Ethiopia's False Banana Could Be Superfood For Africa

Scientists say the plant enset, an Ethiopian staple also called false banana, could be a new superfood and a lifesaver in the face of climate change, Helen Briggs reported for BBC News.

Photo Insert: The Enset or "false banana"

The banana-like crop has the potential to feed more than 100 million people in a warming world, according to a new study. The plant is almost unknown outside of Ethiopia, where it is used to make porridge and bread.

Research suggests the crop can be grown over a much larger range in Africa. The research was published in Environmental Research Letters.

"This is a crop that can play a really important role in addressing food security and sustainable development," said Dr. Wendawek Abebe of Hawassa University in Awasa, Ethiopia.

Enset or "false banana" is a close relative of the banana but is consumed only in one part of Ethiopia. The banana-like fruit of the plant is inedible, but the starchy stems and roots can be fermented and used to make porridge and bread. The plant, which can grow as high as 10 meters, is a close relative of the banana and looks similar to its “cousin.”

Enset is a staple in Ethiopia, where around 20 million people rely on it for food, but elsewhere it has not been cultivated, although wild relatives - which are not considered edible - grow as far south as South Africa, suggesting the plant can tolerate a much wider range.

Using agricultural surveys and modeling work, scientists predicted the potential range of enset over the next four decades. They found the crop could potentially feed more than 100 million people and boost food security in Ethiopia and other African countries, including Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda.

Study researcher Dr. James Borrell, of the Royal Botanic Gardens- Kew, said planting enset as a buffer crop for lean times could help boost food security. "It's got some really unusual traits that make it absolutely unique as a crop," he said.

"You plant it at any time, you harvest it at any time and it's perennial. That's why they call it the tree against hunger."

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