Vol. 11, Special Issue 2 (2022)

Author(s):
Ummaisa Rehman, FA Bahar, AA Saad, MA Bhat, Lal Singh, SS Mahdi, Mohd Saleem Mir, Moneesa Bashir, Tauseef A Bhat and Tsultim Palmo

Abstract:
By 2050, the world's population is predicted to exceed 9 billion people, necessitating a 50 percent increase in food production to feed the world's growing population while also improving nutrition. Despite possessing a large variety of food plants, the world's food and nutritional needs are met by a small number of key crops (rice, wheat, and maize). Because of the multiple socioeconomic and ecological constraints that crop production faces, global reliance on only a few basic crops for food is problematic. Climate change, according to new findings, will cause shifts in crop production areas and yield loss due to more unpredictable weather patterns. Alternative food crops with the potential to become one of the primary crops should be incorporated in people's diets in order to combat hunger and malnutrition and make the world more sustainable in terms of food security. Underutilized crops are a term used to describe these alternative crops. It will also give countries the ability to improve resilience and better adapt agricultural production systems to changing climates, where biodiversity plays a vital role in food security, climatic resilience, nutrition, income, genetic resources pool, and cultural identity.