ibclogo XVI International Botanical Congess


Abstract Number: 5908
Poster No. = 2381


THE FUTURE OF WILD FOOD PLANTS


Christine Kabuye, East African Herbarium, National Museums of Kenya, P. O. Box 42271, NAIROBI, Kenya


Wild food plants have supported many rural populations for needed nutritional requirements. But as lifestyles are changing and gathering areas are reduced, there are threats their survival as well as to the knowledge related to them. And yet they are usually of high nutritional value. The future of these wild food plants depends of their continued use and appreciation. Their continued use can only be maintained if they are studied, developed and conserved, paying attention to their culutural and nutritional values. Some examples of work done in East Africa are considered. These range from ethnobotanical inventories, nutritional aspects to agromonic considerations. However, the plants need to be considered seriously in conservation and agricultural development policies.


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