Sub-Saharan Africa / Fertile Crescent

Sub-Saharan Africa, also, Fertile Crescent. World Vegetables. , Sub-Saharan Africa , Crops like pearl millet and sorghum were first cultivated at least 5,000 years ago in savannas south of the Sahara Desert. These plants have extensive root systems well suited to the long dry season of this region., Food for thought , During the slave trade era, many sub-Saharan crops, including black-eyed peas, okra, and watermelon were brought to the Americas along with the know-how to cultivate them. Many of these food plants became part of New World cuisine, such as the iconic American stew gumbo, which gets its name from the various African Bantu words for its main ingredient, okra: guingumbo, gombu, kimgombo, grugombo, or ngombo., Fertile Crescent , Grains native to the Fertile Crescent such as wheat, barley, and rye were first cultivated over 10,000 years ago along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, where rich soil and plentiful water created optimal growing conditions.