Africa should promote bio-diversity

CONSUMERS are always on the lookout for “healthy, nutritious and affordable” meals, but are always overwhelmed by the amount of choices out there.

Understanding that not all sustainable diets are healthy and not all healthy diets are sustainable, an integral and systemic approach would be deemed necessary to strike a balance in producing sufficient, safe and nutritionally enhanced food.

Familiar words like ultra-processing, repackaging, refining are basic routines for many food production companies, which has significantly contributed to the growing figures of national epidemics such as obesity, overweight as well as diet-related noncommunicable diseases like cancer, diabetes and heart-related diseases.

A reorientation of consumer’s purchasing and demanding power would directly impact farmers to shape, maintain and promote a diverse array of crops, thereby promoting diverse diet and conserving agro-diversity.

Agro-diversity does not only contribute to a sustainable food system, but also stretches its impacts to improve the well-being of farmers, enhance pollinators and economically important soil organisms which reduces the risk of pest epidemics, and also reduces yield losses resulting from climate change.

Actions like investment in agro-innovative solutions to provide user-friendly data and solutions which equip actors across the agri-food chains to make informed decisions towards sustaining agro-bio-diversity, formulate evidencebased agro strategies and track progress are encouraged.

Creating awareness through research studies and promoting policies that nurture agrobio-diversity will go a long way in catalysing change across the agrichain to attain a sustainable food system.