Even the lesser known and nutritious cereals, such as millet and sorghum, or grain-like and equally gluten-free alternatives, such as quinoa and amaranth, are on the rise. Minor, underutilized crops like these are now at the forefront of food trends, not only nutritionally, but also because many are beneficial to the environment.
Countries are becoming increasingly interdependent on crop varieties
With the climate crisis affecting precipitation patterns and global temperatures, some crop varieties no longer grow well in the places where they once thrived. For example, just a few years ago maybe not many would have predicted that corn would become difficult to grow in some areas of Africa. Yet, farmers in these areas are looking for other crops, such as millet, that are better suited to reducing rainfall. Changing climate patterns mean that countries will increasingly need to obtain plant varieties from other parts of the world to continue or improve their own production.
THE Climate change only increases interdependence, but countries have always depended on each other for crops that originate elsewhere. For example, the varieties of coffee from Africa have traveled around the world. While, when it comes to potatoes, South America has even more variety to offer than any other region.
In these contexts, the international treaty’s multilateral approach to collaboration between countries is increasingly important.
Tastes and fashions are also changing the demand for crops
L’evolution of tastes and trends is driving demand for new crop varieties from farmers looking to improve their livelihoods, whether growing quinoa or peas. But the new requests also come from other sectors, such as chefs, eager to explore the flavors and textures of traditional cereals, often more sustainable. For example, the Sierra Leonean chef, Fatmata Binta, has made a point of promoting fonio millet in her cuisine, which requires less water and is very nutritious. These voices were not part of the discussions when the international treaty was first negotiated, but now they are making themselves heard more and more.
Being the only one binding international agreement dedicated to the protection, conservation and exchange of plant genetic diversity that we grow and eat around the world, the international treaty plays an increasingly important role in our interdependent and ever-changing world.
The new report, which collects data relating to 355 crops, will play a critical role in informing policy discussions, including the update of the crop basket of Annex I of the international treaty. Thanks to the enormous amount of publicly available data underlying the study, it will also provide a key resource for researchers and decision makers globally. The report lays the foundation for humanity to explore the potential of thousands of other plants to meet our food needs in the future.
Source FAO
