A don, Prof. Edak Uyoh has advised the present generation to reduce the rate of junk food consumption and embrace the traditional food.
Prof. Uyoh gave the advise in Calabar while delivering the 113th inaugural lecture of the University of Calabar with the topic: “Rediscovering our Hidden Treasures: The Plant Breeders Quandary”.
She said that although thousands of plant species are available for food, fiber, shelter, industrial, cultural and medicinal purposes, only a relatively little percentage of these plant are put to good use.She explained that a total of 7,895 species of plants are documented in Nigeria with 128 of these endemic.
She observed that many are still unexplored and underutilized, marginalized by agricultural, medicinal and nutritional research.
“For instance, agricultural production in Nigeria focuses on a few staple crops like cassava, yam, rice, maize, millet and sorghum, leaving a good number of the nations species of food neglected and underutilized.
“Dependence on a few crops has negative consequences for ecosystems, food diversity, food and nutritional security as well as health.
“It is risky to humanity as crop may fail, global warming may cause devastating drought or flood, resulting to loss of crops, as happened recently in Nigeria.
“For centuries, Africans and indeed Nigerians were cultivating and consuming a wide variety of nutritious and delicious, mostly indigenous food.
“Unfortunately, recent generations have slowly but steadily moved away from these traditional foods to modernize diets many of which are largely junk foods, processed foods or fast foods like noodles which unfortunately are relatively unhealthy,” she said.
She noted that the scenario was not peculiar to Africa, but across the globe.
Uyoh, a Professor of Genetics and Plant Breeding, added that the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has over the years, been trying to revive the production and consumption of neglected and underutilized species which is in line with FAO’s role of providing support to member countries to meet the target for global food security.
She explained that the Sustainable Development Goals number 2, calls for an end to hunger and all forms of malnutrition.
The inaugural lecturer added that to deliver on the goal requires that everybody should get adequate and nourishing food, which will in turn require a sustainable increase in the productivity of smallholder farmers.