ARE INDIGENOUS VEGETABLES UNDERUTILIZED CROPS? SOME EVIDENCE FROM EASTERN AFRICA AND SOUTH EAST ASIA

Indigenous vegetables (IVs) are considered to be underutilized crops, although much of this perception may be based on scarcity of data. This paper provides an overview on the scope and value of indigenous vegetable consumption in South East Asia and East Africa. Based on household data from Eastern Africa (Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda) and South East Asia (The Philippines, Thailand and Lao PDR), this paper highlights the role that IVs play in overall vegetables and micronutrient consumption. By linking consumption data with food expenditure data, the study shows that IVs not only play an important role in providing food security for poor households, but also constitute an increasingly attractive food group for upper income groups. In conclusion, this study argues that IVs are not underutilized, but undervalued. By preserving biodiversity and indigenous knowledge on production and consumption of IVs, and by providing improved varieties and developing improved cultivation practices of IVs, scientists can contribute to the well-being of thousands of poor farmers by enabling them to participate in growing markets for these crops.