Crop diversification and forgotten seeds emerge as practical answers to fragile food systems

Crop diversification and forgotten seeds emerge as practical answers to fragile food systems | Photo: Zura Narimanishvili

Published on 23 May 2026 at 07:50 GMT

By Editorial Team SDG2

Food systems built around a narrow range of crops are coming under sharper scrutiny as hunger, malnutrition and climate shocks intensify across regions. Crop diversification is moving from the margins of agricultural debate towards the centre of food security policy. The reason is increasingly difficult to ignore, a food system that depends heavily on a limited set of staple crops can deliver scale, but it can also deepen vulnerability when drought, heat, pests, conflict or price shocks strike.  

The renewed interest in forgotten seeds, traditional varieties and neglected crops reflects this wider concern. These plants are often described as neglected and underutilised species, meaning crops that have long fed communities but received limited investment from commercial breeding, public research or mainstream markets. They include grains, pulses, leafy vegetables, roots, tubers and fruits adapted to local ecologies, sometimes with strong nutritional value and tolerance to difficult growing conditions. Agricultural biodiversity is not a nostalgic idea, it is increasingly treated as a resilience strategy.  

The urgency is clear. The 2025 edition of the global food security report estimated that about 673 million people faced hunger in 2024, while roughly 2.3 billion experienced moderate or severe food insecurity. Child malnutrition remains deeply entrenched, with the 2025 joint estimates from UNICEF, WHO and the World Bank tracking persistent burdens of stunting, wasting and overweight across regions. Hunger is not only a shortage of calories, it is also a crisis of dietary quality and access.  

That distinction matters for the debate on crop diversification. High-yielding staples such as rice, wheat and maize remain essential to feeding billions. Yet the broader nutritional needs of populations cannot be met through staple calories alone. Pulses, vegetables, fruits, nuts and diverse local crops can improve diet quality, while also spreading production risk for farmers. The challenge is not replacing major crops outright, but reducing overdependence on uniform systems that leave both diets and livelihoods exposed. A more diverse field can support a more diverse plate.  

This issue sits directly within SDG 2, zero hunger, particularly its focus on ending malnutrition and building sustainable food production systems. It also connects to SDG 13, climate action, because agricultural adaptation is becoming more urgent as climate impacts intensify. The IPCC has identified crop diversification, maintenance of local genetic diversity and livelihood diversification as adaptation options that can improve resilience, though their effectiveness depends on local conditions, policy support and wider institutional capacity. Diversity does not eliminate climate risk, but it can reduce the damage caused by uniform exposure.  

The fragility of low-diversity systems has a long history. The FAO has warned that agricultural biodiversity has eroded as farmers and markets shifted towards a smaller number of high-performing crops and varieties. One long-cited estimate suggests that roughly three-quarters of plant genetic diversity has been lost from farmers’ fields since the early twentieth century, though the exact scale varies by crop and region. The broader direction is clear, production systems have become simpler at the same moment that climate volatility is making simplicity more dangerous. When seed diversity declines, the options available to future farmers decline with it.  

Forgotten seeds matter because many were selected over generations for specific landscapes, rainfall patterns, soils and food cultures. In drylands, hardy millets, sorghums or legumes may offer advantages where water stress is intensifying. In areas facing salinity, some less-promoted crops may remain viable where mainstream staples struggle. In humid or mountainous settings, locally adapted varieties can preserve traits that industrial breeding programmes have not prioritised. The value of traditional crops often lies in traits that markets ignored but climate stress now rewards.  

Yet it would be misleading to present forgotten crops as a simple cure for hunger. Many face barriers that are practical rather than conceptual. Farmers may lack reliable access to quality seed. Extension workers may have little training in how to grow or process them. National procurement systems, crop insurance and school meal programmes may favour established staples. Food companies may not invest in processing or distribution where demand remains uncertain. Consumers may also associate certain traditional crops with poverty or outdated diets, even where their nutritional profile is strong. Biodiversity cannot scale through sentiment alone, it needs functioning seed systems, markets and public policy.  

