10. Conclusion
The current knowledge on South African edible wild vegetable
species is not impressive in comparison with other African countries.
Ethnobotanical information on wild vegetables in South Africa is currently
centralised in only 5 out of 9 provinces. They appear to be secondary
sources of food in South Africa although their rich nutritional values
and ease of access could easily qualify themfor primary sources of food.
The inclusion ofwild vegetables in the South African diet could go a long
way in tackling food insecurity and malnutrition especially in children
who are the most vulnerable. Most importantly, there is a need to educate
the people about the importance ofwild vegetables so that their attitudes
can change. The false and negative perceptions surrounding the
consumption of wild vegetables such as, ‘poverty foods’, ‘foods for
women, children and the weak’ as well as ‘drought foods’ need to be particularly
changed. The younger generations who are the future custodians
of this knowledge need to be encouraged to appreciate these
resources while conservation of the existing species through research
needs to be improved.Work by institutions such as the ARC has been remarkable
over the years on the current subject but more efforts are
needed in the provinces where ethnobotanical information is scarce.
Cultivation of the preferred species especially those with favourable organoleptic
and nutritional values need to be encouraged. The solution to
food insecurity in South Africamay not lie in food donations fromricher
nations of the world, but in the people's backyards, agricultural fields,
swampy areas, river banks and the wild in the form of edible plant species
and at very minimal, if no cost at all.
Acknowledgements
We are thankful to the Govan Mbeki Research and Development
Center of the University of Fort Hare for funding this work.
10. ConclusionThe current knowledge on South African edible wild vegetablespecies is not impressive in comparison with other African countries.Ethnobotanical information on wild vegetables in South Africa is currentlycentralised in only 5 out of 9 provinces. They appear to be secondarysources of food in South Africa although their rich nutritional valuesand ease of access could easily qualify themfor primary sources of food.The inclusion ofwild vegetables in the South African diet could go a longway in tackling food insecurity and malnutrition especially in childrenwho are the most vulnerable. Most importantly, there is a need to educatethe people about the importance ofwild vegetables so that their attitudescan change. The false and negative perceptions surrounding theconsumption of wild vegetables such as, ‘poverty foods’, ‘foods forwomen, children and the weak’ as well as ‘drought foods’ need to be particularlychanged. The younger generations who are the future custodiansof this knowledge need to be encouraged to appreciate theseresources while conservation of the existing species through researchneeds to be improved.Work by institutions such as the ARC has been remarkableover the years on the current subject but more efforts areneeded in the provinces where ethnobotanical information is scarce.Cultivation of the preferred species especially those with favourable organolepticand nutritional values need to be encouraged. The solution to
food insecurity in South Africamay not lie in food donations fromricher
nations of the world, but in the people's backyards, agricultural fields,
swampy areas, river banks and the wild in the form of edible plant species
and at very minimal, if no cost at all.
Acknowledgements
We are thankful to the Govan Mbeki Research and Development
Center of the University of Fort Hare for funding this work.
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