IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i5p2896-d512487.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

African Leafy Vegetables for Improved Human Nutrition and Food System Resilience in Southern Africa: A Scoping Review

Author

Listed:
  • Admire Isaac Tichafa Shayanowako

    (Centre for Transformative Agricultural and Food Systems, School of Agricultural, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg 3209, South Africa
    African Centre for Crop Improvement, School of Agricultural, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg 3209, South Africa)

  • Oliver Morrissey

    (School of Economics, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK)

  • Alberto Tanzi

    (Plant and Crop Sciences, School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK)

  • Maud Muchuweti

    (Department of Nutrition Dietetics and Food Science, Faculty of Science, University of Zimbabwe, 630 Churchill Avenue, Harare 0000, Zimbabwe)

  • Guillermina M. Mendiondo

    (Plant and Crop Sciences, School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK)

  • Sean Mayes

    (Plant and Crop Sciences, School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK)

  • Albert T. Modi

    (Centre for Transformative Agricultural and Food Systems, School of Agricultural, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg 3209, South Africa)

  • Tafadzwanashe Mabhaudhi

    (Centre for Transformative Agricultural and Food Systems, School of Agricultural, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg 3209, South Africa)

Abstract

The economic potential of African leafy vegetables (ALVs) remains obscured by a poorly developed value chain. This scoping review assembled and examined scattered knowledge generated on ALVs across southern Africa, focusing on production, processing, marketing, and consumption. Two electronic databases (Scopus and Web of Science) were screened, and a total of 71 relevant studies were included and evaluated. The review provides a state of the art on knowledge related to utilisation of ALVs across the entire value chain. The findings show that functional properties are of prime importance in the production and consumption of ALVs. However, the lack of improved germplasm and a non-existent seed supply system are significant production bottlenecks. Pests and diseases affecting the productivity of ALVs remain mostly unexplored. Sun-drying and boiling were the most reported post-harvest processing methods, suggesting that traditional processing methods are still prominent. Many studies also confirmed the predominance of informal markets in the trading of ALVs as they fail to penetrate formal markets because of poor product positioning and exclusion from produce demand and supply forecasts. The inception of cultivar development, mechanised processing methods, and market linkages will enhance the profitability of ALVs in the region. This review enhances the gaining of insight into the state of different value chain components will assist in upscaling production, value addition of products, and enhance marketing efficiency. There is a great opportunity for basic and applied research into ALVs.

