working for Zero Hunger FUTURE SMART FOOD Rediscovering hidden treasures of neglected and underutilized species for Zero Hunger in Asia FUTURE SMART FOOD Rediscovering hidden treasures of neglected and underutilized species for Zero Hunger in Asia Editors Xuan Li and Kadambot H.M. Siddique Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Bangkok, 2018 Li, X. and Siddique, K.H.M. 2018. Future Smart Food - Rediscovering hidden treasures of neglected and underutilized species for Zero Hunger in Asia, Bangkok, 242 pp. The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. 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Cover photographs © Bigstock/xuanhuongho | © Shutterstock/Aznar Contents Foreword vii Preface ix Note from the editors xi Acknowledgements xv About the authors/reviewers xvii Acronyms and abbreviations xix Executive summary 1 Chapter 1 Introduction: Setting the scene 15 PART I: ENABLING ENVIRONMENT REQUIRED TO PROMOTE FUTURE SMART FOOD PRODUCTION, 33 MARKETING AND CONSUMPTION Chapter 2 Challenges, opportunities and strategies for Neglected and 35 Underutilized Species as Future Smart Food for Zero Hunger Chapter 3 Future Smart Food: Hidden treasures to address Zero Hunger 51 in a changing climate Chapter 4 Future Smart Crops for paddy fallow agri-food systems in Southeast Asia 61 Chapter 5 Mainstreaming Future Smart Food for improving nutrition security 79 PART II: COUNTRY SCOPING AND PRIORITIZATION STUDIES 89 Chapter 6 Bangladesh 91 Chapter 7 Bhutan 111 Chapter 8 Cambodia 123 Chapter 9 Lao PDR 137 Chapter 10 Myanmar 147 Chapter 11 Nepal 161 Chapter 12 Viet Nam 181 Chapter 13 West Bengal, India 197 Chapter 14 Conclusion: Way forward 211 Figures and tables FIGURES Figure ES.1 Features of agriculture and food systems 2 Figure ES.2 Timeline showing the major relevant international policy frameworks for the conservation and 3 sustainable use of plant diversity Figure ES.3 Regional priority-setting exercise on scoping, prioritizing and mapping of NUS 4 Figure 1.1 Features of agriculture and food systems 17 Figure 1.2 Timeline showing the major relevant international policy frameworks for the conservation and 22 sustainable use of plant diversity Figure 2.1 Projection of undernourished people in various regions, 1990 to 2030 35 Figure 2.2 Examples of NUS: Amaranthus and opened Bixa fruit 37 Figure 2.3 Australian Department of Agriculture and Food research ofcer Richard Snowball is conducting 41 quinoa trials in Western Australia, as part of national research, to assess the best growing conditions for the crop Figure 2.4 Landscape with quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa), Bolivia, Province La Paz (left) and commercial quinoa 42 seeds for the health food market (right) Figure 2.5 Global growth in lentil production by acreage and productivity, 1961 to 2014 43 Figure 2.6 Global trends in pulse production: chickpea, faba bean, lentil and peas, the relative proportions of 44 these pulses grown globally, early 1960s to 2011 Figure 2.7 Lentil importing and exporting regions of the world, 2013 45 Figure 2.8 Trends in lentil production, India, 1961 to 2014 45 Figure 2.9 Development of pod plant architecture to facilitate machine harvesting of lentils 46 Figure 2.10 Lentils are an excellent FSF as they are rich in iron and zinc and ofer an new income stream for farmers 47 Figure 6.1 Major crops, cultivation area and production in Bangladesh (BBS, 2016) 94 Figure 7.1 Agro-ecological zones of Bhutan 112 Figure 8.1 Map of Cambodia 123 Figure 8.2 Agro-ecological pattern based on the rice ecosystem, Cambodia 124 Figure 8.3 Rice production status from 1995 to 2016, Cambodia 125 Figure 8.4 Total production of selected agrarian products, Cambodia, 2007–2010 125 Figure 8.5 Dietary energy pattern, Cambodia 128 Figure 8.6 Area afected by food and drought in Cambodia from 1996-2016 128 Figure 9.1 Agro-Ecological Zones of Lao PDR 138 Figure 10.1 Major rivers of Myanmar 147 Figure 10.2 Major vegetation types of Myanmar 148 Figure 11.1 Physiographic zones and topographical cross-section