Taro (Colocasia esculenta L.) –A Candidate crop for future toalleviate global malnutrition and hunger.

Fassil Kebede and S.Eswara Reddy

The challenges facing us in food and agriculture are enormous. According to the most recent report on the state of food insecurity in the world, during 2011 -2013 there were about 842 million undernourished people from which 827 million (98.2%) were in developing countries (FAO, 2013). In the developing countries including Ethiopia the demand for food is likely to rise significantly as a result of population growth (FAO, 2010). To meet the ever increasing demand for food, Taro (Colocasia esculenta L.) can play multi-purpose roles in the global food system to address this issue and feed millions of hungry mouths. In Ethiopia root and tuber crops are part of the traditional food systems of the people especially in the southern, southwestern and western part of the country.

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1. Dean, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Gondar. Email: elroifky@gmail.com

2.Professor of Horticulture

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There is enormous possibility for millions of poor farmers to boost production and their livelihood using root and tuber crops perhaps highly neglected but strategic crops for the country’s economy (Amsalu et al., 2008). Among the root and tuber crops, Taro locally in Ethiopia, familiar as 'Godare', is a tuberous tropical high-energy food crop. With its origin in India,Taro is under cultivation in Ethiopia since time immemorial, may be with its introduction through voyagers but with out proper authentication. This needs to be studied in depth to establish the fact without ambiguity Amsalu et al. (2008) reported that 120 taro collections were introduced to Ethiopia in 1978 from Cuba. Taro is grown mostly as staple or subsistence crop throughout the hot and humid areas of southwestern Ethiopia (Edossa, 1996; Amsalu and Tesfaye, 2006).

Taro is a herbaceous plant which grows to a height of 1-2m. The plant consists of a central corm (lying just below the soil surface) from which leaves grow upwards, roots grown downwards, while cormels, daughter corms and runners (stolons) grow laterally. The underground edible part is called corm which produce cormels. Corms and cormles are commonly known as tubers.

The root system is fibrous and lies mainly in the top one meter of soil. Taro belongs to the genus Colocasia, within the sub-family Colocasioideae of the monocotyledonous family Araceae. The plant family Araceae comprises of more than 120 genera and about 3,750 species of which many are used as food, medicine, animal fodder, ornamental plants, and cut flowers. One of the most important cultivated aroid genera is Taro (Colocasia esculenta L) with commonly observed chromosome numbers of Taro 2n = 28 or 42 .Also 2n = 22, 26, and 38, were on record by various investigators . Taro is the most widely distributed and the world’s oldest cultivated food plant, for the consumption of tubers and leaves. All plant parts of Taro are eaten.

The tubers are rich in carbohydrates containing twice as much carbohydrate found in potatoes. and the leaves and stalks are an important source of protein, dietary fiber, vitamins ,amino acids and folic acid. It is good source of dietary fiber and a low fat food. rich in magnesium, vitamin C, iron, and potassium. taro has low glycemic index and good for diabetics. The demand for taro is increasing. Like other root crops, taro is a food staple in some parts of the world.

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Taro has a large transpiring surface. Normally, average daily temperature above 21oC is needed for realizing optimum production. The highest yields for taro are obtained under full intensity sunlight. However, they appear to be more shade-tolerant than most other crops. This means that reasonable yields can be obtained even in shade conditions . This also enables Taro to fit into intercropping systems with tree crops and other crops. Taro is able to tolerate heavy soils on which flooding and water logging can occur (Onwueme, 1999).

According to FAOSTAT (2012) world production for taro in 2011 was 10.37 million tones. Nigeria, Ghana, China and Cameron were the world top producer countries. In Ethiopia a total of 1.5 million farmers mainly in Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples (SNNP) region (0.96 million) and in Oromia region (0.5 million) are dependent on taro as their food source (CSA, 2012). During 2011/2012 production year, taro cultivation in Ethiopia scaled up to 39,696 ha with a total production of 315,242 tons of which 81.2% is used for human consumption and 11.5% reserved for planting material.

