Look at our World
Globally about 6 million children under 5 die of undernutrition annually and another 144 million are stunted, 47 million wasted and perversely, 77 million people are overweight. Science and agricultural practitioners have produced an enormous wealth of information on plants and their food value, yet this knowledge is often very difficult to access, even for specialists. The work of FPI transforms scientific food plant knowledge into user-friendly educational material referencing information on 31,544 edible plant species in our database.
Food Plants International is Born
Growing out of Bruce French’s 50 years of research to find a solution for this situation, FPI seeks to improve worldwide nutrition by helping people feed themselves using locally adapted plants, at no cost to those in need. FPI has its headquarters at the Global Edible Plant Information Centre in Burnie, Tasmania. To date, education material, resources and publications have been produced for use in many countries. The current stage of the FPI project focuses specifically on 6 countries including Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste, Vietnam, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and India. However, to date, some 121 countries have accessed the information with priority being given to the 81 countries with the highest death rate of children due to malnutrition.
Research and Educational Resources
We keep adding to our 50-year-old Global Food Plants Database of local food plants from around the world. Our Global Edible Plants Information Centre in Burnie seeks to translate this information into practical training for people who can put our information into practice in local situations.
On-the-Field Work
Since 1999, FPI has been partnering and collaborating with NGOs, community groups, educational institutions and churches to improve their capacity to improve food security. Our aim is to see hunger and malnutrition diminishing through the promotion and use of diverse local food plants. We maintain established partnerships and welcome new ones.
Aid providers, local health workers, nutritionists, agriculturalists, teachers and church leaders can directly use, or repurpose these materials to produce their own local, nutritious food plants. Equipped with this new or forgotten knowledge, people can identify, evaluate and utilise food plants adapted to the local environment improving their food security, health and nutritional status.
Some Organizations Using our Database
- Echo Global Farm – Florida, East Africa and Asia
- Foundations for Farming (Zimbabwe, India, Zambia, Mozambique, South Africa, Malawi) TEAR Australia
- Uniting World (Pacific, Asia and Africa)
- Cluster Agricultural Development Services (CADS) – Zimbabwe
- Vanuatu – schools, churches
- Fiji – Methodist Church, Church of Christ, schools
- Universities and Research Farms in Papua New Guinea and Malaysia
- Worldview Centre (Tasmania)
Right plant + Right place = Right food
This project will provide local food plants publications, educational material and a database for each country to empower individuals, organisations and institutions to address malnutrition and hunger. We believe God has already provided the right plants growing in their right places to sustain people in every place on his earth.
Right People
With your help and that of others concerned about global world hunger, we can make a difference. You can donate to this work using the donate button below. Thank you.
https://www.abc.net.au/landline/world-class:-cataloguing-the-worlds-edible-plants/12586302?jwsource=cl