In Africa, periods of food shortage (often right before the harvest) are widely considered as the ‘lean’ or ‘hungry’ season. During these months, the situation can be dire. Not only are local food supplies dwindling, food prices can also be elevated. The common response during this critical period tends to be focused on cereal imports and securing calories to meet domestic demand. By contrast, limited attention is devoted to other food groups, including dark green leafy vegetables such as amaranth or other vegetables such as tomatoes. These foods provide important sources of micronutrients vital to human health and can serve as crucial complements to the more calorie-dense staples. Yet, the simplistic focus on how to secure more staples risks overlooking the potential of local wild and cultivated vegetables for food and nutrition security during the lean seasons.
The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)
alliance
alliance
alliance@cgiar.org
Vegetables are plentiful in the lean seasons
- From
-
Published on
26.09.25
- Impact Area
In the lean seasons, stored food supplies are low and food prices rise. Seasonal availability calendars reveal that lean seasons are actually a peak season for many vegetable species. Creative use of vegetables as essential rather than secondary foods could be a solution for diversifying diets.
What to do when local food stocks are depleted?
Related news
-
From bottles to solar pumps: how Cocoa farmers in Ghana are innovating to beat water stress
Sehlule Muzata28.10.25-
Environmental health
Across Ghana's cocoa belt, the rhythm of the rains is no longer reliable. Once-predictable wet…
Read more -
-
SOILutions for Security: CGIAR at the 2025 Borlaug Dialogue
Multifunctional Landscapes Science Program22.10.25-
Biodiversity
-
Environmental health
-
Environmental health & biodiversity
-
Food security
-
Nutrition
From October 21–23, CGIAR will join global partners in Des Moines, Iowa for the 2025…
Read more -
-
Bridging knowledge systems: Indigenous practices for sustainable foodways
The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)21.10.25-
Environmental health & biodiversity
-
Gender equality, youth & social inclusion
Indigenous peoples’ food systems have existed for millennia: far longer than the industrialised fo…
Read more -