In Ethiopia root crops covered more than 1.51% of the area under all crops and contributed 12.58% to the production of all crops total in the country .Taro added about 20.27% to the area of the total root crops . The same crop contributed 30.79% of the total root crop production (CSA, 2013) Research in a systematic way is going on since 1966 to improve production and productivity of various root and tuber crops in Ethiopia. This resulted in the release of even three varieties of Taro with good performance (MOA, 2010).

Demand for food is increasing significantly in population rich countries like Ethiopia with no option except to produce more food under expanding biotic and abiotic stresses to feed country’s undernourished people . Taro could play multipurpose roles in addressing this issue, producing reasonable yield when other crops hardly grow with candid ecological adaptation and utilization for different purposes.

Taro, still food source for 1.5 million farmers being limited to southern Ethiopia has enormous potential to boost livelihood of millions of farmers, yielding 60–110 t/ha . It is a warm season crop in India grown as on summer (February – March) as well as a rainy season crop (June-July) with the sowing of sprouted tuber in rows .Taro need to be expanded in other non conventional areas as appropriate candidate crop for next generation. Taro as a non traditional crop in some regions of Ethiopia has a great potential to provide sustainable food security, with focus on quality nutrition, foreign currency earner, vehicle for rural development and employment generation .

Taro can’t be continue to be orphan any more in the global food system .

The tubers are used as cooked vegetable. The tubers make good chips. The tubers of some varieties have acridity, which is due to the presence of needle like crystals of calcium oxalate. It is best not to taste raw. The acridity is destroyed by cooking. Taro is widely available in the gardens and diets of the world’s most vulnerable people struggling to feed themselves. Still schemes to address poverty alleviation, food security and resource management hardly incorporate Taro.

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To make the taro be competitive in the market, the potential of biotechnology in producing good quality and healthy taro materials must be harnessed. Rapid Propagation of Taro through Tissue Culture Techniques need to be implemented with a protocol for micro propagation and mass production of disease-free plantlets of promising taro varieties and distribute them to the respective stakeholders through growers cooperatives.

The solar drying machine must be fabricated for high-quality finished taro products for su When we have an approach to end global hunger aiming at comprehensive development strongly rooted in agriculture ,Taro will be a target crop to improve livelihood of small farmers and reducing poverty in many developing countries besides providing quality food security . Taro- the most underutilized crop but with its nutrient rich tubers and green leaves is the best choice crop to enhance community health ,divorcing the link between poverty and human nutrition .This could be fulfilled with partnership between donors and farm universities’s strong trans disciplinary research paternity, with innovative solutions to urgent challenges of insecure, under privileged small and marginal farmers.

When looking at Ethiopia ,one of the highly populated developing countries, there are few location specific tuber crops on the shelf in Ethiopia which farmers can use to increase productivity, incomes, community health and hence alleviate the level of poverty.

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Taro (Colocasia esculenta L.) is one amongst them. Though ,cultivated in other parts of Ethiopia, assessment has not been sufficiently integrated in Northern parts based on economic benefit and human nutrition. Hence , more specifically attempts to answer the following research questions on Taro in Northern region viz.

What are the superior cultivars suitable and their optimized planting times for scaled up production and productivity

2. What is the nutrient status of tubers and leaves in line with community health.

3. What is the spectrum of soil nutrient depletion to replenish back with organic manures.

4. What are the benefits the community derive with growers cooperative and

What is the level and extent of wealth creation for under privileged subsistence farm holders .

These research questions could be answered by research with specific objectives of

1.Screening Taro cultivars for location specific performance and quality food security

2.Aligning Taro planting and harvest times for superior yields of nutrient rich tubers and leaves for enhanced market price ,starch, storability and net incomes.

3.Quantification of soil nutrient depletion by Taro at profitable yields of tubers and leaves for replenishing soil through organic matter.

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4.Organizing and tracking Taro growers Cooperative for awareness and comprehensive community development .

5.Multiplication of planting material for supply along with proven research technology down to Taro growers Cooperative for community wealth and health generation.

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