Abstract
The world’s food and agricultural schemes have gradually fallen into an alarming state due to challenges such as high population birth rates, diverse agro-climatic zones, a lack of measures to counter global warming, severe practices of sole-culture cultivation, and asset reduction. A very high dependency on limited staple food crops is associated with repetitious diets, deprivation of food, and shortages of trace minerals, which often causes dietary sicknesses. To ensure nutritious diets worldwide, a real-world and justifiable scheme is provided to garner extra attention towards variation in both agriculture/farming approaches and food habits. The EAT-Lancet statement emphasized an increase in agri-based diets as a way of attaining global generational health. Enlarging neglected crops with plenty of genomic stocks and potentially profitable attributes is a solution that could address food and nutritional security concerns. Bambara groundnut is one such imperative and neglected legume crop that contributes positively to improving global food and nutrient safety. As a “complete food”, this crop has recently been treated as a new millennium crop, and furthermore, it is more adjusted to poor soil and climatic conditions than other dominant crops. Bambara groundnut is a repository of vital nutrients that provides carbohydrates, crucial amino acids, proteins, and energy as well as minerals and vitamins to developed and low-income countries where animal proteins are not readily available. This review explores the potential of Bambara groundnut in ensuring food and nutrient security; its variables, production, processing, nutrient values, role in reducing the nutritional gap, and diverse uses; and attempts in improving its traits. To strengthen food production, an agricultural revolution is required for underutilized crop species to feed the ever-expanding population in the world. Henceforth, advanced plant-breeding procedures, such as next-generation breeding techniques, various molecular tools, TILLING, Eco-TILLING, proteomics, genomics, and transcriptomics (which has been used for major crops), also need to be practiced to intensify production. To boost productivity and to feed the most starved and malnourished populations of the world, it is assumed that the application of modern techniques will play a vital role in the advancement of the underutilized Bambara groundnut.
Highlights
Eradicating poverty and malnutrition involves the copious consumption of a balanced diet, confirming that daily uptake of nutritional elements is essential
Waziri et al [88] reported that the Genetic Resource Center (GRC) under Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Nigeria, has 2031 accessions accumulated from several sub-Saharan African countries
Underutilized Bambara groundnut crops are potentially excellent solutions in attaining food and nutritional security and that grow under severe climate conditions, while major crops are poorly suited to the environment
Summary
Eradicating poverty and malnutrition involves the copious consumption of a balanced diet, confirming that daily uptake of nutritional elements is essential. The Bambara groundnut is considered the third most common major legume after groundnuts (Arachis hypogea) and cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata) on the African continent This crop is efficient at promoting nourishment, boosting food assurance, fostering pastoral improvement, and supporting sustainable land uses. Underutilized Bambara groundnut crops are not classified as commodities in the global trading scheme, and researchers have paid little attention to them because of their low production rank [16] The cultivation of such crops has a significant effect on food and nutritional protection by providing income to marginal farmers; by reducing the overreliance on limited crop plants as sources of diet, fuel, and food; and by requiring low input in comparison to conventional agriculture systems [17,18]. We focused on the origin, distribution, domestication, global production, nutrient values, processing, and research for improving Bambara groundnut through classical breeding, modern molecular breeding, and marker-assisted selection
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