Prospects in cultivation and utilization of spiderplant (Cleome gynandra L.) in sub-Saharan Africa: A review

Spiderplant (Cleome gynandra L.,) exists as a semi-cultivated, indigenous leafy vegetable in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It has a natural habitat in the tropics and sub-tropics. The crop has the potential to contribute to sustainable food and nutritional security. This is due its richness in both macro- and micro-nutrients (minerals, vitamins and essential oils respectively). With its nutritional and ethnopharmacological uses, it is underutilized due to lack of awareness, promotion of production and utilization approaches globally. Globally, poor resource farmers are depending on such crops for income generation from economically fresh or dried spiderplant. Additionally, the potential contribution of spiderplant to pests and disease management can justify the need for its promotion in SSA. Spiderplant remains a primitive vegetable due to lack of the valorization units in Africa, which miss scientific information and indicators to understand how the cultivation and chemical compositions varies. Development of spiderplant in SSA requires all sectors to engage especially the breeders and consumers so that good agronomic traits can be achieved. All the biotic (response to field and storage pests and diseases) and abiotic stressors (nutrient use, salinity, drought) need to be addressed during spiderplant breeding program. Nonetheless, understanding the functional potential of spiderplant rhizosphere microbiome may promote sustainable bio-fertilizer-and-processing products in agriculture and related industries. Through value chain development, and technology transfer programs, the transformation of research efforts on spiderplant on the creation of sustainable collaboration frameworks for stakeholders in industry, innovations can be rapidly disseminated and popularized. Analysis of constraints and opportunities for orphan crops like spiderplant require the action and engagement of sectors such as farmer organizations, researchers, seed companies, traders, policy makers and consumers. This, therefore, justifies the need for promotional efforts through breeding, value chain development as well as development of national frameworks, which support orphan crops in SSA, aligning with the United Nations (UN) sustainable developmental goals (SDGs) in nutrition, health and food security. Little is known in most developing countries of SSA, on the cultivation, production, utilization and marketing of the vegetable across regions. This article examined the opportunities for the production, utilization, constraints as well as the promotional efforts of spiderplant in SSA.