page_title: Neglected and underutilized crop
hierarchical_section_title: Neglected and underutilized crop
caption_attribution_description: English: Cherimoya (Annona cherimola) on sale in Cali, Colombia. Its unique flavour and floral fragrance with sweetness and pleasant acidity makes it probably the most tastiest of all table fruits in the genus Annona. In left background: domestically produced mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana)
context_page_description: 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.
context_section_description: 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 (famine food or "poor people's food", sometimes due to the modernization of agricultural practices). 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 (reappraisal or discovery of nutritional traits, culinary value, adaptation to climate change, etc.), 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 (oil palm, soybean, kiwifruit). 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.
caption: Cherimoya (Annona cherimola) on sale in Cali, Colombia. In left background: domestically produced mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana)
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