In his book, Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond, talks about the domestication of plants and animals, where he makes the observation that only a dozen plant species make up over 80% of the world’s annual tonnage of all crops. Meaning that only a few plants are responsible for our everyday calorie intake.Â
But why so few? There are many different answers to this question and Mr. Diamond talks about it at length in his book. I will mention one possible reason and then I’ll make a bold prediction.
One of the most important reasons these few species are so dominant in our diet is how easy it is to get high yields out of them. When it came to feeding the population, humans turned to the crops with the highest yield per hectare of land and have been doing it through the ages. According to Statista, improved agricultural technology has seen the increase of people fed by a hectare of land increase from 2.3 persons in 1960 to almost 6 people in 2020.
This means volume was the dominant factor when it came to domesticating plants. Now, to my prediction. As our agricultural technology, and more importantly, our distribution methodology and networks improve, we will need less and less land to satisfy the needs of more and more people. This trend will lead us from a focus on volume to a focus on quality and diversity. The result of this will be that more and more plant species will be domesticated.  Plants with low yield but important qualities will have greater and greater demand.
To support this theory, I present Mr. Emmanuel Thomas from Lagos, Nigeria. An urban farmer, the first truly urban farmer I have presented here. However, Emmanuel is much more than just an urban farmer, he is a trailblazer in urban, organic agriculture. Using small spaces to cultivate indigenous plants for domestic and commercial use.
When did you start getting involved in agriculture? “I started agriculture as a child, so basically all my life. It is a family hobby. But at the age of 14 in 1998 while in junior secondary school, after I had been confirmed heamophobic (for those who do not know, heamophobia is the fear of blood), I deliberately decided to start planning toward a nature-based and specifically plant-based future. Along the line, I also questioned Nigerians’ inability to produce or produce quality products and that’s how I headed towards conservation, environment, agriculture, and production. I was aware at a very young age from the stories my dad told me, that Nigeria’s challenges in agriculture were mainly in her inability to convert the produce to finished goods product. I then decided I wasn’t going to stop at farming, but I was going to find indigenous ways to produce African standard quality products that would impact Nigerians and the world. Part of this decision is to focus mainly on indigenous species and cultivate the species using organic and indigenous techniques”, Emmanuel explains.
So, your background is purely in agriculture? “No, not entirely, although it has been central to my existence for most of my life. I have a higher national diploma certificate in Town and Regional Planning. I took a BSc. in Environmental Science and Resource Management but dropped out in my final year as I did not have enough resources to fund my research and academics, and I decided to choose my career and research over further academic certification.
When I asked Emmanuel about land and land usage, and commented that in a city environment, it might be hard and expensive to find land for cultivation, he explained to me that from the very beginning, he has used the backyards of properties belonging to friends and families, as well as some catholic churches. “So, my gardens are spread out all, over Lagos”, he tells me.
Emmanuel’s main crops are plants within the order called Zingiberales (Ginger and Banana). “I have collected over 40 species within this order which I cultivate, and chief amongst these species is Costus spectabilis, Nigeria’s obscure and threatened national plant. I also cultivate many other ornamental species and I cultivate some species of pumpkins, okra, spices, herbs, and other vegetables”.
This is going to be interesting. I can’t wait to get more details on these species and how he uses them. But Emmanuel’s nonconventional agriculture does not end there. “We do organic farming. We rid the land of plastic materials, we use manure, compost, and bio-pesticides, and we use local seeds or forest collections. We also adopt earth-friendly means of farming like plant thuggery, introduction and keeping pollinating insects and pest controlling insects like praying mantis and dragonflies, mixed farming, human active workforce, climate-smart techniques, electro-culture, and agro-forestry. We have also been modeling African-oriented green housing and vertical garden systems. We also engage in value-added activities. We harvest the flowers of some plants weekly and use them for floral arrangements for weddings, birthdays, church events, funerals, and other events. We also harvest the food crops, and instead of selling the products, we process them using organic methods to produce teas, spread, sweetener, flour, and seasoning. We have plans to produce other food and non-food products in the future. We also produce compost, plant immune-boosting tea, bio-pesticides, etc.”, Emmanuel continues.
Well, there is a lot to talk about and in our next post with Emmanuel, we will focus on the beginning, his collection and harvesting of indigenous plants, especially Costus spectabilis, its use and benefits.
Stay put and follow Agri Project Africa for the whole story and other stories like this.  Please share Emmanuel’s story on your platforms.Â
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