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Enhancing farmers’ access to neglected crop seeds for healthy diets in a changing climate: six recommendations for policy action

Maarten van Zonneveld (UGent) , Nora P. Castañeda-Álvarez, Enoch G. Achigan-Dako, Conny Almekinders, Stef de Haan, Wilson Hugo, Gloria Otieno, Rodomiro Ortiz, Jessica Raneri (UGent) , Carolina Roa, et al.
(2026) FOOD SECURITY.
Author
Organization
Abstract
Food insecurity and poor diets undermine human health, livelihoods, and aspirations. Climate change further exacerbates the problem of achieving zero hunger. Promoting the production of a diverse portfolio of nutrient-dense, climate-resilient crops enables food supply for healthy diets in the coming years and decades. Many are underutilized even though they are considered opportunity crops, with an unrealized potential to improve food security and dietary quality amid climate change. Limited access to quality seed for these crops is a major bottleneck in their supply, as the current policy environment does not support farmers in broadening their portfolio with these crops. This paper identifies three key challenges that should be addressed to enable farmers to access quality seed of opportunity crops at scale. These are to make the diversity of opportunity crops (i) a priority for policy (ii) available for evaluation and breeding, and (iii) accessible to farmers, especially women and other disadvantaged groups. Six policy actions are recommended to address these challenges, which, if implemented, are likely to have both short- and long-term impacts in increasing farmers’ access to quality seeds of opportunity crops. Adopting these policy actions will help mainstream opportunity crops into seed systems as part of a broader strategy to diversify food systems from seed to plate.
Keywords
Neglected and underutilized species, Opportunity crops, Seed delivery, Climate change, Nutrition, Dietary diversity, Seed policy, Genetic resources, SDG2, SUPPORT FOOD SECURITY, BIODIVERSITY, AGROECOLOGY, RESOURCES, DIVERSITY, INSIGHTS, PLANTS

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MLA
van Zonneveld, Maarten, et al. “Enhancing Farmers’ Access to Neglected Crop Seeds for Healthy Diets in a Changing Climate: Six Recommendations for Policy Action.” FOOD SECURITY, 2026, doi:10.1007/s12571-026-01661-w.
APA
van Zonneveld, M., Castañeda-Álvarez, N. P., Achigan-Dako, E. G., Almekinders, C., de Haan, S., Hugo, W., … von Wettberg, E. (2026). Enhancing farmers’ access to neglected crop seeds for healthy diets in a changing climate: six recommendations for policy action. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-026-01661-w
Chicago author-date
Zonneveld, Maarten van, Nora P. Castañeda-Álvarez, Enoch G. Achigan-Dako, Conny Almekinders, Stef de Haan, Wilson Hugo, Gloria Otieno, et al. 2026. “Enhancing Farmers’ Access to Neglected Crop Seeds for Healthy Diets in a Changing Climate: Six Recommendations for Policy Action.” FOOD SECURITY. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-026-01661-w.
Chicago author-date (all authors)
van Zonneveld, Maarten, Nora P. Castañeda-Álvarez, Enoch G. Achigan-Dako, Conny Almekinders, Stef de Haan, Wilson Hugo, Gloria Otieno, Rodomiro Ortiz, Jessica Raneri, Carolina Roa, Louise Sperling, David Spielman, and Eric von Wettberg. 2026. “Enhancing Farmers’ Access to Neglected Crop Seeds for Healthy Diets in a Changing Climate: Six Recommendations for Policy Action.” FOOD SECURITY. doi:10.1007/s12571-026-01661-w.
Vancouver
1.
van Zonneveld M, Castañeda-Álvarez NP, Achigan-Dako EG, Almekinders C, de Haan S, Hugo W, et al. Enhancing farmers’ access to neglected crop seeds for healthy diets in a changing climate: six recommendations for policy action. FOOD SECURITY. 2026.
IEEE
[1]
M. van Zonneveld et al., “Enhancing farmers’ access to neglected crop seeds for healthy diets in a changing climate: six recommendations for policy action,” FOOD SECURITY. 2026.
@misc{01KNGXNKVAF6Z1RF7VFNMX2874,
  abstract     = {{Food insecurity and poor diets undermine human health, livelihoods, and aspirations. Climate change further exacerbates the problem of achieving zero hunger. Promoting the production of a diverse portfolio of nutrient-dense, climate-resilient crops enables food supply for healthy diets in the coming years and decades. Many are underutilized even though they are considered opportunity crops, with an unrealized potential to improve food security and dietary quality amid climate change. Limited access to quality seed for these crops is a major bottleneck in their supply, as the current policy environment does not support farmers in broadening their portfolio with these crops. This paper identifies three key challenges that should be addressed to enable farmers to access quality seed of opportunity crops at scale. These are to make the diversity of opportunity crops (i) a priority for policy (ii) available for evaluation and breeding, and (iii) accessible to farmers, especially women and other disadvantaged groups. Six policy actions are recommended to address these challenges, which, if implemented, are likely to have both short- and long-term impacts in increasing farmers’ access to quality seeds of opportunity crops. Adopting these policy actions will help mainstream opportunity crops into seed systems as part of a broader strategy to diversify food systems from seed to plate.}},
  author       = {{van Zonneveld, Maarten and Castañeda-Álvarez, Nora P. and Achigan-Dako, Enoch G. and Almekinders, Conny and de Haan, Stef and Hugo, Wilson and Otieno, Gloria and Ortiz, Rodomiro and Raneri, Jessica and Roa, Carolina and Sperling, Louise and Spielman, David and von Wettberg, Eric}},
  issn         = {{1876-4517}},
  keywords     = {{Neglected and underutilized species,Opportunity crops,Seed delivery,Climate change,Nutrition,Dietary diversity,Seed policy,Genetic resources,SDG2,SUPPORT FOOD SECURITY,BIODIVERSITY,AGROECOLOGY,RESOURCES,DIVERSITY,INSIGHTS,PLANTS}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{14}},
  series       = {{FOOD SECURITY}},
  title        = {{Enhancing farmers’ access to neglected crop seeds for healthy diets in a changing climate: six recommendations for policy action}},
  url          = {{http://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-026-01661-w}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}
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