Thorny |
With the reality of
climate change becoming more real by the day, including its impact on
food sources, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
is urging communities around the world not to take the prickly cactus
for granted.
"Climate change and
the increasing risks of droughts are strong reasons to upgrade the
humble cactus to the status of an essential crop in many areas," said
Hans Dreyer, the Director of Plant Production and Protection Division at
FAO, noting the plant's potential.
According to the UN
agency, cultivation of cactus pear is slowly catching on, in part,
boosted by growing need for resilience in the face of drought, degraded
soils and higher temperatures.
This was evident
during the recent intense drought in southern Madagascar, where the
plant - once viewed as a worthless invasive species - provided a crucial
supply of food, forage and water for local people and their animals.
While most cacti
are inedible, the Opuntia species - also referred to as prickly pear -
has much to offer, especially if treated like a crop rather than a weed
run wild.
"Today the
agriculturally relevant Opuntia ficus-indica subspecies - whose spines
have been bred out but return after stress events - is naturalized in 26
countries beyond its native range," says FAO, adding: "Its hardy
persistence makes it both a useful food of last resort and an integral
part of sustainable agricultural and livestock systems."
Historically,
cactus' culinary qualities have been a prominent feature in Mexico as
well as the Italian island of Sicily, renowned for its gourmet
tradition.
In Mexico alone,
the yearly per capita consumption of nopalitos - the tasty young pads,
known as cladodes - is 6.4 kilograms and the plant is grown on small
farms (as primary or supplemental crop) and harvested in the wild on
more than three million hectors.
Cactus as source of water and to lower greenhouse gas emissions
Aside from
providing food, cactus also stores water in its pads, providing up to
180 tonnes of water per hectare - enough to sustain five adult cows.
This usefulness is
all the more important during droughts, when livestock survival rate has
been far higher on farms with cactus plantations.
And with pressure
on water sources only projected to rise in the future, cactus could
become one of the important crops for the 21st century.
Furthermore, there
is evidence that yields in barley - a major cereal grain globally - rise
when cactus is grown alongside it as a soil-improving alley crop, and
there is research showing that use of cactus in cattle diets reduces the
ruminants' methanogenesis (production of methane in the guts of
animals, especially cattle and other ruminants), thus contributing to
lower greenhouse gas emissions.
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