Arusha, Tanzania

Dec 8, 2009

Parents have always had a hard time getting kids to either their vegetables—whether they live in Beijing, New York City, or Johannesburg. But in a small town in Arusha, Tanzania, a research center is helping Africans gain access to nutritious—and native—sources of vegetables. As hunger and drought spread across Africa, however, there’s a huge focus on increasing yields of staple crops, such as maize, wheat, cassava, and rice. And whil...

Arusha, Tanzania

Dec 7, 2009

Parents have always had a hard time getting kids to either their vegetables—whether they live in Beijing, New York City, or Johannesburg. But in a small town in Arusha, Tanzania, a research center is helping Africans gain access to nutritious—and native—sources of vegetables. As hunger and drought spread across Africa, however, there's a huge focus on increasing yields of staple crops, such as maize, wheat, cassava, and rice. And while t...

Arusha, Tanzania

Dec 7, 2009

This is the third post about our visit to the World Agroforestry Center in Arusha, Tanzania. They have unfamiliar names, like amaranth, baobab, cowpea, dika, enset, moringa, and spider plant. And many of them are typically thought of as weeds, not food, but these African indigenous vegetables and many others provide an important source of nutrients to millions of people. Some have been used for thousands of years, providing an important cult...

Arusha, Tanzania

Dec 4, 2009

This is the second blog in a series about Danielle's visit to the World Vegetable Center in Arusha, Tanzania. This piece is cross posted from Nourishing the Planet. The World Vegetable Center is focusing on "building a sustainable seed system in sub-Saharan Africa." What does that mean? According to Dr. Abdou Tenkouano, Director of the Regional Center for Africa, it requires "bringing farmers voices into the choices of material...

Arusha, Tanzania

Dec 3, 2009

This is the first in a series of blog posts about my visit with the World Vegetable Center in Arusha, Tanzania. Cross posted from Nourishing the Planet. As hunger and drought spread across Africa , there's a huge focus on increasing yields of staple crops, such as maize, wheat, cassava, and rice. And while these crops are important for food security, providing much needed calories, they don't provide much protein, Vitamin A, Vitamin C,...