False banana: Is Ethiopia’s enset ‘wondercrop’ for climate change?

Scientists say the plant could be enset, an Ethiopian staple, a new superfood and a lifesaver in the face of climate change.

The banana-like plant has the potential to feed more than 100 million people in a warming world, according to a new study.

Outside of Ethiopia, where it is used to make porridge and bread, the plant is almost unknown.

Research suggests that the crop can be grown over a much larger area in Africa.

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

Enset or “false banana” is a close relative of the banana but is only consumed in part of Ethiopia.

The banana-like fruit of the plant is inedible, but the starchy stems and roots can be fermented and made into porridge and bread.

Enset is a staple in Ethiopia, where around 20 million people depend on it, but it has not been cultivated elsewhere, although wild relatives – not considered edible – grow as far south as South Africa, suggesting the plant can tolerate a much larger one Range.

Using agricultural surveys and modeling work, scientists predicted Enset’s potential range over the next four decades. They found the harvest could potentially feed more than 100 million people and improve 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 increase food security.

“It has some really unusual properties that make it absolutely unique as a cultivated plant,” he said. “You can plant it anytime, you can harvest it anytime, and it’s perennial. That’s why it’s called the tree against hunger.”

Ethiopia is an important center of crop breeding in Africa, home to coffee and many other crops.

Climate change is predicted to seriously affect yields and distribution of staple foods across Africa and beyond.

With our dependence on a few staple foods, there is growing interest in finding new crops to feed the world. Almost half of all the calories we eat come from three types – rice, wheat and corn.

“We need to diversify the plants that we use globally as a species because all of our eggs are in a very small basket right now,” said Dr. Borell.

The research is published in Environmental Research Letters.

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