Food In Africa In Achebe's Things Fall Apart

The village of Umuofia in the late 19th century to the turn of the 20th century was the setting for Achebe’s book, Things fall apart. The Igbo people were a superstitious people who centered a good portion of their lives harvesting yams. In fact, Ondo, Kevers, & Dommes (2013) stated that “yams (Dioscorea spp.) are tuber crops used as staple food in Africa because of their nutritional value and that the genus Dioscorea belongs to the Dioscoreaceae family and comprises approximately 600 species, mainly distributed in subtropical and temperate areas of Africa” (p. 653). Underdeveloped countries such as Africa rely heavily on nutritional crops to feed their people. Without these tropical growing yams, alternate food sources would have to be found.

The Feast of the New Yam is symbolic in that it gives thanks to Ani, the Earth goddess. In fact, Achebe (1994) stated that Ani is the most important local deity because she is a “source of fertility and she was the ultimate judge of morality and conduct” (p. 36). The celebration and ensuing feast was not always a welcome by all. Some, like Okonkwo, were less excited by the tradition and would be content working on his farm

There are foundations out there currently trying to make a difference for women. In fact, according to Wakhungu (2010) “there is the Agricultural Knowledge, Science, and Technology (AKST) which can enhance the contribution of women to agriculture. However, women are marginalized in formal AKST, and this disempowerment compromises their ability to improve agricultural production (p. 3-4). The information learned in this and other agricultural improvements should be available to women and men alike. In the long run, if everyone knew how to maximize agriculture in his or her area, it would be beneficial to those that live there as they should enjoy greater harvests for eating and potentially for exporting to other areas for other goods