Suggested Citation

  • Admire Isaac Tichafa Shayanowako & Oliver Morrissey & Alberto Tanzi & Maud Muchuweti & Guillermina M. Mendiondo & Sean Mayes & Albert T. Modi & Tafadzwanashe Mabhaudhi, 2021. "African Leafy Vegetables for Improved Human Nutrition and Food System Resilience in Southern Africa: A Scoping Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-20, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:5:p:2896-:d:512487
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/5/2896/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/5/2896/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Innocent Maseko & Tafadzwanashe Mabhaudhi & Samson Tesfay & Hintsa Tesfamicael Araya & Melake Fezzehazion & Christian Phillipus Du Plooy, 2017. "African Leafy Vegetables: A Review of Status, Production and Utilization in South Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-16, December.
    2. Tafadzwanashe Mabhaudhi & Patrick O’Reilly & Sue Walker & Simon Mwale, 2016. "Opportunities for Underutilised Crops in Southern Africa’s Post–2015 Development Agenda," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-16, March.
    3. Mabhaudhi, T. & Modi, A.T. & Beletse, Y.G., 2013. "Response of taro (Colocasia esculenta L. Schott) landraces to varying water regimes under a rainshelter," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 102-112.
    4. Tim Hart, 2011. "The significance of African vegetables in ensuring food security for South Africa’s rural poor," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 28(3), pages 321-333, September.
    5. Nyathi, M.K. & Van Halsema, G.E. & Beletse, Y.G. & Annandale, J.G. & Struik, P.C., 2018. "Nutritional water productivity of selected leafy vegetables," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 209(C), pages 111-122.
    6. Marcia M. Croft & Maria I. Marshall & Martins Odendo & Christine Ndinya & Naman N. Ondego & Pamela Obura & Steven G. Hallett, 2018. "Formal and Informal Seed Systems in Kenya: Supporting Indigenous Vegetable Seed Quality," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(4), pages 758-775, April.
    7. Ochieng, J. & Kessy, R. & Afari-Sefa, V. & Chagomoka, T., 2018. "Awareness, perceptions and factors affecting purchase decisions of solar dried vegetables in rural Tanzania," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277018, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    8. Chagomoka, Takemore & Afari-Sefa, Victor & Pitoro, Raul, 2014. "Value Chain Analysis of Traditional Vegetables from Malawi and Mozambique," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 17(4), pages 1-28, November.
    9. Nyathi, M.K. & van Halsema, G.E. & Annandale, J.G. & Struik, P.C., 2018. "Calibration and validation of the AquaCrop model for repeatedly harvested leafy vegetables grown under different irrigation regimes," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 107-119.
    10. Charlie Shackleton & Fiona Paumgarten & Thami Mthembu & Lisa Ernst & Margaret Pasquini & Germain Pichop, 2010. "Production of and trade in African indigenous vegetables in the urban and peri-urban areas of Durban, South Africa," Development Southern Africa, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(3), pages 291-308.
    11. Grany M. Senyolo & Edilegnaw Wale & Gerald F. Ortmann, 2018. "The determinants of farmers’ decision to produce African leafy vegetables in the Limpopo province, South Africa," African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(7), pages 771-778, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Zoe Nomakhushe Nxusani & Mthokozisi Kwazi Zuma & Xikombiso Gertrude Mbhenyane, 2023. "A Systematic Review of Indigenous Food Plant Usage in Southern Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-27, May.
    2. Dickson Mgangathweni Mazibuko & Hiroko Gono & Sarvesh Maskey & Hiromu Okazawa & Lameck Fiwa & Hidehiko Kikuno & Tetsu Sato, 2023. "The Sustainable Niche for Vegetable Production within the Contentious Sustainable Agriculture Discourse: Barriers, Opportunities and Future Approaches," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-25, March.
    3. Luambo Jeffrey Ramarumo, 2022. "Harnessing Ecosystem Services from Invasive Alien Grass and Rush Species to Suppress their Aggressive Expansion in South Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-16, November.
    4. Mjabuliseni Simon Cloapas Ngidi & Sinethemba Sibusisiwe Zulu & Temitope Oluwaseun Ojo & Simphiwe Innocentia Hlatshwayo, 2023. "Effect of Consumers’ Acceptance of Indigenous Leafy Vegetables and Their Contribution to Household Food Security," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-14, March.
    5. Yevheniia Varyvoda & Douglas Taren, 2022. "Considering Ecosystem Services in Food System Resilience," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-16, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nyathi, M.K. & Van Halsema, G.E. & Beletse, Y.G. & Annandale, J.G. & Struik, P.C., 2018. "Nutritional water productivity of selected leafy vegetables," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 209(C), pages 111-122.
    2. Nyathi, M.K. & Du Plooy, C.P. & Van Halsema, G.E. & Stomph, T.J. & Annandale, J.G. & Struik, P.C., 2019. "The dual-purpose use of orange-fleshed sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas var. Bophelo) for improved nutritional food security," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 217(C), pages 23-37.
