Commentary in Nature Food: Agricultural research approaches for crops that nourish by improving nutrition, soil health, resilience and prosperity

By Laura Vang Rasmussen

In this Comment, we call for transdisciplinary collaboration and participatory action research to bring back opportunity crops such as bambara nuts, pigeon peas, and amaranth that can diversify people’s diets, restore soils and strengthen resilience. The Comment was led by Kate Schneider Lecy (Arizona State University). It emerged from a workshop in 2024 bringing together diverse researchers and practitioners from across disciplines and areas of expertise. Emilie Vansant and I are grateful to have been part of this initiative – and I was particularly honoured to be given the opportunity to deliver one of the keynotes during the convening. Funding for the workshop was provided by the Sustainable Agrifood Systems programme of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).

Read the Comment here:

Agricultural research approaches for crops that nourish by improving nutrition, soil health, resilience and prosperity – Nature Food

Addressing nutrition and climate resilience together requires transdisciplinary participatory action research with clear impact pathways for systems change that starts from the ground up. The concept of ‘crops that nourish’ is proposed here to offer a new mode of pursuing agricultural development. It involves iterative co-creation between farmers and researchers that prioritizes local needs and agency, human health, resilience and sustainability through a focus on opportunity crops.