Sylvia Kuria
Growing up in Western Kenya, our daily meal was ugali, African green vegetables and fermented milk. For a long time as a child, I used to associate this meal with poverty and swore to do better when I have my own family. I imagined that foods such as rice, cabbage, margarine spread on bread was the ideal kind of food. Little did I know, how privileged I was to have such nutritious food locally available from the farm. I am now a full-grown adult and I have learnt my lessons all too well that our local indigenous foods are extremely nutritious, adaptable to our environment and our heritage that we need to preserve. Early this year I went to our local seed shop to look for seeds for indigenous leafy greens. At our outlet Sylvia’s Basket, African Leafy Vegetables (ALV’s) are the top selling items. We always ensure that we stock ALV’s so as to satisfy the customer demand.
It has been very interesting to observe that if we do not have ALVs at our retails shop, we struggle to sell other items. Farmers should realize that there is a huge demand for ALVS and the prices are stable all year round. Buying prices range between 30-60 KES per kg.
Kenya has suffered a devastating drought for the past two years and this has affected crop production at all levels including the production of seeds for ALV’s. Most of the local seed shops I visited in January this year did not have any seeds stocked. I was quite disheartened to learn that seed companies have really struggled to multiply seeds and local farmers like myself lost most of our seeds during the drought. Ironically, hybrid seeds of exotic vegetables are readily available and it’s obvious that we have not put in efforts to ensure that we preserve our local seeds.
I eventually decided to reach out to research institutions and ended up at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology. Professor Mary Oyiela Abukutsa-Onyango is a humanitarian and agricultural scientist from Kenya who specializes in olericulture, agronomy, plant physiology. She is a professor of Horticulture whose work focuses on African indigenous food crops. Through her research she has a established a seed bank for ALV’s that are sold affordably to the general public to make sure that these seeds are always readily available as well as to encourage farmers to multiply them.
ALV’s are extremely nutritious and according to a report by Research gate 2020, on African Green Leafy Vegetables Health Benefits Beyond Nutrition states that, African green leafy vegetables (ALVs) are rich sources of nutrients and health-promoting bioactive metabolites that possess antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties that will assist in reducing the development of noncommunicable diseases. Irrespective of their reported health-promoting properties, ALVs face challenges of their use in food systems particularly the mainstream markets/urban consumers due to poor insights and lack of knowledge on their health benefits.
Here is a simple chart detailing the nutritional value of common ALV’s in East Africa.
| ALV | Common Name | Nutritional Value |
| Jute Mallow | Mrenda/ Mrere | Contains Vitamin A which helps in improving eye sight. They also contain Vitamin B6 and folate which prevents loss of vision and eye disorders. The fiber contained in Mrenda helps with digestion. Mrenda can also help in regulating menses especially if they are irregular. |
| Spider Plant | Tsaga/ | It contains essential amino acids such as valine, histidine, threonine, leucine, isoleucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine and tryptophan. Spider plant is a rich source of minerals such as phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, calcium, magnesium, iron, manganese, copper and zinc |
| Amaranth | Terere | Amaranth is a great source of protein, fiber, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus and iron. It helps keep your digestive system regulated, build your strength, and reduce the risk of fracture or broken bones. |
| Black Night Shade | Managu | The main nutrients contained in Managu include folic acid, which is very useful during pregnancy, vitamins A, B and E, beta-carotene and vitamin C, which boosts immunity and helps heal cuts and wounds, as well as iron absorption. |
| Slender Leaf | Mitoo | Mitoo is a slender leaf vegetable that provides your body with dietary nutrients such as beta-carotene, vitamin A, Iron, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, and zinc. Their health benefits include immunity boost, blood pressure control, nourished skin, improved eyesight, and strong bones. |
| Malabar Spinach | Nderema | Nderema used to play a crucial role in the food systems of some rural Kenyan communities. Its leaves are rich in iron and vitamin A, thus making it a food with invigorating and restorative properties. For these reasons, it was traditionally part of the diet of children and pregnant women. |
| Ethiopian Kale | Kanzira | This wild vegetable is laden with numerous nutrients such as magnesium, potassium, dietary fibre, beta-carotene, calcium, zinc, iron, phosphorus, copper, manganese, and riboflavin. |
| Pumpkin Leaves | Kahurua | They are high in vitamin A, C, E, B2, and K and beneficial for hair, teeth, bones, and skin. The leaves are low in cholesterol and sodium and that makes them an excellent vegetable for all age ranges. They are high in calcium, iron, potassium, and manganese, preventing chronic diseases from happening. The leaves have lots of dietary fibres that are useful to the immune and digestive system and contain important minerals. |
| Cow Pea Leaves | Kunde | Vitamin A and C and polyphenols in cowpeas have antioxidant properties, which reduce inflammation and the risk of chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and certain cancers. They also encourage collagen synthesis, which improves skin repair, reduces age-related signs, and enhances the glow. |
For us to ensure we preserve our biodiversity and legacy of ALV/s we need to actively promote them by consuming them. We should introduce our children from a very young age to the nutritional values of our local foods to increase adoption. If we ignore and don’t create demand for our local foods we will have lost what defines us as Africans and will be enslaved to external forces that will compromise our heritage. My food is African!