Food Habits of Uganda

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©Maryam Imbumi

Vegetables and wild plants

VEGETABLES

Carotene content of green leaves

PDF: Carotene content of green leaves_1967

Reprinted from THE WORLD REVIEW OF NUTRITION AND DIETETICS Vol. 7, Latham, M. C, "Nutritional Studies in Tanzania, (Tanganyika), Copyright (1967), 31-71, with permission from S. Karger AG.

Green leavy vegetables were eaten raw as a snack, as a side dish ot they were included into a dish when available. Certain green leaves were also consumed during pregnancy.

In season the leaves of: Sweet potato Pumpkin Cassava Beans Cowpeas Wild plants: Amaranths, Gynandropsis gynandra (mgagani) were consumed from different ethnical groups in East Africa. These indigenous, traditional and introduced varieties supplied valuable amounts of iron, calcium, carotene and vitamin C.

Cassava

Reference: Culwick, A. T. and G. M. Culwick (1941). "Nutrition and native agriculture in East Africa." East African Medical Journal 6: 146-153.

Read more about the nutritive value of different cassava leaves in the following article:

PDF: Nutrition and native agriculture in East Africa

IPGRI publication: TRADITIONAL AFRICAN VEGETABLES

Book on Foods of West Africa: Their origins and use by Ifeyironwa Francisca Smith

© Francisca Smith

"The first part of the book traces the origin and movement of several West African Foods from pre-historic to modern times identifying those that are still commonly eaten, and others that are sadly neglected and close to being on the endangered list. The foods are appropriately classified into roots and tubers, starchy fruits, cereals, legume grains, condiments and spices, and are briefly described complete with local and scientific names."

The book can be ordered online: FOODS OF WEST AFRICA: THEIR ORIGINS AND USE

WILD PLANTS

Why are wild foods important for Africa?

One in six of the world's population lives in dry land areas and the majority of them are reliant on subsistence agriculture for survival. This, in combination with political instabilities and climate makes these people acutely vulnerable to famine through man-made and natural disasters. On the one hand, some populations survived on wild foods during food shortages. On the other hand, during long term famines, people were dependent on external food aid which brought a decrease of the ability and desire to utilise wild foods. The loss of routinely addition of wild plants to the diet which was very common throughout generations among a number of ethnical groups results in changing food habits. Species loss in certain areas is the result of population displacement and environmental degradation often associated with famine and food shortages.

Databases and Projects on "Wild food plants"

• African wild harvest, is a pilot project on Sub-Saharan famine food legumes which resulted in a manual entitled Dry land legumes in Africa: Food for thought" (Huxham et al. 1998)
  
• The survey of economic plants for arid and semi-arid lands (SEPASAL) project is a major database on useful "wild" and semi-domesticated plants of the world's tropical and subtropical dry lands, with a major focus on Africa. USE: SEPASAL can be accessed on the
• Internet: www.kew.org/ceb/sepasal/ (to make searches and to download information, it is important to register;)
  

Example for WILD AFRICAN PLANTFOODS:

African cucumber (Momordica balsamina L.)
Native to: Ethiopia and Sudan
Eaten: Leaves and fruits
Tolerates wide range of extreme conditions

Sausage tree (Kigelia africana (Lam.) Benth.)
Native to: East Africa
Used parts: Roasted seeds are eaten
Fruits are used in beer fermentation
Wide variety of uses in traditional medicine

Green leafy vegetables from African root and tubers

Source: Mandu, P., T. Johns, et al. (2005). Traditional root and tuber food plants of Sub Sahara Africa: Diversity and potential for improving health, nutrition and livelihood. Cape to Cairo Safari Conference, Potchefstroom, South Africa, North West University.

The leaves of introduced roots and tubers, as cassava, sweet potatoes, taro and tannia are a main source of minerals and vitamins for a lot of communities in Sub Sahara Africa and the crops itself contribute as major source of energy.
For the improvement in nutrition, livelihood and health it is important to promote the use of wild root and tuber species, especially those used as green leafy vegetables and their domestication, habitat protection and species improvement. Furthermore, their documentation is of great importance considering that a lot of communities consume root and tubers raw and sometimes without knowing about their poisonous properties.

Wild Vegetables in Teso

There were many wild vegetables grow in Ajuluku and Opami in Teso, Uganda in 1936. From January until May very few vegetables were eaten as the herbage dries up but in the year 1936 were exceptional and a certain amount of greens was available throughout the "dry season".
Leaves and young stems of the following plant were the main supply of greens during this period of time:

• Ekoropot (Asyslacia shimperi)
  
• Emalakanyi (Hibiscus sp. Malvaceae)
  
• Groundnuts
  
• Cassava
  
• Vigna spp.
  

PDF: An investigation into health and agriculture in Teso, Uganda. Agriculture Survey Committee 1937

COLLABORATIVE CROP RESEARCH PROGRAM

"In Uganda, a group of traditional green leafy vegetables are easy grown. Yet more "exotic" vegetables such as tomatoes and cabbage have been introduced into the African diet, and farmers prefer to grow them as cash crops." (McKnight Foundation Collaborative Crop Research Program 2005)

 

Created by Verena Raschke 2005 / Contact