BY EPHREM ANDARGACHEW
Whenever the failure of rains in some parts of the Horn of Africa occurs, it levels millions of people in food insecurity and requires emergency assistance in the region. The occurrence of frequent climate change has forced humanitarian agencies to issue urgent appeals for support before the drought changes into widespread famine.
Climate change causes a lack of water and farmers have seen their crops dry up, and cereal harvests are expected to be much lower than normal. A significant number of livestock that is central to the lives of pastoralist communities have died in the region. Apart from human suffering, the body condition of most livestock in the nation is below normal compared with earlier years and milk production is lower than average. Farmlands across the region have also been ravaged by a desert locust infestation over the past two years.
The Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD) a recent report confirmed that the drought that occurs in the region left over 40.4 million people with food insecurity which needs urgent support. Besides, the drought severely affected animals, both wildlife and domestic.
The recurrent drought which is caused by climate change affects millions of people. To tackle these problems, experts, governmental and non-governmental organizations, international organizations, and so on have put their recommendations. Among the recommendations, the plant enset, also known as false banana, is included as a new super food and a lifesaver in the face of climate change.
Enset or false banana has historically been recognized as a tree against hunger due to the domesticated plant having important attributes that support the food security of communities that cultivate it. These attributes were evident during the devastating famines of the 1980s, where enset-growing communities reported little-to-no food insecurity. Most significant is the evident ability of enset to withstand environmental stress, including periods of drought.
According to new studies, false banana has the potential to feed more than 100 million people in a warming world. The plant is almost unknown outside of Ethiopia, where it is used to make porridge and bread. Research suggests the crop can be grown over a much larger range in Africa.
Arba Minch University Research and Community Service Vice President Associate Professor Behaylu Merdekyos said that, considering the potential of enset, various collaboration works with stakeholders have been done to modernize and improve the production of enset.
Hawassa University Lecturer Dr. Wendawek Abebe told international media that Enset or “false banana” is a close relative of the banana which is consumed only in one part of Ethiopia. Nevertheless, a false banana is a crop that can play a really important role in addressing food security in Ethiopia.
The banana-like fruit of the plant is inedible, but the starchy stems and roots can be fermented and used to make porridge and bread. Enset is a staple in Ethiopia, where around 20 million people rely on it for food, but elsewhere it has not been cultivated, although wild relatives – which are not considered edible – grow as far south as South Africa, suggesting the plant can tolerate a much wider range.
Arba Minch University Biotechnology lecturer and researcher Dr. Addisu Fekadu said that, enset is undisputedly Ethiopia’s potential crop that could ascertain food security and prevent stunting. The crop is found in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, however, it is domesticated and cultivated as a food crop only in Ethiopia.
With its starch-rich corm and pseudo stem processed into food products, enset is a staple meal for more than 20 million Ethiopians in southern Ethiopia. The crop has huge nutritional and food security for the country but has not been fully utilized. Unlike other crops, enset gives a high yield from a single plant. “A single plant can give on average about 120kgs of edible product,” the researcher pointed out.
Currently, using agricultural surveys and modeling work, scientists predicted the potential range of enset over the next four decades. They found the crop could potentially feed more than 100 million people and boost food security in Ethiopia and other African countries, including Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda.
Study researcher Dr. James Borrell, of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, said planting enset as a buffer crop for lean times could help boost food security. “It’s got some really unusual traits that make it absolutely unique as a crop.” “You plant it at any time, you harvest it at any time and it’s perennial. That’s why they call it the tree against hunger.” Ethiopia is a major center of crop domestication in Africa, home to coffee and many other crops.
According to Associate Professor Behaylu, the University’s activities and new research findings regarding false bananas are now gaining not only local but also international attention. Hence, it is imperative to include false bananas in the policy at the government level.
Enset is a unique crop that has not only a high yield but also a climate-resilient crop that produces highly nutritious food. It is also significant to get much food within a small area. Besides, it is important to encourage the government and any other stakeholder to scale-up enset growing in all parts of the country, especially in the north which has huge potential to cultivate enset, Dr. Addisu explained.
Climate change is predicted to seriously affect yields and distribution of staple food crops across Africa and beyond. There is growing interest in seeking new plants to feed the world, given our reliance on a few staple crops. Nearly half of all the calories we eat come from three species – rice, wheat, and maize. “We need to diversify the plants we use globally as a species because all our eggs are in a very small basket at the moment,” said Dr. Borrell.
To mitigate climate change impacts through enset, it is essential to modernize the production of enset. For this, Arba Minch University has created and distributed various types of equipment that are important for the modernization of enset production which includes Hamcho Cutter, Bula Squeezer, K’och’o from fiber separation machines, ceramic and plastic K’och’o fermentation processors, and yeasts that accelerate the fermentation process are being widely produced. However, much remain to be done, but this process should continue to bring better result.
The Ethiopian Herald June 7/2022
