Value Addition in Underutilized Crops for Enhancing Nutritional Security of Tribals

Abstract

The term “underutilized species” refer to those species whose potential to improve people’s livelihoods, as well as food security and sovereignty, is not being fully realized because of their limited competitiveness with commodity crops in mainstream agriculture. While their potential may not be fully realized at national level, they are of significant importance locally, being highly adapted to marginal, complex and difficult environments and contributing significantly to diversification and resilience of agro-ecosystems. Underutilized species include not just food plants but also many other species—wild or cultivated—used as sources of oil, fuel, fiber, fodder, beverages, stimulants, narcotics, ornamental, aromatic compounds, and medicine. These crops are cultivated, traded and consumed locally. Most of them are very rich sources of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Since, the underutilized horticultural crops have a long history of consumption, the local people are aware about their nutritional and medicinal properties. Moreover, these are cheap and readily available. In addition to this, there is always demand from consumers for new, delicious, nutritious and attractive food products. To satisfy this demand, there is a constant effort to develop products from diverse sources. The potentiality of processed products from some underutilized crops in the Island is still untapped. Andaman and Nicobar Islands is one of the richest reservoirs of genetic variability and diversity of different underutilized crops, which exist in plant types, morphological and physiological variations, reactions to diseases and pests, adaptability and distribution owing to congenial climatic conditions. It is a fact that nutritional security of Island population cannot be met by focussing on the staple and major horticultural crops alone with limited cultivated areas. This is an area of attention and should be researched in the near future but the role of underutilized species to that end need to be better recognized. Such a role can be realized in two ways; first, by providing genetic traits for adaptation and second by strengthening the resilience of agro-ecosystems through crop diversification. With regard to the first way, historically, in a climate stable world, crop wild relatives (CWR) as gene donors for plant breeding will be a major contributor to economic development and food security. In second way, crop diversification with special attention to growing of untapped resilient crop resources will be important for a stable agro-ecosystem. It is worth to mention that huge potential exists for processing of the various unexploited fruits of these Islands into high-value added products. In these Islands, there is a great scope for the processed products not only because of their exotic flavor but also due to their nutraceutical impotence and therapeutic values