of Nepal 161 Figure 11.2 The diversity of agroecological zones and farming systems in Nepal 162 Figure 11.3 Area, production and productivity of the fve major FSF crops grown in Nepal 164 iv Figure 11.4 Location of diversity-rich areas, and food and nutrition insecurity areas, Nepal 164 Figure 11.5 The number of available species in various crop groups in Nepal (excluding ornamental plant species) 165 Figure 11.6 Maximum and minimum temperatures from 1987–2008 in Nepal 168 Figure 11.7 Potential sites for feld surveys on FSF crops, Nepal 175 Figure 12.1 Land cover map, Viet Nam 182 Figure 12.2 Map of agro-ecological zones, Viet Nam 182 TABLES Table ES.1 Potential Future Smart Food in eight countries in South and Southeast Asia 5 Table 1.1 Improvement in mildly anaemic children after a 60-day red lentil feeding trial in Sri Lanka (n = 33) 21 Table 1.2 The four prioritization criteria on NUS for FSF 23 Table 1.3 Potential Future Smart Food in eight countries in South and Southeast Asia 25 Table 2.1 Challenges to NUS by category 38 Table 2.2 Evolution of production (1 000 tonnes) and export value of quinoa from 1970 to 2014 42 Table 4.1 Paddy area and paddy fallow area (million ha) by cropping system and water source for Asian regions, 64 2000-09 Table 4.2 Experimental results on enhancing water use efciency 70 Table 4.3 Evaluation of chickpea cultivars in paddy fallows in Jharkhand, post-rainy 2010-13 71 Table 4.4 Percent increase in paddy and chickpea yields with improved management from 2007-08 to 2008-09 72 Table 4.5 WUE of Paddy and paddy and chickpea during 2007-08 to 2008-09 72 Table 5.1 Potential NUS crops identifed for mainstreaming under diferent projects 82 Table 5.2 Potential underutilized fruits for mainstreaming 84 Table 6.1 Major crops, cultivation area and production in Bangladesh 95 Table 6.2 Hunger and malnutrition status in Bangladesh 96 Table 6.3 List of Future Smart Food (FSF) crops in Bangladesh and their priority 99 Table 6.4 Nutrient contents per 100 g of diferent edible portion of taro 102 Table 6.5 Prioritized FSF crops for Bangladesh, and possible intervention for improving them to promote as 104 mainstream crop Table 7.1 Agro-ecological zones of Bhutan 112 Table 7.2 Nutritional status of children and women 114 Table 7.3 List of Neglected and Underutilized Species (NUS) 115 Table 7.4 List of prioritized six FSF 117 Table 8.1 Crop production by area 125 Table 8.2 Crop germplasm and conservation in Cambodian gene bank at CARDI 126 Table 8.3 The top ten underutilized crops that contribute to income generation, Cambodia 130 Table 8.4 List of wild root and tuber food plants, Cambodia 130 Table 8.5 List of wild vegetable species used for food in Cambodia 131 Table 8.6 List of nuts and pulses found in upland areas of Cambodia 131 v Table 8.7 List of wild fruit species, Cambodia 132 Table 9.1 Crop-related neglected and underutilized species, Lao PDR 140 Table 10.1 Major agro-ecological zones of Myanmar (NBSAP 2011) 149 Table 10.2 Sown area of crop group in 2014-2015 FY in Myanmar (DOP 2015) 149 Table 10.3 Sown area and production of some major crops in 2014-2015 FY in Myanmar 150 Table 10.4 Ex situ conservation of crops and wild relatives in Myanmar Seed Bank, March, 2017 150 Table 10.5 List of selected FSF crops in Myanmar 152 Table 10.6 Priority for improving some of the target FSF in Myanmar 157 Table 11.1 Crops grown in diferent agroecological zones of Nepal 162 Table 11.2 Area and production of major crops in Nepal, 2015 163 Table 11.3 Crop diversity in selected ecological regions of Nepal 165 Table 11.4 Major cropping patterns in each ecological region of Nepal 166 Table 11.5 Status of malnutrition in Nepal and the world in 2014 167 Table 11.6 Indicators and targets of food and nutrition security in the Agriculture Development Strategy 168 2015-2035 for Nepal Table 11.7 List of potential future smart food crop species in Nepal identifed in group discussions 170 Table 11.8 Collaborators from NARC for research and development of FSF 175 Table 12.1 Nutrition status of Viet