Extreme temperatures, unpredictable rainfall, floods, and increased occurrences of drought will exert a greater strain on agriculture.
Climate change is causing shifts in food production and yield loss due to more unpredictable and hostile weather patterns. The risk of climate change is expected to advance in the future and continue to threaten farming. A key strategy to adapt to a changing climate and improve food security is promoting neglected and underutilized drought-tolerant and climate-resilient crops. Neglected and underutilized crops hold significant potential to mitigate climate change challenges by enhancing agricultural sustainability and improving food security. Neglected and Underutilized crops play an important role in food security, nutrition, and income generation for farmers and consumers in the event of climate change challenges.
Economic benefit of neglected and underutilized crops.
Climate change is an enormous challenge facing humanity. To meet the climate change challenge, a shift towards climate-resilient but neglected and underutilized crops is essential. Underutilized crops present an important component with the potential to contribute to climate change adaptation, food security, and sovereignty in poor rural areas. The neglected and underutilized crops require low inputs such as pesticides and fertilizers, reducing farmers’ input costs while enhancing agricultural productivity. The neglected and underutilized crops such as sorghum, bambara groundnuts, millets, and others. have the potential to benefit farmers with limited capacity to adapt to increasing climatic risks.
Historically, such crops have played an important role in ensuring household food and nutrition security by providing healthy alternatives when the main crop failed or during periods in between subsequent harvests. Neglected crops were traditionally cultivated for subsistence, but during the 20th century were gradually displaced by crops better suited to commercial farming. As the climate change and food insecurity crises continue neglected and underutilized crops could be a powerful tool to alleviate both crises. Not only that, commercializing neglected or underutilized crops could open up new global markets and unlock value for communities, as well as introduce novel products to deliver nutritional or other benefits globally.
How can Africa finance climate mitigation?
Challenges associated with the adoption of neglected and underutilized crops
Expanding the use of neglected and underutilized crops can help to diversify agriculture and food systems and introduce a greater variety of foods into global supplies while building resilience to climate change and providing food security. The adoption of neglected and underutilized crops faces several significant challenges that hinder their integration into mainstream agricultural practices. These challenges stem from a combination of market for these crops, lack of knowledge about the characteristics of these crops, and agricultural policies, which must be addressed to unlock the potential of these crops for food security and sustainable agriculture.
Market: neglected and underutilized crops also need viable markets and strong consumer demand. Farmers have no interest in growing unmarketable, untradeable goods and consumers generally do not want to eat unfamiliar foods.
Lack of knowledge: The lack of knowledge limit farmer's acceptance and cultivation of these crops. In addition, lack of knowledge about the characteristics of the crops influences neglect and underutilization.
Agricultural policies: At present agricultural policies and research priorities have promoted the expansion of exotic crops with market value and high yield potential and neglect to value indigenous crops. Enabling policies plays an essential role in promoting and enhancing the use of neglected and underutilized crops.
Conclusion
The adoption of neglected and underutilized crops is essential as that will improve food security and have the potential to reduce the effects of climate change on agricultural production. Lastly, the understanding of the causes behind the low level of utilization and neglect of a crop is however what is ultimately needed to design an appropriate strategy to address its improvement.
My name is Nozipho Puwana. I am an Agricultural Economist; I hold a Master's degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Pretoria. I am pursuing my Doctorate in Agricultural Economics with the University of Limpopo. I am the founder of Agricultural Market Research Insights and Analyst (AMRIAA)
