Cocoyam or Taro, Colocasia esculenta was one of the most common plants that easily grew in our backyards and the wild. It sprouts in very good moist conditions and so rainy periods are the best times to find or grow it.
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Cocoyam is grown for the corm and leaves. It produces very delicious corms and the fresh leaves (kontomire) are very nutritious. The leaves have a substantial amount of Vitamin A and C and are a better source of protein than the plant’s roots. However, the leaves must be cooked before consuming.
Now we look at the fast disappearance of a crop that serves as a very nutritional part of the diet of over 10% of the global population. A number of reasons, the state, have led to the gradual disappearing. Quite a majority are of the view that the advent of chemicals, particularly weedicides and the abusive application in farming is a major factor.
As we continue to digest the topic,
Why is cocoyam fast disappearing?
Gradually the plant is fast disappearing in our backyards and in the wild. The questions many are asking are;
- Is it as a result of the abusive use of chemicals in farming?
- Is it the climate change?
- What is happening to it?
