Challenges in promoting underutilized horticulture crops

• Overharvesting of foods from the wild
• Lack of documentation of traditional/indigenous knowledge on management of wild species (identifying/selecting, harvesting, consuming)
• Sustaining wild foods in the face of increasing market demand
• Lack of scientific evidence on the value of wild plants (nutritional as well as other properties)
• Ownership and benefit sharing of indigenous knowledge
• Lack of management plans for sustainable wild crop harvesting
• Lack of agronomic data on different wild plant species
• Resistance from high levels and lack of political support for promoting underutilized foods
• Lack of and difficulty in certification and traceability of wild species
• Lack of consumer awareness on the value of indigenous crop
• Conflicting interest at different levels of the value chain
• With commercialization, there is the danger of the indigenous community losing control
• Protection of prices for farmers, inclusion of women and persons with disabilities