Abstract
Known in the literature as underutilized, neglected or orphan crops, these crops have been cited as having the potential to improve food and nutritional security. The literature also highlights however that consumers in developing countries are increasingly abandoning their traditional diets that these crops are part of, and are replacing them by western diets. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the consumption and nutritional implications of expanding the participation of underutilized crops in current diets. This was done using a modified version of the microeconomic consumer problem. This was augmented with a linear constraint using generalized rationing theory that can be found in the economics literature. The method was applied to the case study of the consumption of millet (finger millet, botanical name: Eleusine coracana) by rural, urban-poor and urban-affluent Ugandan socioeconomic groups. The results indicated that millet could contribute to improving the intake of macronutrients and of some micronutrients, though the overall picture is complex. However, under current preferences and given its demand inelasticity, to achieve a substantial increase in the quantity of millet in the diet will require a significant reduction of its price. Otherwise, the net impact on nutrition as measured by the mean adequacy ratio will be only slightly positive for rural and urban-poor households. Our findings indicate that supply-side initiatives aimed at increasing the productivity of underutilized crops (reducing crop price) are likely to produce disappointing results in restoring their importance unless accompanied by specific interventions to expand demand.
Highlights
Green Revolution research focused on optimising the yields of a few staple crops to support the production of sufficient affordable calories for humans (McMullin et al 2021).This, occurred at the expense of research into the yield, quality improvement and resilience of so-called underutilized, neglected or orphan crops, which provide a better supply of particular nutrients such as essential amino acids, minerals and fibre (FAO 2021).rial
We focus on the crop because it was identified as a priority for research by the African Orphan Crops Consortium (AOCC 2021)
Underutilized, neglected or orphan crops have been cited as having the potential to play a number of roles in the improvement of food and nutritional security; consumers in developing countries are increasingly abandoning their traditional diets and replacing them with ‘western’ ones based on a small set of major staples
Summary
Revoredo‐Giha et al Agricultural and Food Economics (2022) 10:1 Some of these underutilized crops have the capacity to be used in the management/. Feeding of farmed animals, food processing and the wider food system (e.g., Qaim 1999; Dawson et al 2009; ATDF 2009). They can be produced in more sustainable ways than major staple crops, especially when considering the external costs of production to the environment (Dawson et al 2019; AOCC 2021)
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