Esther Yoham Majija wanted to make her bakery, the Fortlene Bakery, a step apart from other bakeries in her town of Babati, Tanzania. She wanted to use traditional African vegetables in her baked products. The mother of three visited a booth of the World Vegetable Center at a trade fair and learned of different ingredients and recipes she could use to improve the nutrition of her products.

We had heard that one of those ingredients she is using in the Bambara groundnut (njugu in Swahili) so we paid her a visit to learn about her business. Bambara groundnut is a crop you see and hear about in Africa, but it doesn’t come out on the top of the list of most widely produced crops in any country. It’s most common in West Africa but people in East and Southern Africa also eat it.

The Crop Trust’s BOLDER Project is working with the World Vegetable Center in Tanzania to try to get Bambara in more mouths. That’s because the crop is quite drought-tolerant, requires a minimal number of inputs for a consistent yield and is quite nutritious. During bad droughts it can be the only crop which yields any kind of a harvest.

Esther showed us around her bakery as she was baking some Bambara groundnut buns. And then we soon found out that Bambara is mighty tasty. Esther pulled out a kettle of Bambara groundnut stew and served us. Although I had seen Bambara in several African countries, this was the first time I had eaten it. I lapped up the stew, licked the bowl and wanted more. With such a great tasting vegetable, it’s a no brainer that the crop should be more widely promoted in Tanzania.