First, I didn’t mean to sound quite so negative – in fact, some very interesting R/D is now being implemented at several of the CGIAR centers. See especially the links on these two pages from IITA (International Institute for Tropical Agriculture):

Roots & Tubers:
http://www.iita.org/cms/details/root_tuber_details.aspx?newsid=272&zoneid=70&activity=Roots%20and%20Tubers%20Systems&a=188
Cerials & Legumes:
http://www.iita.org/cms/details/cereal_legume_details.aspx?newsid=269&zoneid=67&activity=Cereals%20and%20legumes%20systems&a=185

About 15 years ago I was invited to conduct several training courses at IITA with about 30 plant and agroforestry scientists from across Africa, on methods to develop research protocols such that the perspectives of *farmers* are given top priority. At the time, this was an entirely new concept and was met with considerable skepticism; scientists with whom I worked had all been trained in European and North American universities and had inculcated the notion that ‘good science’ stays in the lab (or research field plots). Even farmer-managed field trials were, at that time, actually planned and directed by the researchers!

I was invited to conduct similar training – or received grants to better understand local systems of production – from other members of the CG system – namely IFPRI, ILRI, and ICRAF. And was also invited to conduct related activities with the National Academy of Sciences and with the World Bank’s (then) Environment Division for Africa. In nearly all cases, the concept of designing (applied) research problems or evaluations to take into acount *a local pespective* was often viewed with suspicion and sometimes outright contempt.

Really, it is a pleasure to see that quite a change has been taking place-!

As for how traditional diets differ from those of the northern hemisphere, here is an interesting excerpt from travellers in Africa from the early 19th.C.:

“Travels of Richard & John Lander, into the Interior of Africa, for the Discovery of the Course & Termination of the Niger… ” by Robert Huish. London 1836.

The present inhabitants, though possessing abundance of cattle and corn, eat without scruple rats, moles, squirrels, snakes, locusts, &c. The attendants of Mr. Park were one evening invited to a feast, where making a hearty meal of what they thought to be fish and kouskous, one of them found a piece of hard skin in the dish, which he brought away with him, to show Mr. Park what sort of fish they had been eating. On examining the skin, it was discovered they had been feasting on a large snake…

…In the afternoon, they arrived at Sooseta, a Jallonka village, in the district of Kullo, a tract of country lying along the banks of the Black River… With much difficulty they procured huts to sleep in, but could not obtain any provisions, as there had been a scarcity before the crops were gathered in, during which all the inhabitants of Kullo had subsisted upon the yellow powder of the _nitta_, a species of the mimosa, and the seeds of the bamboo, which, when properly prepared, tastes nearly similar to rice. As the provisions of the coffle were not exhausted,
kouskous was dressed for supper, and several villagers were invited to partake…

And, on the genetic superiority (survival-wise) of indigenous breeds, here is a nice comment from Speke on his travels in Somaliland in the early 19th.C.:

Speke-”What Led to the Discovery of the Source of the Nile ”

I was very much struck with the sleekness of the sheep, considering there appeared nothing for them to live upon; but I was shown amongst the stony ground here and there a little green pulpy-looking weed, an ice plant called Buskàlé, succulent, and by repute highly nutritious. It was on this they fed and throve. These Dumba sheep–the fat-tailed breed–appear to thrive on much less food, and can abstain longer from eating, than any others. This is probably occasioned by the nourishment they derive from the fat of their tails, which acts as a reservoir, regularly supplying, as it necessarily would do, any sudden or excessive drainage from any other part of their systems.

As for improved processing of traditional crops, this is indeed an area that is lagging in Africa compared to other regions, and here I’m thinking of India and some of the micro-processing innovations that have been developed.

1. Switching from root crops to grains is certainly the most important crop (and thus nutritional shift) that followed basic domestication of crops (which is thought to have been root crops). This change made possible accumulation (of crop products) and thus also accumulation of ‘wealth ‘- and was linked also to work specialization and related technological developments that are associated with both gender and strata differentiation. Not an easy or speedy transition, in historical terms, but so key!

2. I think that in Burundi and some other areas, as the importance of traditional crops are more clearly realized both by donors and well as by agricultural research institutes (primarily those who are part of the CGIAR system) more funds and research efforts will be directed to enhancing improvements to these crops. To date, ‘we’ have operated in a colonial – post-colonial mindset that has promoted primarily northern hemisphere crops and livestock which are thought to be more productive-bigger-better-etc… Perhaps, *but* better a crop or strain that may not produce so much per plant or animal, that one that simply is too fragile to produce in erratic tropical conditions (maize being a prime suspect). Now, IITA, ILRI and other international research arms of the CGIAR system are promoting indigenous breeds and strains and working to identify and promote-improve germplasm from these crops and livestock (URLs are given below). These are the important Forgotten Crops that the National Research Council has helped to center-stage (see Google for this work). So that’s a long answer to the first part of the question, on increasing production of local crops.

3. And yes, as local-indigenous food and livestock products become more plentiful and communities and their country economies enter more fully into regional and international markets, choice will (and does) expand. For example, just in the last couple of years here in Burundi white bread, in the form of large soft rolls that cost about 8 cents each, is becoming quite popular as a stack and as part of meals. A great boon for people on the move who can’t go home to eat and-or who don’t have a couple of hours to prepare a meal!

CGIAR – http://www.cgiar.org/ (Consultative Group on International Agr. Research)

IITA-http://www.iita.org/ (International Institute for Tropical Agr.)

ILRI - http://www.ilri.org/ (International Livestock Reserch Institute)

ETC …..

The situation she describes also reminded me of this story about stove design in The Economist.

Even if they get the thermodynamics and materials right, designers must also make the devices compatible with local foodstuffs and cooking habits. A lot of the initial stove projects failed this test, says Daniel Kammen of Berkeley’s Energy Resources Group, who has worked on several stove projects in sub-Saharan Africa. A lack of field testing, he says, meant a lot of stoves were simply unsuited to users’ needs. The difference in cooking styles between countries, he says, can determine how—and whether—a new stove design ends up being used.

In the refugee camps of Darfur, the dough for the staple food, assida, requires vigorous stirring of the cooking pot. “None of the stoves we tested had been built with this in mind,” says Ashok Gadgil, the head of the Darfur Stoves Project. Only after the stoves were seen to tip over during cooking did Dr Gadgil and his researchers go back to the drawing board and refine the design. Other findings from the Darfur project shone new light on cooking habits. The original stoves had been designed to boil water, but researchers found that for each meal, two-thirds of the fuel was used to make sauces by frying onions, a process that requires a more intense, continuous heat. One criticism of BP’s Oorja stove is that it does not get hot enough to make traditional Indian breads.

If such cultural factors are not taken into account, people will not use the stoves.

If the shoe doesn’t fit, it won’t be easily worn.