Farmers brush up indigenous crops
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CTA. 2001. Farmers brush up indigenous crops. Spore 94. CTA, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Permanent link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10568/46234
Internet URL: http://spore.cta.int/images/stories/pdf/old/spore94.pdf
Cultivation of indigenous crops was neglected during the apartheid era in South Africa, but in June 2000, farmers from the Umbumbulu community delivered the first crates of amadumbes (Colocasia esculenta) to Pick n Pay, a South African retailer....
Cultivation of indigenous crops was neglected during the apartheid era in South Africa, but in June 2000, farmers from the Umbumbulu community delivered the first crates of amadumbes (Colocasia esculenta) to Pick n Pay, a South African retailer. Woolworths, another major retailer, has shown interest in selling indigenous vegetables, provided the growers meet organic and hygienic standards. To foster organic cultivation and marketing of native food crops, the South African universities of Natal and Zululand, the Dutch Agricultural University, the Mangosuthu Technikon, the private organic farm H2A Botanicals and the Farmers Support Group (a South African NGO) have set up a joint research programme to further develop a practical information base. Research focuses on indigenous knowledge, crop cultivation and harvesting techniques. As a start, the project will concentrate on amadumbes, Amaranthus spp. (Imbuya, yugobolo), Galinsoga parviflora (Ushukeyana), Bidens pilosa (Uqadolo) and Curcurbita spp. (Zulu pumpkins). The programme also helps black communities to deal adequately with corresponding certification and marketing procedures. As a result, the Umbumbulu community has already taken its first steps to acquire a smallholder group certification for growing organic crops.
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