Leveraging the opportunities of neglected and underutilized crops for nutrition and climate resilience

Malnutrition persists globally in various forms, with further rising food demand, climate change, biodiversity loss, and land degradation representing interlinked additional challenges. Addressing these challenges requires building more resilient and sustainable agrifood systems to simultaneously improve production, nutrition, health, and environmental outcomes. The cultivation of diverse, nutritious, and climate-resilient crops, particularly neglected and underutilized crops (NUCs), offers an opportunity to help transform food systems sustainably. NUCs provide significant macronutrient and micronutrient benefits, and are often suited to marginal environments, enhancing biodiversity and resilience. However, NUCs remain underutilized due to production and demand-side challenges, including limited seed availability, inadequate infrastructure, and cultural barriers. This paper explores the potential role of NUCs in transforming food systems by highlighting key benefits and opportunities while also identifying current barriers to adoption. Nutrition-centered social behavioral change (SBC) strategies are emphasized as tools to improve consumer uptake. Insights from case studies in Cameroon and Tanzania showcase different interventions to promote NUCs and the gaps in policies within African countries. The paper concludes with policy recommendations to support the adoption of NUCs, contributing to sustainable, nutrition-sensitive, and climate-resilient agrifood systems. Collaborative efforts among governments, the private sector, research institutions, and NGOs are essential to address these barriers, advocate for NUCs benefits, and integrate culturally relevant social and behavioral change strategies.