Underexploited tropical and subtropical vegetable crops for diversification and nutritional security: a review

ABSTRACT

Due to rising population, the globe confronts serious issues with food security, unemployment, and ecological damage. In comparison to 9.9% in 2020 and 8.4% in 2019, about 10% of the world’s population experienced hunger in 2021 (FAO, 2022). Diseases like anemia, thyroid, and night blindness can all be driven forth by malnutrition. Many low-income households find it expensive to eat animal products. A variety of neglected vegetables can serve as a substitute for vitamins, minerals, and secondary plant metabolites that support health. Under-utilized legumes, abundant in plant-based protein, offer an affordable alternative to address protein deficiency. The significant folic acid content of several underutilized green vegetables contributes to minimizing the risk of coronary ailments. Crop diversification is a strategy that considerably increases food security, health and nutrition, climate resilience, and environmental sustainability. In small-scale farming, the integration of a variety of crops not only enables more effective utilization of agro-ecological processes, but also contributes to the diversity of the human diet and raises family income. Vegetable crop diversification has potential to enhance availability and financial affordability of healthy and fresh food. Additionally, by cultivating a diverse range of crops locally, there will be rise in economic opportunities.

KEYWORDS:

• Underutilized vegetables
• tropical and subtropical
• crop diversification
• nutritional security

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Authors’ contributions

SP was the major contributor in writing the manuscript and collected the material. RKB guided and collected data about the cucurbits. YRS guided and collected the data regarding different crops which are considered as underexploited. ADA collected the diversification data. RKV contributed the part of economics of the underexploited vegetables. All the authors read and approved the final draft of the manuscript.

Availability of data and material

There is no available data and extra material for this review article.