    3. Charlie Mbosso & Basile Boulay & Stefano Padulosi & Gennifer Meldrum & Youssoufa Mohamadou & Aminata Berthe Niang & Harouna Coulibaly & Yara Koreissi & Amadou Sidibé, 2020. "Fonio and Bambara Groundnut Value Chains in Mali: Issues, Needs, and Opportunities for Their Sustainable Promotion," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-19, June.
    4. Nyathi, M.K. & Mabhaudhi, T. & Van Halsema, G.E. & Annandale, J.G. & Struik, P.C., 2019. "Benchmarking nutritional water productivity of twenty vegetables - A review," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 221(C), pages 248-259.
    5. Wang, Haidong & Cheng, Minghui & Liao, Zhenqi & Guo, Jinjin & Zhang, Fucang & Fan, Junliang & Feng, Hao & Yang, Qiliang & Wu, Lifeng & Wang, Xiukang, 2023. "Performance evaluation of AquaCrop and DSSAT-SUBSTOR-Potato models in simulating potato growth, yield and water productivity under various drip fertigation regimes," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 276(C).
    6. Innocent Maseko & Tafadzwanashe Mabhaudhi & Samson Tesfay & Hintsa Tesfamicael Araya & Melake Fezzehazion & Christian Phillipus Du Plooy, 2017. "African Leafy Vegetables: A Review of Status, Production and Utilization in South Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-16, December.
    7. Alberto B. Charrua & Philip J. Havik & Salomão Bandeira & Luís Catarino & Ana Ribeiro-Barros & Pedro Cabral & Margarida Moldão & Maria M. Romeiras, 2021. "Food Security and Nutrition in Mozambique: Comparative Study with Bean Species Commercialised in Informal Markets," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-13, August.
    8. Gudrun B. Keding & Katja Kehlenbeck & Gina Kennedy & Stepha McMullin, 2017. "Fruit production and consumption: practices, preferences and attitudes of women in rural western Kenya," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 9(3), pages 453-469, June.
    9. Vimbayi Grace Petrova Chimonyo & Tendai Polite Chibarabada & Dennis Junior Choruma & Richard Kunz & Sue Walker & Festo Massawe & Albert Thembinkosi Modi & Tafadzwanashe Mabhaudhi, 2022. "Modelling Neglected and Underutilised Crops: A Systematic Review of Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-19, October.
    10. Kamrath, Carolin & Rajendran, Srinivasulu & Nenguwo, Ngoni & Afari-Sefa, Victor & Broring, Stefanie, 2018. "Adoption behavior of market traders: an analysis based on Technology Acceptance Model and Theory of Planned Behavior," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 21(6), July.
    11. Gennifer Meldrum & Stefano Padulosi & Gaia Lochetti & Rose Robitaille & Stefano Diulgheroff, 2018. "Issues and Prospects for the Sustainable Use and Conservation of Cultivated Vegetable Diversity for More Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 8(7), pages 1-21, July.
    12. Isbell, Carina & Tobin, Daniel & Reynolds, Travis, 2021. "Motivations for maintaining crop diversity: Evidence from Vermont's seed systems," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    13. Delorit, Justin D. & Parker, Dominic P. & Block, Paul J., 2019. "An agro-economic approach to framing perennial farm-scale water resources demand management for water rights markets," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 218(C), pages 68-81.
    14. Liu, Qi & Niu, Jun & Wood, Jeffrey D. & Kang, Shaozhong, 2022. "Spatial optimization of cropping pattern in the upper-middle reaches of the Heihe River basin, Northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).
    15. Adeboye, Omotayo B. & Schultz, Bart & Adekalu, Kenneth O. & Prasad, Krishna C., 2019. "Performance evaluation of AquaCrop in simulating soil water storage, yield, and water productivity of rainfed soybeans (Glycine max L. merr) in Ile-Ife, Nigeria," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 213(C), pages 1130-1146.
    16. Gitari, Harun I. & Gachene, Charles K.K. & Karanja, Nancy N. & Kamau, Solomon & Nyawade, Shadrack & Sharma, Kalpana & Schulte-Geldermann, Elmar, 2018. "Optimizing yield and economic returns of rain-fed potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) through water conservation under potato-legume intercropping systems," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 59-66.
    17. Zoe Nomakhushe Nxusani & Mthokozisi Kwazi Zuma & Xikombiso Gertrude Mbhenyane, 2023. "A Systematic Review of Indigenous Food Plant Usage in Southern Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-27, May.
    18. Dizyee, Kanar & Baker, Derek & Herrero, Mario & Burrow, Heather & McMillan, Larelle & Sila, Daniel Ndaka & Rich, Karl M., 2020. "The promotion of amaranth value chains for livelihood enhancement in East Africa: A systems modelling approach," African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, African Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 15(2), June.
    19. Labeyrie, Vanesse & Friedman, Rachel S. & Donnet, Sophie & Faye, Ndeye Fatou & Cobelli, Océane & Baggio, Jacopo & Felipe-Lucia, María R. & Raimond, Christine, 2023. "Linking seed networks and crop diversity contributions to people: A case study in small-scale farming systems in Sahelian Senegal," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 211(C).
    20. Jalang'o, Dorcas Anyango, 2016. "Economic Analysis Of Smallholder Farmers’ Participation In Domestic High-Value Markets For Indigenous Vegetables In Siaya County, Kenya," Research Theses 276431, Collaborative Masters Program in Agricultural and Applied Economics.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:5:p:2896-:d:512487. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.