It is a reality that there are crops considered as orphaned because there is no government effort in considering them amongst priority crops yet they contain immense income and nutritional value

Experts contend that despite being endowed with a variety of crops and crop species, the majority of which are important for food and agriculture, Uganda’s food and nutrition security situation remains worrying.

Background

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has already warned of a looming food and nutrition crisis in Uganda.

According to FAO, Uganda could be the next country after Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti to be hit by the same sort of alarming malnutrition and drought conditions.

This warning comes at a time when increasingly, there are so many cases of malnutrition and malnutrition-related diseases and deaths being reported.

According to a 2010 study, the proportion of Ugandans unable to access adequate calories has generally been increasing.

The study points out that 38% of children under 5 years suffering from chronic malnutrition, 16% suffer from underweight and 6 per cent suffer from acute malnutrition.

It concludes, that food insecurity and the double burden of malnutrition are on the increase and that income and wealth disparities are also increasing.

It is instructive to note that majority of the food insecure, hungry, poor and vulnerable Ugandans live in rural areas and depend on agriculture for food, income and livelihood.

Part of the problem is that government, the private sector and development partners often focus their efforts in the fight against food insecurity and hunger on a few major crops that are considered important for food security.

They often ignore or give very little attention to orphan crops such as mushrooms, yams, indigenous fruits, millet, sorghum and vegetables among others yet millions of Ugandans in the rural marginal areas rely on these crops for their nutrition and livelihood security.

If given the necessary policy attention, these crops have great potential not only to improve the food and nutrition security of the people in rural areas but also to provide and improve income opportunities for the people.

If you're looking for crops that require minimal water, you'll want to consider the climate and soil conditions of your area first. However, generally speaking, some crops are known for being more drought-resistant and can thrive with less water. Here are a few options:

These observations are made by Dr Ronald Naluwairo in one of the Advocates Coalition for Development &environment (ACODE) Policy briefs titled “Investing in orphan crops to improve food and livelihood security of Uganda’s rural poor”

Crops considered as orphaned

Dr Naluwairo identified some of the crops as Millet which is highly drought-resistant and can grow in poor soil conditions with low water availability.

Sorghum: Similar to millet, sorghum is another hardy crop that can tolerate dry conditions and still produce a good yield.

Millet and Pearl Millet: They are rich in Iron and Zinc and thrive well is drought prone areas

Green grams, Cowpeas and Pigeon peas are some of the beans known for their drought tolerance. They can grow in very arid conditions and also improve soil fertility by fixing nitrogen.

Cassava: Cassava is very adaptable to arid conditions and can grow on marginal soils. It's a staple crop in man

Barley: It is an industrial crop used by brewing industries and it is tolerant dry conditions than other grains like wheat and maize.

6. Sunflowers: They are not only drought-resistant but also deep-rooting, which allows them to access water from deeper soil layers.

Fruit trees such citrus and quava which are nutritious and can grow in drought conditions.

The Role of Orphan Crops in National Development

The expert describes orphan crops as those crops which have great prospective for food production and development, but whose potential is not adequately appreciated and fully exploited.

Orphan crops are also often interchangeably described as minor crops, neglected species, underutilized species, or under exploited species.

They are described as minor to signify the fact that they have a small commercial value of production and trade compared to the major crops

Neglected implies the fact that compared to the major crops, orphan crops receive very little research and development attention.

As such, majority of them are inadequately characterised and generally have very little scientific information known about them.

Consequently, these crops remain underutilized in national development. A key point to emphasise about orphan crops is that they vary from one locality to another.

What may be an orphan crop in Uganda may be a major crop in Kenya and Rwanda. Even within a particular country, orphan crops may vary from region to region, although a number of crops may cut across regions

Common Features for Orphan Crops

The experts say orphaned crops represent an enormous wealth of agro-biodiversity since they  have great potential for contributing to improved incomes, food security and nutrition and for combating the ‘hidden hunger’ caused by micronutrient such as vitamin and mineral deficiencies.

They are strongly linked to the cultural heritage of their places of origin and are mainly local and traditional crops with their ecotypes and landraces or wild species whose distribution, biology, cultivation and uses are poorly documented.

They tend to be adapted to specific agro ecological niches and marginal lands. They have weak or no formal seed supply systems.

They are recognized to have traditional uses in localized areas and are collected from the wild or produced in traditional production systems with little or no external inputs.

They receive little attention from research, extension services, farmers, policy and decision makers, donors, technology providers and consumers.

They are highly nutritious with proven medicinal properties or other multiple uses for human health.

The need to promote orphan crops 

The reason why these crops must be promoted is that majority of these crops and their species are often grown by the poor farmers and communities in marginal and fragile environments such as dry lands and swamps which do not favour the growing and production of the more popularly utilized crops.

Most orphan crops are resilient to environmental extremes and harsh weather conditions. To many farmers living in marginal areas, orphan crops are therefore not minor crops.

They are the very basis of their farming systems and constitute an integral part of their livelihoods and food security.

Second, there is increasing evidence that many orphan crops are very nutritious and provide many nutrients and other health benefits that often exceed those of the common crops.

Third, unlike major crops, orphan crops require low inputs like pesticides and fertilizers and many orphan crops are also resilient to pests and diseases. This means that orphan crops are affordable and sustainable to produce by the rural poor farmers.

Recommendations

Invest in Scientific Research and Innovation for Orphan Crops:

In promoting orphan crops, one of the key issues is the need to increase investment in scientific research and innovation with respect to these crops.

Scientific research and innovation is important in establishing their potential value, improving their production potential as well as the conversation of their genetic resources.

To adequately ensure that orphan crops receive the necessary research attention, it is recommended that Government through NARO should establish and adequately fund a special programme to focus on scientific research and innovation for Uganda’s orphan crops.

Maintain and Improve the Public Extension System to Serve the Rural Poor

It was argued that Uganda’s policy that calls for a market-focussed and private sector-led agricultural extension and advisory services system cannot serve the needs of the poor farmers in the marginal and fragile areas where most orphan crops are grown.

This calls for government to maintain and improve the public agricultural extension system to address the needs of the rural poor who have nurtured and continue to grow these crops.

Strengthen the Seed System for Orphan Crops:

Seed is perhaps the first and most important input into any crop production chain in particular and agricultural production system in general.

In its on-going seed policy development process, the Government should address the seed needs of farmers growing orphan crops.

Among the measures that government can adopt in this respect include the protection and promotion of farmers’ rights to guarantee the farmers’ right to save and exchange seed, strengthen famers’ capacities in seed multiplication to improve the quality of seeds produced and facilitate the development of local seed distribution networks.

Invest in the Preservation and Protection of Traditional Knowledge

It has been established that many of Uganda’s agricultural and food security related policies are not supportive of orphan crops.

In fact, many of them encourage the displacement and replacement of orphan crops with crops that are considered competitive and marketable.

In the process the farmers holding valuable knowledge about these crops continue to die and the traditional knowledge associated with orphan crops is exposed to great danger of continued erosion and disappearance.

This is very dangerous for posterity. Traditional knowledge associated with orphan crops is very important not only for the rural farmers who grow these crops but also in the general scientific research on crop improvement.

One major way of preserving and protecting the traditional knowledge associated with orphan crops from disappearance is for Government to invest in its documentation.

Ends