Orphan Crop Status Rises To 'Super Grain'

By  Sandrine Ceurstemont

Cereal grains have been the main component of human diets for thousands of years, with rice, wheat and maize being the most consumed grains worldwide. However, as the global population continues to increase, underutilized cereal crops could help meet dietary needs. Researchers are now investigating how African cereal crops could be cultivated more effectively and adopted more widely as sources of food.

Grains such as teff, millet, and sorghum are mostly grown and consumed locally in certain African countries. However, there is interest in cultivating them in Europe and elsewhere as new sources of cereal since they are highly nutritious.

Teff grains, for example, are rich in calcium and protein as well as iron, containing levels almost five times higher than wheat or any other cereal. This could be especially beneficial to prevent iron-deficiency anemia, which is common in women. They also contain carbohydrates that are digested slowly, which is ideal for people with diabetes to help maintain low blood sugar levels. In addition, most African cereal crops are gluten free so they can be consumed by people with coeliac disease and irritable bowel syndrome. "There are so many health and nutritional benefits," said Dr. Aiswarya Girija, a research fellow at Aberystwyth University in Wales, UK.

Furthermore, many of these African cereal crops can adapt to extreme weather conditions caused by climate change. Yields of staple crops such as wheat, rice and corn are already being affected by rising temperatures and are expected to continue to decline. Corn crops are expected to take the biggest hit, where yields could decrease by up to 7.4%. Traditional African crops could therefore become new alternatives to supplement this loss. "If you want to grow teff in a harsh environment like a drought-prone area, it grows well," said Dr. Girija. "It's also resistant to waterlogging."

However, the cultivation of African grains needs to be improved if they are to be grown more widely. Wheat and maize, for example, are increasingly being grown by African farmers since they can obtain varieties that have been genetically modified to be pest-resistant, which saves on pesticide costs. In addition, traditional African cereal crops often produce low yields, mainly because they have not been bred to improve their productivity. "There has been concern in Africa that traditional crops are being lost, as farmers are increasingly cultivating wheat and maize," said Dr. Raija Lantto, a research scientist at the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland in Espoo.

Better cultivation practices could help. As part of the InnoFoodAfrica project, Dr. Lantto and her colleagues are collaborating with smallholder farmers in Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa and Uganda to strengthen their cultivation skills, with a focus on training women and young people. They will be examining how practices can be improved to increase crop productivity and new strategies for pest control.