It could feed millions of people in a food crisis. Miracle plant grows only in one country

While rice, wheat and corn meet more than half of the global calorie needs around the world, a huge plant that feeds more than 20 million people in the East African country of Ethiopia attracts the attention of global agricultural circles.

Enset, which can reach up to 10 meters tall and is popularly known as the "anti-hunger tree", "miracle product" or "banana on steroids", stands out with its high yield and resistance to harsh climatic conditions.

James Borrell, a conservation biologist working at the Royal Botanical Gardens in London (Kew) in England, described the plant's adaptability as extraordinary in his statement to CNN International television.

Borrell expressed that he found it surprising that the genre was not widely known.

“LIAR BANANA”

Although wild species grow in a wide African geography stretching from Sudan to Mozambique, enset is grown for agricultural purposes only in Ethiopia.

The production area is limited to a narrow line in the mountainous regions of the southwestern part of the country, at an altitude of 1500 to 3 thousand meters above sea level.

Enset, which belongs to the Musaceae family, resembles a tree in appearance, but is a giant herbaceous plant without a woody trunk.

The plant's body, which consists of tightly interlocking leaf stalks, and its underground roots, which resemble a huge lump, are crushed and fermented in underground pits.

After this fermentation, which lasts between three months and two years, "kocho", which is considered a staple food in Ethiopia and resembles bread, is prepared.

A white powder used in soups and pastries is obtained from the starchy liquid filtered during the crushing process.

The yellow and orange fruits of the plant are not consumed because they are covered with hard black seeds. For this reason, enset is also known as "liar banana" among the public.

Only 60 roots from enset, which is resistant to drought and diseases, are enough to meet the nutritional needs of a family of five for a year.

Unlike corn, wheat or rice, which are harvested in a single planting season, enset is a perennial that can remain in the soil for more than two years.

A 2021 study co-authored by Borrell found that enset production areas could be expanded by 12 times.

This expansion could provide a new food source for 111.5 million people in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the study.

It is stated that the plant, which bloomed for the first time in April 2023 in the Kew Gardens greenhouse in London, can be grown in many countries with similar climate characteristics.

Despite this, it remains a matter of debate why the product has not spread outside Ethiopia.

Borrell noted that unlike crops that cross local borders, such as maize, rice and potatoes, enset is not known as food even in neighboring Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.