Indigenous seeds favour peasant farmers
Mar 12, 2008
IT is heartening that the National Agriculture Research Organisation (NARO) has taken an initiative to conserve indigenous seeds or crops that are under threat of extinction. Although exotic and improved crop species are well known for their great output, it cannot be denied that they have many weak
By Adyeri Kanyaihe
IT is heartening that the National Agriculture Research Organisation (NARO) has taken an initiative to conserve indigenous seeds or crops that are under threat of extinction. Although exotic and improved crop species are well known for their great output, it cannot be denied that they have many weaknesses compared to indigenous species.
To begin with, there is not a single improved crop that does not require intensive care. This care invariably always involves spraying to control weeds, pests and diseases. This is a distinct disadvantage especially in the countryside where such ‘luxuries’ can be ill-afforded.
This is essentially the edge that indigenous species have over exotic ones. It is common to reap indigenous crops all the year around where pesticides are virtually unknown.
I do not write as an authority in agriculture or as a geneticist but nothing beats experience! For example, in my home area in Kabarole, there are tiny tomatoes which are slightly bigger than gooseberries which grow on their own in banana plantations.
These tomatoes are particularly tasty, and need no care since they grow wild and can grow almost anywhere. A few weeks ago, I was treated to a pleasant spectacle. I found this type of tomato growing on top of a concrete slab at a new building site where the only material that resembles soil is coarse dry sand on top of the slab.
How the delicate roots of the tomato bush were able to penetrate the stones, sand and cement is a riddle only nature can answer. Where the nutrients that have sustained the crop come from is a mystery. The watchman at the site says he has been harvesting the tomatoes for the last six months. Clearly, this is a very peasant-friendly crop.
Compare this to the huge tomatoes that are a common sight in Uganda’s markets. These tomatoes are very delicate and without intensive spraying, no harvest can be expected from them. Then there is hybrid maize. Almost invariably, this type of maize is mono-colour with a distinctly flat taste.
On the other hand, the tiny multi-colour traditional maize species have no peer. It has a fantastic taste and can be harvested, stored and replanted in another season year in, year out. For the high-yielding exotic species, one must go back to the market. Then there are huge mangoes which look very attractive. One has to be very selective when buying these fruits because quite often many are rotten on the inside.
Besides, they are not half as sweet as the small indigenous mangoes. My neighbour in Naalya has huge attractive guavas but which she must spray twice or thrice a month. In spite of that, like the huge mangoes, many of them are often found half rotten on the inside although they look healthy at a casual glance. Why is that?
What is obvious is that what indigenous species lack in yield, they make up for in many other ways which are farmer-friendly. This is good news at a time when organic produce is much sought after. We are talking about poor peasant farmers. What is most conspicuous is that one always has to go back to the market if one wants a meaningful harvest from hybrid species.
The gene bank at Entebbe is doing a wonderful job and should not look back. Researchers are grappling with the problem of food insecurity that is threatening most communities as most crops can hardly cope with conditions caused by climate change. Indigenous crop species may very well be a lifeline for impoverished peasant communities and must be preserved.
The writer is a journalist
IT is heartening that the National Agriculture Research Organisation (NARO) has taken an initiative to conserve indigenous seeds or crops that are under threat of extinction. Although exotic and improved crop species are well known for their great output, it cannot be denied that they have many weaknesses compared to indigenous species.
To begin with, there is not a single improved crop that does not require intensive care. This care invariably always involves spraying to control weeds, pests and diseases. This is a distinct disadvantage especially in the countryside where such ‘luxuries’ can be ill-afforded.
This is essentially the edge that indigenous species have over exotic ones. It is common to reap indigenous crops all the year around where pesticides are virtually unknown.
I do not write as an authority in agriculture or as a geneticist but nothing beats experience! For example, in my home area in Kabarole, there are tiny tomatoes which are slightly bigger than gooseberries which grow on their own in banana plantations.
These tomatoes are particularly tasty, and need no care since they grow wild and can grow almost anywhere. A few weeks ago, I was treated to a pleasant spectacle. I found this type of tomato growing on top of a concrete slab at a new building site where the only material that resembles soil is coarse dry sand on top of the slab.
How the delicate roots of the tomato bush were able to penetrate the stones, sand and cement is a riddle only nature can answer. Where the nutrients that have sustained the crop come from is a mystery. The watchman at the site says he has been harvesting the tomatoes for the last six months. Clearly, this is a very peasant-friendly crop.
Compare this to the huge tomatoes that are a common sight in Uganda’s markets. These tomatoes are very delicate and without intensive spraying, no harvest can be expected from them. Then there is hybrid maize. Almost invariably, this type of maize is mono-colour with a distinctly flat taste.
On the other hand, the tiny multi-colour traditional maize species have no peer. It has a fantastic taste and can be harvested, stored and replanted in another season year in, year out. For the high-yielding exotic species, one must go back to the market. Then there are huge mangoes which look very attractive. One has to be very selective when buying these fruits because quite often many are rotten on the inside.
Besides, they are not half as sweet as the small indigenous mangoes. My neighbour in Naalya has huge attractive guavas but which she must spray twice or thrice a month. In spite of that, like the huge mangoes, many of them are often found half rotten on the inside although they look healthy at a casual glance. Why is that?
What is obvious is that what indigenous species lack in yield, they make up for in many other ways which are farmer-friendly. This is good news at a time when organic produce is much sought after. We are talking about poor peasant farmers. What is most conspicuous is that one always has to go back to the market if one wants a meaningful harvest from hybrid species.
The gene bank at Entebbe is doing a wonderful job and should not look back. Researchers are grappling with the problem of food insecurity that is threatening most communities as most crops can hardly cope with conditions caused by climate change. Indigenous crop species may very well be a lifeline for impoverished peasant communities and must be preserved.
The writer is a journalist