José Graziano da Silva, head of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, who called for a paradigm shift towards a more inductive, environmentally sound and socially-orientated agriculture sector, has called on farmers to return to growing 'neglected crops'. The organisation's director general promised greater inclusivity and social responsibility in his leadership of the FAO, shortly after taking charge in January

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Graziano da Silva said many crops which are currently being underused by farmers can play an important role in addressing the food and agriculture challenges of the future. He is not alone in his calls; food policy expert and respected philosopher Dr Vandana Shiva has also said that locally adapted and culturally important crop varieties have a significant role in achieving food security in an environmentally responsible way, as well as being a means of addressing biodiversity loss.

However, Shiva has warned these varieties of crops are losing out as a result of trends and drives within global agriculture and the application of patenting laws. She blames malnutrition and poverty in part on the encroachment of monoculture cropping and intensive agriculture into areas where multicrop systems were formerly prevalent.

Speaking at an international seminar being held in Córdoba, Spain on Monday, the FAO director general said his organisation estimates that some seven thousand species of plants have been cultivated or consumed as food throughout human history, but that today many of these species are disappearing. He warned, "If we lose these unique and irreplaceable resources, it will be more difficult for us to adapt to climate change and ensure a healthy and diversified nutrition for all."

Graziano da Silva added, "Currently there are about 870 million hungry people in the world, a world that produces enough food for everyone. Globalisation has created an abundance of food in some parts of the world, but has failed to end the chronic shortages that exist elsewhere [and has] created a certain homogeneity of products, accompanied by a loss of different culinary traditions and agricultural biodiversity."

FAO chief warns against homogenising food staples

FAO figures show the caloric intake of most people on the planet is currently based on just four crops: rice, maize, wheat and potatoes. The organisation's director general lamented on Monday that, "Our dependence on a few crops has negative consequences for ecosystems, food diversity and our health. The food monotony increases the risk of micronutrient deficiency."

He said that, in order to address the challenges humanity faces, including the startling number of people who are ill and obese from overconsumption as well as those who are hungry, moves need to be made towards more sustainable consumption, but also through changes to production. The FAO recommends adopting a model it calls "Save and Grow," which the organisation claims supports food production whilst preserves and enhances natural resources.

However, UN rapporteur on the Right to Food, Olivier de Schutter has called for more research into and wider adoption of agroecology, a school of agriculture which takes the latest knowledge from crop science and understanding from the social sciences to build socially just, environmentally friendly food systems.   

Graziano da Silva stressed that neglected and currently underutilised species "play a crucial role in the fight against hunger and are a key resource for agriculture and rural development." and called for increased research on such crops, noting that "While some research is taking place, the results do not always reach smallholders."

He also said that waste needs to be tackled as a matter of priority. The FAO chief revealed that "industrialised countries waste 220 million tons of food, an amount equivalent to sub-Saharan Africa's total annual food production." In many industrialised countries, although consumer waste is measured, waste from bloated, unsustainable supply chains is not, meaning the effects of inefficiency could be even more devastating.

Andean 'super crop' quinoa was suggested as a possible cereal to encourage by the FAO chief, who said, "Quinoa is the only cereal that contains all the amino acids needed by human beings. Besides, it adapts well to growing in all altitudes from sea level to the Andes".


He concluded, "For millennia, communities have developed crops in harmony with the environment, using the rich natural surroundings. And so food is also part of our culture and identity. We must not lose track of our agricultural and culinary roots, nor the lore and wisdom of our ancestors.  On the contrary, we must learn from them, to ensure that our future has even more diversity."