Use neglected crops to address food insecurity
By Editorial.Team, October 24, 2023Kenyans must stop treating maize, wheat and rice as the exclusive edible cereals and consider the adoption of underutilised crops to enhance food security.
The minor or orphaned crops, which are typically not traded internationally, have the potential to substantially contribute to food security and reduce the country’s reliance on maize imports.
Unfortunately, many of the crops have received minimal attention from crop breeders and research institutions, primarily due to challenges in scaling production and consumption. It is, therefore, encouraging to learn Kenya is taking steps to rectify this by encouraging millers to produce blended flour as part of a government campaign to enhance the nutritional value of food products.
Starting next month, millers will be mandated to ensure every packet of flour contains a minimum of 10 per cent underutilised yet highly nutritious crops such as sorghum, cassava, millet, and sweet potatoes. These regulations and standards, which are already in place, stipulate that maize flour should be blended with cassava, millet, and sorghum, while wheat flour should be blended with sorghum, cassava, and sweet potatoes.
This initiative to promote blended flour by millers began in 2018 when the Ministry of Agriculture drafted guidelines and standards governing the blending of maize and wheat flour.
Its primary goal is to enhance the competitiveness of these underutilised crops in the value chain, improve nutrition, and create employment opportunities. Blending flours will ensure all Kenyans have access to nutritious food while promoting the utilisation of indigenous crops that are highly nutritious but often overlooked.
The limited demand for these crops in both local and international markets has hindered their economic viability, primarily due to insufficient demand at scale, especially when more profitable alternatives are available. Moreover, low productivity has contributed to the limited supply of these crops, as they have not undergone the same level of breeding and genetic improvement as modern, commercial crops.
With proper enhancements in the value chain, this initiative aims to bring an end to the historical “Unga revolutions” that have often revolved around the scarcity of maize in the country.