Enhancing farmers’ access to neglected crop seeds for healthy diets in a changing climate: six recommendations for policy action

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dc.creatorVan Zonneveld, M.
dc.creatorCastañeda-Álvarez, N.P.
dc.creatorAchigan-Dako, E.G.
dc.creatorAlmekinders, Conny J.M.
dc.creatorHaan, Stef de
dc.creatorHugo, W.
dc.creatorOtieno, G.
dc.creatorOrtiz, R.
dc.creatorRaneri, J.E.
dc.creatorRoa, C.
dc.creatorSperling, L.
dc.creatorSpielman, David J.
dc.creatorVon Wettberg, E.
dc.date2026
dc.date2026-03-24T16:54:48Z
dc.date2026-03-24T16:54:48Z
dc.date.accessioned2026-06-27T15:04:46Z
dc.descriptionFood insecurity and poor diets undermine human health, livelihoods, and aspirations. Climate change further exacerbates the problem of achieving zero hunger. Promoting the production of a diverse portfolio of nutrient-dense, climate-resilient crops enables food supply for healthy diets in the coming years and decades. Many are underutilized even though they are considered opportunity crops, with an unrealized potential to improve food security and dietary quality amid climate change. Limited access to quality seed for these crops is a major bottleneck in their supply, as the current policy environment does not support farmers in broadening their portfolio with these crops. This paper identifies three key challenges that should be addressed to enable farmers to access quality seed of opportunity crops at scale. These are to make the diversity of opportunity crops (i) a priority for policy (ii) available for evaluation and breeding, and (iii) accessible to farmers, especially women and other disadvantaged groups. Six policy actions are recommended to address these challenges, which, if implemented, are likely to have both short- and long-term impacts in increasing farmers’ access to quality seeds of opportunity crops. Adopting these policy actions will help mainstream opportunity crops into seed systems as part of a broader strategy to diversify food systems from seed to plate.
dc.identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/182239
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/123456789/93883
dc.languageen
dc.rightsOpen Access
dc.sourceVan Zonneveld, M.; Castañeda-Álvarez, N.P.; Achigan-Dako, E. G.; Almekinders, C.; De Haan, S.; Hugo, W.; Otieno, G.; Ortiz, R.; Raneri, J. E.; Roa, C.; Sperling, L.; Spielman, D.; Von Wettberg, E. 2026. Enhancing farmers’ access to neglected crop seeds for healthy diets in a changing climate: six recommendations for policy action. Food Security. Article in press. ISSN 1876-4525. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-026-01661-w
dc.subjectseeds
dc.subjectgenetic resources
dc.subjectagrobiodiversity
dc.subjectplant breeding
dc.subjectfood security
dc.subjectdietary diversity
dc.titleEnhancing farmers’ access to neglected crop seeds for healthy diets in a changing climate: six recommendations for policy action
dc.typeJournal Article

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Instituto Internacional de Investigación sobre Políticas Alimentarias (IFPRI)