what are staple foods
Just three of them, rice, maize and wheat, provide 60 percent of the world's food energy intake. The main staple foods in the average African diet are (in terms of energy) cereals (46 percent), roots and tubers (20 percent) and animal products (7 percent).f more than 50 000 edible plant species in the world, only a few hundred contribute significantly to food supplies. Just 15 crop plants provide 90 percent of the world's food energy intake, with three rice, maize and wheat-making up two-thirds of this. These three are the staples of over 4 000 million people.