Neglected and underutilized crops and global food security

Abstract

Rapidly growing population, loss of food and biodiversity, climate change, and declining arable land threaten the global food security. The reliance on only a few crops to meet the global food production has further aggravated the challenges of food security and climate change. Several nutrient-rich crops can grow successfully under suboptimal environments (e.g., millets, quinoa, triticale, and amaranth). Mainstreaming and value adding of these crops will help improve dietary diversity, reduce diet-related diseases, generate opportunities to increase farmer income, and uplift local communities. The inclusion of neglected or underutilized crops in crop production systems may improve food production sustainability by improving biodiversity and climate adaptability and decreasing environmental footprints by decreasing input use. This chapter discusses the role of neglected or underutilized plants in food and nutrition security and the diversification of food production systems, as well as capacity building and perception changes, genetic enhancement, marketing, value addition, and policy interventions.