Better Know Enset, The Banana-Like "Wonder Crop" That Can Fight Food Insecurity
Enset is a relative of the banana. It has been cultivated in a parts of Ethiopia for generations because it has several unique characteristics that make it a resilient and reliable staple crop. Despite Enset's incredible potential to support food security it is rarely -- if ever -- cultivated beyond the Ethiopian Highlands. culture.
My guest, Dr. James Borrell is a research fellow at Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, in the United Kingdom. He is the co-author of a recent study demonstrating that Enset could be productively grown in other regions of Africa, potentially providing a staple crop for over 100 million people.
We kick off the conversation with an extended introduction to this "wondercrop" before discussing its potential to fight hunger and food insecurity in regions beyond the Ethiopian Highlands.