The Importance of Becoming Tamed: Wild Food Plants as Possible Novel Crops in Selected Food-Insecure Regions

Abstract

Domestication of new plants is one of the key (ongoing) phenomena in the history of agriculture. Wild plants are the ancestors of current and future crops and the largest reservoir of genetic diversity for crop breeding and improvement. Wild food species have been used for human nutrition since ancient times and are often the object of human strategies for coping with emergency situations, such as natural disasters and conflicts. We analyzed qualitative data collected through ethnobotanical field studies conducted in recent years in five selected Eurasian regions (Afghanistan, Kurdistan region of Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, and Ukraine) that have been recently affected by wars and/or socio-political turbulence. Data were collected through participant observation and semi-structured interviews with local people. We identified five taxa for each region, which are culturally very salient in the local food systems, that retain an important economic value in local markets, and that, therefore, could be good candidates for becoming novel crops. The cultivation of the reported species may significantly help local communities in their post-war livelihoods and especially in terms of food security and domestic nutritional care. Future studies should focus on the agronomic feasibility of the highlighted species within their regional ecosystems.

Cultural vs. State Borders: Plant Foraging by Hawraman and Mukriyan Kurds in Western Iran

“…Kurds in Iran and Iraq show a considerable similarity in foraged plant genera with other parts of the Middle East. Most of the overlapped genera (e.g., Allium, Anchusa, Malva, and Rumex) are highly reported by other studies in the region such as Iraq [32], Syria [28], Armenia [33], Georgia [36,37], Pakistan and Afghanistan [30], Lebanon [38], Cyprus [39], and Turkey [31]. Moreover, some species seem culturally unique in the whole region of the Fertile Crescent and surrounding areas, such as Gundelia sp.…”

“…The border between Iran and Iraq in Hawraman corresponds to the former border of the Ottoman Empire, which emerged from the Treaty of Zuhab (1639), in which the Ottoman-Persian frontier was formalized, with Iraq permanently ceded to the Ottomans. In addition, we compared previously published studies from the Middle East (e.g., [28][29][30][31][32][33]). The comparison findings among the considered groups were graphically represented using proportional Venn diagrams.…”

Unlocking the Prospective of Neglected and Underutilized Wild Plants for Human Food, Nutrition and Ethno-Medicine

“…WEPs have long been a common and indispensable source of food for families experiencing food insecurity and living in poverty in developing nations (Sulaiman et al, 2023, Singh et al, 2022. They serve as an emergency supply of food during famines, supplement staple foods, and make up for seasonal food shortages in some rural areas where they are crucial for household food security and nutrition (Duguma, 2020, Thattantavide et al, 2023.…”

Sweet Basil between the Soul and the Table—Transformation of Traditional Knowledge on Ocimum basilicum L. in Bulgaria

“…Recent projects that target the transformation and preservation of biocultural knowledge in Europe also stress its homogenization, especially in regions like the Balkans and Eastern Europe, where prolonged sociopolitical instability during the early 20th century and the following Communist internationalistic policies severely affected rural livelihoods and intergenerational cultural transmission [55][56][57][58]. Hence, some authors even consider the domestication of edible plants, otherwise collected from wild populations, as an attempt to support food-insecure communities [59].…”