Malnutrition in many African nations underlies generational cycles of human underdevelopment.  Some of the highest rates of disability-adjusted life years associated with micronutrient deficiency (‘hidden hunger’) are found in Africa, as are nearly three-quarters of the 41 countries worldwide characterized by high levels of stunting among children, coupled with anemia and overweight among women. 

Africa is predicted to contribute half the world’s population growth over the next 30 years which makes solutions to improve human nutrition on the continent a global priority. Strategies to cultivating foods rich in vitamins, essential minerals and other micronutrients important for healthful diets are key.

Some progress has been made in recent decades through measures such as crop biofortification (in which particular crops are bred to be more nutritious) and the integration of a wider range of nutrient-rich crops into food systems; however, further progress is required.  One approach to crop diversification centers on the promotion of African ‘orphan crops’ (also referred to as ‘minor crops’, ‘underutilized plant species’, ‘neglected crops’ and ‘future foods’).  Baobab is a prime example of a neglected crop that can help to address African malnutrition in a local and environmentally sustainable way.

To increase the ‘nutritional resilience’ of food systems to the negative effects of climate change on the food supply is a particular need.

The research required to support orphan crop integration into African food systems is complex and multidisciplinary, requiring an understanding of consumption barriers as well as production constraints. Important progress in establishing their competitive cultivation alongside major crops can be achieved, however, through genetic improvement that takes advantage of the extensive genetic diversity frequently found within orphan-crop species. The technical environment for genetic research on orphan crops has transformed in the past decade and can now support such progress because of substantially decreased costs of genome characterization and advances in breeding approaches, including statistical methods supporting genomic and environment-based selection. 

The Baobab Genome Project aims to deploy a “citizen science” approach to collecting Baobab samples from all over the African continent for genetic profiling and characterization to optimize Baobab breeding strategies for optimal crop yield.