The importance of Neglected and Underutilized Species (NUS) for food security was highlighted again at the IUCN World Conservation Congress held in Jeju, South Korea this month. The reliance on a handful of crops to feed the world has seen a rapid decrease in the number of traditional agricultural species that, until the recent past, played a prominent role in feeding indigenous communities worldwide.
Scientists from Bioversity International argue that these species and their wild relatives will be critical for creating resilient food systems as global changes take place.

Documenting on-farm occurrence and threats to these species, as well as recording traditional knowledge associated with their preparation and storage are proposed as a way of monitoring the use farmers make of this diversity. However, this cannot be achieved unless policy-makers take the message on board by supporting small-scale sustainable agriculture instead of subsidizing large-scale, industrial farms.