Africa’s Moringa Revolution: A Plant Phenomenon to Fight Malnutrition

Moringa is nothing short of a miracle plant. Drought-resistant and capable of growing quickly in a wide variety of poor soils, much of the plant is edible by both humans and livestock.

The leaves have more betacarotene than carrots, more protein than peas, more vitamin C than oranges, more calcium than milk, more iron than spinach, and as much potassium as bananas. The seeds can be eaten like a peanut, or used to create oil. With all of its valuable properties, moringa is being touted as a means to combat malnutrition and poverty in the developing world.

Pastor Joseph Brenyah knows moringa well. In 2008, he initiated that Productive Agricultural Linkages and Market Systems (PALMS) program in response to perceived needs by some Ghanaian women’s groups for agricultural advice and assistance. PALMS teaches women to use modern farming technologies and grow moringa in a sustainable manner.  

“We use moringa to fight malnutrition, by teaching women to process it into food supplements to fortify foods,” said Brenyah. “They can use it in a green state, like any vegetable, and eat it raw. Or they can dry it, and pound it to powder, and add it to their food in cooking. If you boil moringa in hot water, it can act as a green tea. If you add it to maize products and cook it together, it will serve as a vitamin supplement. The root can be used as a horseradish substitute.”

Brenyah’s finalist status in the Women l Tools l Technology competition helped him leverage additional change for the farmers. For the past three years, Brenyah had been trying to convince the Ghanaian government to fund appropriate technologies for farming, such as tractors, drip irrigation, and hot air or solar driers that will allow farmers to produce and market their crops more efficiently. 

Brenyah’s commitment to agriculture grew from early childhood, as he worked with his mother on a vegetable farm, and his father on a cocoa farm.  “We want to help women use technology to improve their livelihoods,” said Brenyah. ”We are seeking additional partnerships so that we can scale up our work, not only in Ghana, but in all of Africa. Reliable technologies and moringa can help our people to change society for the better, and give us a way to produce enough food for ourselves, without the use of dangerous chemicals.”