Hidden gems of the agriculture industry
THE term “underutilised crops” may not be familiar. But it holds the key to the future of agriculture, where biodiversity can be developed into new crops, new products and new approaches to ensure food security.
Underutilised crops are grown by local communities and have significant cultural and traditional value.
However, they have yet to be studied and conserved thoroughly. And because of better profits, communities will be motivated to cultivate and consume main crops, leading to the former’s neglect and disappearance.
Dr Maysoun Mustafa, a senior manager of research strategy in Crops For the Future (CFF), said underutilised crops held great potential in increasing the diversity of farms, which served as a strong buffer against pests, diseases and the impact of climate change.
“Underutilised crops have a history of being cultivated in environments, soils or seasons that are not suitable for main crops. Moreover, they are nutrient-dense and can contribute to our economy and health, besides playing many roles in agriculture,” she said
CFF, which is based in Semenyih, Selangor, is an international research centre dedicated to harnessing the potential of underutilised crops for food and non-food uses.
It has organised several academic initiatives, and one of them is the Crops For the FutureUniversity of Nottingham Malaysia Campus Doctoral Training Partnership (CFF-UNMC DTP), where Maysoun is the coordinator.
“Supporting CFF’s research of underutilised crops through programmes such as DTP allows us to develop solutions to challenges faced by agricultural systems.
“By expanding the portfolio of crops that we study, we can encourage a wider adoption of these crops to increase productivity and resilience in farming, as well as improving the quality and diversity of the food we eat.”
The CFF-UNMC DTP programme began in 2013, and has attracted 49 PhD and Master studentships (Studentship is a British term for a postgraduate scholarship). To date, 21 students have graduated from the programme.
Locals make up one-third of the students, while the rest are foreigners coming from 16 countries across Asia, Africa, Europe and South America. The studentship activities focus on CFF’s research value chain.
“Our students come from three faculties at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus ― the Faculty of Science, Faculty of Engineering, and Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.
“Their research projects have collectively addressed the multifaceted challenges of diversifying agriculture that CFF is trying to promote. We have had projects that improved drought tolerance and pollination of underutilised crops, projects that looked at their nutritional value with novel food production, and ones that have produced biofuel.
“These research involve different disciplines, but all work towards the goal of agricultural diversification,” said Maysoun.
She said the studentships had contributed in the drive to develop food security and coping with the effects of climate change, as well as producing novel science.
“Our students have more than 50 publications, and they have been sharing their research internationally at conferences and symposiums.”
Maysoun said the programme currently had four PhD students, who were supported by a grant from the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.
The grant, worth US$500,000 (RM2 million), is for carrying out research into the cultivation of bambara groundnuts in Nigeria, Ghana, Indonesia and Malaysia for three years.
The groundnuts originate from West Africa, and are grown by the Bambara community in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Senegal.
Underutilised crops have a history of being cultivated in environments, soils or seasons that are not suitable for main crops. Moreover, they are nutrient-dense and can contribute to our economy and health, besides playing many roles in agriculture.