Role of Underutilized Crop Value Chains in Rural Food and Income Security in Sri Lanka

Bandula, Arosh; Jayaweera, Champika; Silva, Achini De; Oreiley, Patrick; Karunarathne, A. S.; Malkanthi, S.H.P.

doi:10.1016/j.profoo.2016.02.049

Cited by 20 publications

(14 citation statements)

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“…On the other hand, most of the UVs are available in common lands, road sides, paddy fields, abandoned lands like places. Meal analysis of a study conducted in Sri Lanka by Bandula et al (2016) revealed that a considerable amount of underutilized crops consumed at household level were own production or wild collection. According to the discussions with the respondents of the present study, some villagers were hesitated to collect them from common lands, paddy fields or road sides, concerning their social status and recognition.…”

Section: Botanica Name Common Name Consumption%mentioning

confidence: 99%

Knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of rural women in the dry zone of Sri Lanka on underutilized vegetable crops

Chamara¹,

Wijerathna²,

Herath³

et al. 2021

Ethnobot. Res. App.

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Background: Underutilized vegetables are those plant species with potential food and medicinal uses, and contributing to the socio-economic welfare of the rural communities. However, they are underexploited. These plants play a vital role in rural communities, particularly for the women, in food supply and preparation and thus contributing to dietary variations and food security in households. The present study was conducted to investigate the knowledge, attitudes and practices on underutilized vegetables by rural women in selected village communities in the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka.Methods: A total of 328 respondents comprising of rural women were randomly selected from four villages in Mahailluppallama irrigation block of the Mahaweli zone H in the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka. Primary data were collected through face-to-face interviews using an interview schedule and also the direct observations. Results: Seventy-nine (79) underutilized vegetable species were reported to be consumed by the respondents as a part of their normal diet. However, 20 of them were least consumed due to factors such as lack of interest among the younger generation, lack of availability, lack of awareness, and inadequate knowledge on their preparation as a food item. Women play the major role in collecting, preparing and related decision making on underutilized vegetables. Conclusions:A considerable diversity of underutilized vegetables exist in the community. However, some of them were less consumed and were not available in adequate quantities. Measures should be taken to popularize and conserve underutilized vegetables. Documentation of information is also important for sustainable use and exploring the future potential.

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Section: Botanica Name Common Name Consumption%mentioning

confidence: 99%

Knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of rural women in the dry zone of Sri Lanka on underutilized vegetable crops

Chamara¹,

Wijerathna²,

Herath³

et al. 2021

Ethnobot. Res. App.

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“…Sri Lanka is a land which has been gifted with extremely high biodiversity and hence it is recognized as one of the biodiversity hotspots in the world (1)(2)(3). Even though Sri Lanka has been gifted with huge diversity of fruits by the nature, people in the country cultivate and consume only a limited number of fruit species (4).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative account of vitamin C contents, antioxidant properties and iron contents of minor fruits in Sri Lanka

Abeysuriya¹,

Bulugahapitiya²,

Jayatissa³

2021

Plant Sci. Today

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Sri Lanka is a habitat of diverse fruit varieties; nevertheless 95% of them are underutilized by people due to unawareness of their nutritional values and health aspects, and hence become ‘minor fruits’. This study was aimed on revealing vitamin C, iron and antioxidant contents of 29 varieties of minor fruits (MFs) with the comparison of the same with three best commonly consumable fruits (CFs), namely Carica papaya, Mangifera indica and Psidium guajava. Ascorbic acid (Asc), dehydroascorbic acid (DAsc), vitamin C (TC), phenolic (TP), flavonoid (TF), iron (Fe) contents and antioxidant capacities (AOCs) of fruits were determined using standard methods. The results of mean Asc, DAsc, TC, TP, TF and Fe contents in 100 gm of MFs ranged from 3.1 to 121.5 mg, 1.2 to 70.7 mg, 6.6 to 136.1 mg, 24.9 to 1613.3 mg Gallic acid equivalent, 6.2 to 228.0 mg Quercetin equivalents and 0.2 to 4.9 mg respectively. DPPH and Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP) assays were used for AOCs and variation of IC50 values in a DPPH assay was 1.2 to 245.4 mg/ml whereas FRAP values ranged from 9.6 to 486.7 ?mol FeSO4/gm. Among the studied minor fruits, Melastoma malabathricum (Maha bovitiya/ Malabar melastome) is found as the best respect to all considered parameters. As a conclusion, it can be stated that, the Sri Lankan minor fruits are good alternatives to the common fruits as they are recognized as good source of vitamin C, iron and higher content of antioxidants. As an outcome, Sri Lankan minor fruits can be promoted as alternatives to common fruits and as source of revenue for national economy.

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“…Thus, promoting these NUFS to make them more "consumer-friendly" and "commercial" can be considered a powerful means of achieving sustainable development goal 2 (SDG 2) (i.e., reduction of poverty and malnutrition). They have the potential to enhance the diversity of food systems and, further, to make agricultural production systems less vulnerable to climate change, as these plants are hardy and resilient to such changes [13,[17][18][19]. They can thrive in harsh climatic conditions and nutrient-poor degraded habitats [20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neglected and Underutilized Fruit Species in Sri Lanka: Prioritisation and Understanding the Potential Distribution under Climate Change

2019

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Neglected and underutilized fruit species (NUFS) can make an important contribution to the economy, food security and nutrition requirement for Sri Lanka. Identifying suitable areas for cultivation of NUFS is of paramount importance to deal with impending climate change issues. Nevertheless, limited studies have been carried out to assess the impact of climate change on the potential distribution of NUFS. Therefore, we examined the potential range changes of NUFS in a tropical climate using a case study from Sri Lanka. We prioritized and modeled the potentially suitable areas for four NUFS, namely Aegle marmelos, Annona muricata, Limonia acidissima and Tamarindus indica under current and projected climates (RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5) for 2050 and 2070 using the maximum entropy (Maxent) species distribution modeling (SDM) approach. Potentially suitable areas for NUFS are predicted to decrease in the future under both scenarios. Out of the four NUFS, T. indica appears to be at the highest risk due to reduction in potential areas that are suitable for its growth under both emissions scenarios. The predicted suitable area reductions of this species for 2050 and 2070 are estimated as >75% compared to the current climate. A region of potentially higher climatic suitability was found around mid-county for multiple NUFS, which is also predicted to decrease under projected climate change. Further, the study identified high-potential agro-ecological regions (AERs) located in the mid-country’s wet and intermediate zones as the most suitable areas for promoting the cultivation of NUFS. The findings show the potential for incorporating predictive modeling into the management of NUFS under projected climate change. This study highlights the requirements of climate change adaptation strategies and focused research that can increase the resilience of NUFS to future changes in climate.

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Role of Underutilized Crop Value Chains in Rural Food and Income Security in Sri Lanka

Cited by 20 publications

References 1 publication

Knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of rural women in the dry zone of Sri Lanka on underutilized vegetable crops

Knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of rural women in the dry zone of Sri Lanka on underutilized vegetable crops

Comparative account of vitamin C contents, antioxidant properties and iron contents of minor fruits in Sri Lanka

Neglected and Underutilized Fruit Species in Sri Lanka: Prioritisation and Understanding the Potential Distribution under Climate Change

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