Re: [pronut-hiv] Potential role for wild vegetables in household food security, in Kwazulu -Natal (2)

["francis khadudu" <fkwere@yahoo.com>]

This is indeed a very interesting study which deserve all the support possible and replicated in other Sub Saharan  countries.

 Francis Were

---- ProNut-HIV <pronut-hiv@healthnet.org> wrote: 


Potential role for wild vegetables in household food security: A
preliminary case study in Kwazulu -Natal, South AFrica
Modi M1, Modi AT*2 and Hendriks S1
Minse Modi Albert Modi* Sheryl Hendriks

http://www.ajfand.net/Issue-X-files/pdfs/AJFANDvol6no1PRA1.pdf

ABSTRACT
The value of wild edible vegetables in food security has not been given
sufficient attention in South Africa. Consequently, there are no formal
interventions that seek to encourage people to use traditional
vegetables as sources of essential nutrients. Studies on the role of
wild leafy vegetables in food security could provide important
information for development of policies on careful exploitation of
natural resources for human sustenance. 

The objective of this study was to provide a rapid assessment of
general knowledge about wild leafy vegetables among subsistence farmers
from Ezigeni, a rural location in South Africa, and to determine the
availability of wild leafy vegetables from cropping fields during spring
- before the cropping season started. A focus group discussion and
transect walk were used to collect qualitative data on knowledge of
traditional vegetables. Availability of wild leafy vegetables was
quantified using one-square-meter plots, randomly located in a cropping
field and in an area that has never been cultivated (veld).

 Results showed that knowledge of wild leafy vegetables among the
participants was positively correlated with age. Education status
improved knowledge of wild vegetables for middle-aged participants, but not for the youth (35 years or younger). Availability of wild edible leafy
vegetables (plant numbers and yield) increased from August to October,
but there was a significant difference between species. Data from a
focus group discussion showed that wild leafy vegetable availability
occurred early in spring, when traditional crops were less abundant. It
is concluded that knowledge of wild leafy vegetables may be lost in the
near future, unless efforts are made to educate younger generations
about their importance. They could be used as an important source of
nutrients during the pre-cropping season, before traditional crops are available for human consumption. It is recommended that agronomic investigations into cultivation of wild leafy vegetables that are adapted to rural areas where exotic leafy vegetables are not widely available be undertaken.
Those studies could contribute significantly in government policies to
improve food security in rural areas, and in the improvement of wild
vegetable status, whose potential as sources of nutrition is currently
undervalued.

Key words: availability, knowledge, wild leafy vegetables