The African Orphan Crops Consortium (AOCC) is developing genomic resources for 101 African orphan crops. The chosen crops were identified in a participatory manner as being important for supporting consumers’ diets and farmers’ incomes in Africa.
Stakeholders involved in priority setting included development practitioners, consumers and producers, as well as agronomists, crop breeders, sociologists, anthropologists, nutritionists and policymakers. The selected crops are listed in the table below. Some of the crops are indigenous to Africa, while others are exotic, often first introduced centuries ago and now considered traditional foods in local cuisines. Around half the plants listed are annuals and about half are perennials (these are mostly trees). The common feature is that they are all relatively under-researched in Africa.