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Conservation and utilization of germplasm of traditional African vegetables in Senegal
A. Seek
TROPICASEM, Dakar, Senegal

Introduction

In Senegal, rain-fed agriculture has traditionally been the predominant system of agricultural production. Vegetable crops that are now widely used (high value added, less vulnerable to erratic climatic conditions, etc.) have gained popularity only over the last 15 years, during which time there has been a considerable increase of cultivated area, and a doubling of production (Ministère de l’Agriculture 1992).

This progress is certainly partly due to the establishment of the Horticultural Development Centre (CDH) in 1972 and the subsequent research work that has been carried out in the field. However, it only applies to species which have been given high priority in the past, namely European vegetables such as tomato, cabbage, potato and onion. Today, more than 30 vegetable species are produced in Senegal, some of them in restricted geographic areas. These species include traditional African vegetables, sometimes referred to as home garden crops or “plants for women”. These traditional vegetables are produced over small areas and include several species that have been neglected by research programmes. These crops have not undergone scientific selection and breeding and are maintained in a heterozygous state.

Today, a new awareness of the importance of these plants has led to their gradual integration in research and development programmes. Indeed, in addition to their food value and the fact that they are easy to produce, they also have tremendous industrial and medical potential.

In this paper, we present a brief diagnostic survey of the traditional vegetable species on which our programme is conducting research and then outline their future prospects.

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