Let us value all farmers

Abstract

We must value farmers all over the world, whether large or small, whether in Africa or elsewhere. I just came back to Kenya from the USA. On 12th November, we passed by huge farms and witnessed farmers’ machinery ready to harvest their grain late in the evening. This was in Minnesota, USA. I was told that, at this time, harvesting was round the clock to ensure completion before severe winter sets in. Yet with climate change, by November 7, snow was already on the ground, though sporadically, and on November 11, it was just 10 days to serious snow. What went through my head was: how would these farmers be able to complete their harvesting in good time as there was still a lot of crop in the fields? This made my head spin. As consumers, do we ponder enough about those who produce the food we eat? Even with a focus on Nutrition, we still grow more grain than anything else. Hunger always means we do not have enough carbohydrates in the diet. With enough bread, rice, or tubers, we know we won't go hungry. So, for now, humanity depends a lot on carbohydrates. Increasingly we want diversity in our diets although many populations continue to rely on carbohydrates that are not enriched with any micronutrients. In contrast, in Western countries where wheat is consumed a lot, the flour used to make food products such as bread is enriched with micronutrients. However, not all consumers benefit from enriched wheat products. Many consumers around the world consume rice, cassava, sweet potatoes, taro, millet, teff, and many others. But these are not enriched except for probably rice. However, with biofortification, things are changing. Farmers all over the world go to great lengths to feed all of us. And it is our business as consumers to ensure we diversify our diets. My many salutes go to farmers worldwide; let us all appreciate them. In this issue we have 14 well reviewed articles and a must-read guest editorial.