Quantitative ethnobotany of Afenmai people of Southern Nigeria: an assessment of their crop utilization, and preservation methods

Abstract The study assessed crop utilization, preservation, and conservation methods in six local government areas (LGAs) that make up Afenmai land in Southern Nigeria. The Afenmai people use a total of 36 economic crops belonging to 20 higher plant families. Among these crops, only eight are used in all the LGAs that make up Afenmai including Amaranthus hybridus, Dioscorea rotundata, Ipomoea batatas, Musa paradisiaca, M. sapientum, Talinum triangulare, Telfairia occidentalis, and Vernonia amygdalina. The similarity in crop utilization patterns within Afenmai land using Jaccard’s index ranged from 38.24 to 100. The plants are mostly used fresh immature, fresh mature, processed immature, and processed mature. The highest use report of 481 was recorded from V. amygdalina whereas Saccharum officinarum had the lowest number of use report of 41. In addition, the results from the cultural value index analysis suggest V. amygdalina has the highest cultural value (0.38) whereas A. hybridus, Mangifera indica, Ocimum gratissimum, S. officinarum, Theobroma cacao, and Zea mays had the lowest value (0.01) . The use category rank was in the order food > medicine > ornamental > others > building > religious and cultural. Individual crop ranking revealed Cocos nucifera > Elaeis guineensis > T. occidentalis and T. cacao as the 36th-ranked crop. Crops are stored using diverse traditional systems for periods ranging from less than a month to less than two years depending on the crop. Respondents believe traditional preservation methods either improve taste, make the taste worse, or are not sure of the benefits. In conclusion, there is a need for advocacy and public enlightenment campaigns to promote value-addition and sustainable post-harvest crop management in Afenmai land.