Enset - A Superfood

 Scientists say the plant enset, an Ethiopian staple, could be a new superfood and a lifesaver in the face of climate change.

The banana-like crop has the potential to feed more than 100 million people in a warming world and boost food security in Ethiopia and other African countries, including Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda, according to a new study.

The plant is almost unknown outside of Ethiopia, where it is used to make porridge and bread. The banana-like fruit of the plant is inedible, but the starchy stems and roots can be fermented and used to make porridge and bread.

Research suggests the crop can be grown over a much larger range in Africa.

"This is a crop that can play a really important role in addressing food security and sustainable development," said Dr Wendawek Abebe of Hawassa University in Awasa, Ethiopia.

In Ethiopia, around 20 million people rely on it for food, but elsewhere it has not been cultivated, although wild relatives - which are not considered edible - grow as far south as South Africa, suggesting the plant can tolerate a much wider range.

 Dr James Borrell, of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, said planting enset as a buffer crop for lean times could help boost food security.

"It's got some really unusual traits that make it absolutely unique as a crop," he said. "You plant it at any time, you harvest it at any time and it's perennial. That's why they call it the tree against hunger." He added, "We need to diversify the plants we use globally as a species because all our eggs are in a very small basket at the moment."