Loss of Indigenous Crop Species: Implications for Crop Diversity and Food Security in Ghana

Abstract

The overdependence on a relatively small number of crop species for food supply and security has compromised crop diversity and led to the loss of several crop genetic resources. This has lasting implications for biodiversity conservation and the ability to feed the ever-increasing world population. Indigenous crop species (ICS) such as Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea), African Yam Bean (Sphenostylis stenocarpa), Kersting’s groundnut (Macrotyloma geocarpum), Asaman ntorewa (Solanum torvum) and Bokoboko (Talinum triangulare), have the potential of meeting Ghana’s food needs and addressing issues of nutrition security, poverty and health. ICS do not only serve as a repository of genetic diversity, but also some are micronutrient rich and have the added advantage of being better adapted to prevailing environmental conditions. The aim of the study was to gather indigenous knowledge on crop species that are no longer cultivated and the reasons for non-cultivation, with the aim of identifying those with potential to address food security challenges in Ghana. This study tapped into the indigenous knowledge existing within farming communities across five of the six agro-ecological zones in Ghana. Surveys were conducted in 41 farming communities across Ghana (Upper East, Northern, Ashanti, Eastern, Volta, Western and Central Regions). Data were obtained through 41 focus group discussions followed by face-to-face questionnaire interviews with 600 individuals (427 males and 173 females). A combined total of 40 species and varieties of crops were recorded as currently cultivated in the study areas, with a further over 50 species/varieties reported to have previously been cultivated. Change in rainfall patterns, infertile soils, deforestation, pests and diseases, and the high cost of cultivation were some of the reasons given for not growing the indigenous crop species. We profile the indigenous crop species with the potential to withstand climatic extremes and contribute to food security, and discuss the implications of the loss of such crop species and/or varieties for agro-biodiversity and food security.