Neglected and underused crops are domesticated plant species that have been used for centuries or more for their food, fibre, fodder, oil or medicinal properties, but have been reduced in importance over time. A wide range of terminology is used to describe these crops, including: orphan, abandoned, lost, underutilized, local, minor, traditional, alternative, niche, or underdeveloped; in recent fashion, these are often referred to as forgotten or smart food. Reductions in use may pertain to, among other things: supply or consumption constraints, poor shelf life, unrecognized nutritional value, poor consumer awareness, and reputational problems. Some crops have been so neglected that genetic erosion of their genepools has become so severe that they are often regarded as lost crops. As the demand for plant and crop attributes changes, neglected crops can overcome the constraints to the wider production and use. As a matter of fact, many formerly neglected crops are now globally significant crops. Although the options for scaling up neglected crops for large-scale agriculture appear to be increasingly exhausted, many species have the potential to contribute to food security, nutrition, dietary and culinary diversification, health and income generation. They also provide environmental services. It is impossible to define what would constitute "proper" or "correct" levels of use; however, many neglected species evidently are underused relative to their nutritional value and productivity. Adding to that, orphan crops also helps in food security. Thus exist when all people at all times have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life, especially during famine.
Overview
Just three crops - maize, wheat and rice - account for about 50% of the world's consumption of calories and protein. About 95% of the world's food needs are provided by just 30 species of plants. In stark contrast, at least 12,650 species names have been compiled as edible. Neglected and underutilized plants are those that could be - and, in many cases, historically have been - used for food and other uses on a larger scale. Such crop species have also been described as "minor", "orphan", "promising" and "little-used".
Definition
It is difficult to precisely define which attributes make a crop "underutilized", but often they display the following features:
Linkage with the cultural heritage of their places of origin
Local and traditional crops whose distribution, biology, cultivation and uses are poorly documented
Adaptation to specific agroecological niches and marginal land
Weak or no formal seed supply systems
Traditional uses in localized areas
Produced in traditional production systems with little or no external inputs
Receive little attention from research, extension services, policy and decision makers, donors, technology providers and consumers
May be highly nutritious and/or have medicinal properties or other multiple uses
Neglected crops are primarily grown by traditional farmers. These species may be widely distributed beyond their centres of origin but tend to occupy special niches in the local production and consumption systems. They are important for the subsistence of local communities, yet remain poorly documented and neglected by the mainstream research and development activities. Many staple crops, especially in the developing world, are poorly studied by researchers. For example, the Green Revolution saw massive changes in agricultural productivity in Asia, but African crops saw little benefit. Underutilized crops are those marginalized by farmers and consumers due to agronomic, genetic, economic, environmental and cultural reasons, which were once important and major crop in the community.
Importance
They continue to play an important role in the subsistence and economy of poor people throughout the developing world, particularly in the agrobiodiversity-rich tropics. Despite their potential for dietary diversification and the provision of micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals, they continue to attract little research and development attention. Alongside their commercial potential, many of the underused crops also provide important environmental services, as they are adapted to marginal soil and climate conditions.
lack of interest by researchers, agriculturists and extension workers;
lack of producer interest.
Examples
Determination of the underutilized status of a crop varies among researchers. Different criteria and approaches are used to define this particular group of crop. Neglect refers to the attention the crop has received from research and development and can be evaluated by how well national and international policy and legal frameworks and research and development programmes support the conservation and sustainable use of the crop. Underutilisation is particular to the geography and potential for a crop to contribute to better to diets and production systems. In any cases where exotic species or diversified species are underutilized at certain region, these are not necessarily underutilized in other parts of the worlds. Below is an example list of neglected and underutilized species that is not exhaustive.
2012 - The international Crops for the 21st Century seminar held on 10–13 December 2012 in Córdoba, Spain aimed to discuss major topics related to underlining the role of neglected and underutilised species to address food and agriculture challenges in the future.
2013 - Official launch of the International Year of Quinoa, intended to increase awareness, understanding and knowledge about quinoa and its importance on food security.
2013 - , Accra, Ghana - to ensure that research on neglected and underutilized species is demand-oriented and that results are better shared and applied, researchers, extension agents, the private sector and farmers must engage in more collaboration - in sub-Saharan Africa.
