African Crops For The Future E07: African Rice (Oryza glaberrima) 

Exactly right. We let ourselves down by poor packaging and presentation. The good news, though, is that's something we can easily change!

Thanks so much!

I totally agree!

Thank you for sharing your humble opinion. I agree with you 100%!!

Thank you! I'll definitely start saving up to make another episode on this one!

You should!

Yes, it's the best!

Thanks a lot 😊

Much more drought tolerant than any sativa varieties!

Hi, yes, the essential oil from Zumbani is often produced. The most common use is actually as an insect repellent, but scientists are actively investigating it for its other medicinal uses. It's a very interesting product indeed!

That's a great question! You can sometimes find it in the indigenous foods section in supermarkets, as well as at your local msika. The best thing to do is grow it yourself, although there's quite a bit of work involved in preparing it. But I always think it's good for people to understand the effort involved in producing food - then they appreciate and enjoy it much more!

I definitely know it! It's not indigenous to Africa but I will do an episode on it soon, I promise!

Thanks. That wasn't really the idea of this series, but I hear you!

It's very healthy, and if more people grow it more people can benefit from its healthy properties!

I'm with you on that one!

It stick to your ribs for a very long time. We need it back.

Thank you!

That's a great question, and there's no one simple answer. I could write a PhD on this topic! Here a few contributing factors: 1. I think the single biggest one is that nobody has really been trying to get African produce out there. A large part of this is because we in Africa have been brainwashed into thinking that local produce is somehow inferior to imported, "Western" produce. And if we don't value our own products, how can we expect anyone else to? 2. We don’t work together as a block. There are over 50 countries in Africa. Imagine what we could achieve if we spoke with one voice! One of our big failures has been in terms of overcoming the trade barriers that prevent novel products being launched on different market. It is crazy that a food, which has been safely consumed in Africa for thousands of years, should be required to undergo toxicological testing before it can be launched on another market (I was recently quoted nearly US$200,000 to get baobab powder approved for sale in China, even though we all know it's perfectly safe!). But that’s just how it is, and we need to get over it and deal with it. If we were to systematically pull together as African nations, we could deal with this. 3. There is an inherent market bias against African produce, with a perception that it is inevitably of lower quality. We don't do ourselves any favours here either, because often we do conform to the stereotype by indeed supplying product of unacceptable quality. The good news is that all of these could potentially be overcome. In 2001 I started an organisation called PhytoTrade Africa, whose objective was to bring producers together from several Southern African countries and try to address these issues. We were to a large extent successful (e.g. with baobab, which we introduced into the EU and US markets), but we found it hard to raise the necessary funding and eventually the coffers ran dry. But PhytoTrade proved the concept works. It would be very possible to set up something on a much larger scale to systematically address these hurdles and get African products out there. If you or anyone else is keen to contribute to making this happen, let me know!

Very true!

Hi Chikafu, I hope you are doing well. Do you know where I can find this rice? I am very interested in trying it out.

@@lovernthater Reach out to Pamushana Foods - facebook.com/Pamusha-Traditional-Foods-102454488138071/?ref=py_c

@@chikafu6858 hey! Thank you so very much for the link! I really appreciate it!