One thousand and ninety seven reasons to celebrate World Food Day

In her World Food Day blog, Ann Tutwiler, Director General, Bioversity International draws attention to the thousands of overlooked food species that could be deployed as strategic assets to help fix the food system.

A recent study by Bioversity International and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) reviewed the levels of research, conservation status and documentation for 1097 cultivated vegetables. This review is to support the uptake of a broad range of crops as “strategic assets” to help reduce high malnutrition rates. The study found that 93% of the species studied are neglected in all these three areas (research, conservation and documentation), in particular those from Africa and the Asia-Pacific Region.

In a recent Financial Times op-ed, Dr. Rajiv Shah, President of the Rockefeller Foundation said, “Global food policies must encourage the production of a diverse range of foods naturally rich in the vitamins and minerals people need to be healthy.” This article followed another thought piece where Shah called for “a modern food revolution that feeds, nourishes and sustains us.” This vision for a sustainable food system is one that drives the innovative work here at Bioversity International, to show how agricultural biodiversity can both nourish people and sustain the planet.

Thousands of species of plants exist on farms, and in the wild, that we can use for food. Within these species are millions of varieties that can improve nutrition, and have a low environmental impact. However, researchers, food companies and consumers often neglect these crops, which receive little in the way of research and development investment.