The research community has increasingly focused on closing these gaps. The Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT has worked with partners in Kenya, Zambia, Uganda and Zimbabwe to improve the value chains of neglected and underutilised species, linking conservation with practical use. Crops For the Future has similarly argued for wider research into underutilised crops as part of diversified agricultural systems. These initiatives highlight a central lesson, conserving seeds in storage is important, but conservation becomes more socially meaningful when farmers, breeders, cooks and consumers can use that diversity in daily life. A seed bank protects possibilities, but food systems change when those possibilities return to farms and kitchens.  

The role of gene banks is nevertheless crucial. The Crop Trust, an international non-profit focused on crop diversity, has supported national gene banks through its Seeds for Resilience initiative in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Zambia. The project aims to strengthen collections and reconnect useful varieties with farmers and researchers. This matters because seed conservation is often invisible until crisis reveals its value. Drought tolerance, pest resistance and nutritional traits stored in older varieties or wild relatives may become essential breeding resources as environmental conditions shift. The future of food security may depend partly on genetic material preserved before its value was fully understood.  

Civil society organisations also occupy an important place in this debate, especially where seed sovereignty, farmers’ knowledge and local food cultures are concerned. Navdanya International has long promoted biodiversity-based agriculture and the protection of community seed traditions, while other local organisations across Asia, Africa and Latin America have supported seed exchanges, agroecological farming and traditional food revival. These actors are not substitutes for public agricultural systems, but they often preserve knowledge and practices that formal institutions overlooked. Community seed networks keep agricultural memory alive in places where policy has often favoured uniformity.  

There is also a political economy dimension. Global agricultural investment has historically favoured crops with strong export potential, established commodity chains and clear commercial returns. Public research budgets in many countries have followed similar patterns, concentrating on staples and cash crops. Neglected crops, by contrast, frequently remain under-documented, under-bred and poorly represented in official statistics. This lack of data can reinforce a cycle of neglect, crops attract little investment because they appear marginal, and they remain marginal because little investment arrives. What counts in agricultural policy is often what has already been measured, funded and traded.  

For governments, the case for diversification is strongest when it is linked to concrete policy instruments. Public breeding programmes can broaden their crop portfolios. Seed regulations can be designed to recognise farmer-managed varieties alongside commercial seed systems. Public procurement can create demand for nutritious local crops in schools, hospitals or food assistance programmes where supply is reliable. Agricultural extension can include crops suited to changing rainfall and heat patterns. Nutrition strategies can support dietary diversity rather than focus narrowly on staple availability. Crop diversification becomes credible when it is built into institutions, not left as a slogan.  

The issue is especially relevant for smallholder farmers, who often operate with limited irrigation, thinner financial buffers and higher exposure to weather volatility. A diversified farm may combine staples, pulses, vegetables, fruit trees or livestock in ways that spread risk across seasons. However, diversification can also involve new labour demands, market uncertainties and post-harvest challenges. Women frequently play central roles in seed saving, food preparation and local marketing of diverse crops, but they may lack equal access to land, finance or formal recognition in agricultural programmes. Any serious strategy must therefore consider gender, labour and income, not only plant biology.  

The resurgence of interest in agricultural biodiversity reflects a broader reassessment of food security itself. The goal is no longer simply to produce more grain, though production remains essential. It is to build food systems that are more nutritious, less brittle and better able to absorb disruption. Crop diversification, forgotten seeds and neglected species will not resolve conflict, poverty or trade shocks. Nor will they replace the need for humanitarian aid in acute crises. But they can form part of a longer-term public-interest response to hunger and climate stress, especially where resilience begins with the capacity to grow, exchange and eat a wider range of foods. Food systems become stronger when diversity is treated as infrastructure, not ornament.  

Further information:

• FAO, its biodiversity and food security assessments provide global evidence on agricultural diversity, hunger and nutrition.

  https://www.fao.org

• The Crop Trust, this non-profit supports the conservation and use of crop diversity through gene banks and resilience programmes.

  https://www.croptrust.org

• Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, its research examines neglected and underutilised species, nutrition and climate-resilient food systems.

  https://alliancebioversityciat.org

• Crops For the Future, this organisation focuses on research and wider use of underutilised crops in diversified agriculture.

  https://cffinternational.com

• Navdanya International, this civil society organisation works on seed diversity, food sovereignty and biodiversity-based farming.

  https://navdanyainternational.org