO in subtropical southwest Florida. The first is the Egusi, "Egusi is a melon, grown especially in West Africa, it has white flesh and it's bitter, not edible, but it's grown for the seeds, which have about 50 percent oil and 30 percent protein." 

Among other things, the seeds are ground up coarsely to thicken stews and are used in making steamed dumplings. They're also used to form a popular seasoning. Price says the Egusi is valuable, not only for local consumption, but as an export as well:

"The Egusi is very popular in Nigeria and places around there. The benefit is that it can grow under some pretty dry conditions and yet is incredibly nutritious. It is already commercially grown in that country and exported to some extent to the West, primarily to sell to people who've emigrated there from Africa."

The other crop Price mentions is Celosia, also known in Nigeria as "Lagos spinach:"

"The book on lost crops of Africa vegetables describes it as the prettiest vegetable crop. And that is probably true because it has beautiful pink or reddish flowers. But it's grown for its edible leaves, and they're quite nutritious. When you boil them in water the leaves have a nice light green color and a nice smooth texture, and the special benefit is that they're not bothered by insects or diseases nearly as much as some of the other edible leaves," he says.

ECHO'S Martin Price summarizes the goals of the lost crops of Africa book series through his experience as an agricultural scientist working with the continent's lost vegetables:

"This…Lost Crops of Africa that the National Academy of Sciences has published is designed to take a look at the vegetables that are grown in Africa that are not so widely known and, in most cases, have not been very heavily researched. Their goal…is to suggest ways for scientists to do research that might improve some of these and make them even better as commercial crops and also to promote general awareness of farmers, [and] individual citizens; people working with the poor may not know what's right around the corner right there in Africa," he says.

If you'd like more information or want to read the Lost Crops of Africa, go to the National Academy website at www.nap.edu  By the way, these books are available free in Africa.