How can traditional underutilized food crops be integrated into existing farming practices and value chains, and what policies or incentives are needed to promote their cultivation? Why is the preservation and promotion of traditional underutilized food crops crucial for achieving food and nutrition security in India?
Integrating traditional underutilized food crops into existing farming practices and value chains can offer a diverse range of benefits, from enhancing food security and nutrition to providing economic opportunities for farmers. Here's a structured approach to achieve this integration:
- Once you've achieved success on a small scale, consider expanding the cultivation area, enhancing the value addition processes, and exploring new markets.
For Indian conditions the use of heat and drought tolerant plants of improved nutrition is extremely important. Millet is a good example but I would also put a renewed focusing on pigeon pea and amaranth. Amaranth is a highly heat and drought resistant crop and has protein value well above millet. Rather than the single crop focus the focus on the diverified systems is much needed.
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