Opportunity Crops Knowledge Base
Discover the potential of opportunity crops! These often overlooked yet powerful plant species contribute to food security, enhance nutrition and support sustainable agriculture. This Knowledge Base is a comprehensive resource, sharing in-depth information on these remarkable plant species and their valuable role in resilient food systems worldwide.
What are Opportunity Crops?
Opportunity crops are plant species that open opportunities to improve food and nutritional security, but that are not used to their full extent due to factors like limited awareness, lack of information, or competition with more dominant species. These species may have beneficial traits, such as nutritional, medicinal, or environmental value, but they are not widely cultivated, harvested, or studied. They represent vital crop diversity and a source of solutions to improve sustainability, biodiversity and resilience to environmental changes. They are also known as neglected and underutilized species (NUS) or orphan crops.
What you will find in this Knowledge Base
This platform offers access to information on 20 unique opportunity crop species selected by stakeholders in Benin, Colombia, Ghana, Kenya, India, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia as part of the BOLDER initiative and the Power of Diversity Funding Facility. These species were selected by stakeholders in each country based on the following criteria: potential adaptability to extreme climatic conditions, high nutritional value, potential local marketability and existing use in local food preparation.
We invite you to explore detailed crop profiles, nutritional benefits and the role that crops play in women’s and youth’s livelihood. The searchable interface in our Opportunity Crop Knowledge Base enables users to efficiently find the latest published research and information related to these lesser-known plant species.
Designed for researchers, farmers, students, educators and enthusiasts alike, our goal is to provide practical insights to elevate the use and appreciation of these exceptional crops.
Join us in celebrating and promoting opportunity crops to foster a sustainable, resilient, and nutritionally diverse global food system. Together, we can help these hidden treasures thrive and contribute to a healthier world.
This Opportunity Crop Knowledge Base was launched by the Crop Trust BOLDER initiative, which is part of the BOLD project generously funded by the Government of Norway. BOLDER aims to improve nutrition security in West and East Africa through the increased use and value of nutritious but currently underused, climate-resilient and environment-friendly crops. This platform is also supported by Power of Diversity Funding Facility, a multi-donor initiative managed by the Crop Trust, dedicated to conserving, cultivating and promoting the consumption of relatively neglected opportunity crops across Africa, Asia, the Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean. It is funded by the Federal Government of Germany (BMZ) through the German Development Bank (KfW) and the Government of Ireland.
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