The use of indigenous underutilized plant species to achieve sustainable food security in the Global South: a case study from Ghana

Join our joint YESI/IGDC International Fellows Seminar with Dr Abena Boakye, from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana.

Adequate food and nutrition for all is a major global challenge, particularly in the Global South, where extreme effects of climate change, increasing population and urbanization weaken food systems and heighten malnutrition and food scarcity issues. More recently, scientists have started to explore the value and use of indigenous underutilized plant species as climate-resilient and sustainable nutrition solutions.

This seminar presents findings from research in Ghana on the use of indigenous underutilized plant species to mitigate food insecurity in the country and highlights the state of the debate on the use of these plant species for sustainable transformation of food systems to mitigate food insecurity in the Global South.

The talk outlines the research gaps and argues that a foodscapes framing can help scientists explore long-lasting solutions. Foodscapes refers to the food environment –how foods are made available and accessible to a people – as well as the meanings/values attached to certain foods, food practices, and places where the food is consumed, and the complexities of their interconnectedness to the food behaviour.