Читать книгу Quinoa - Atul Bhargava - Страница 9

There are an estimated 7000 plant species that have been used as crop plants at some point in human history (FAO, 1998). However, today only 150 plant species are cultivated; just 12 of these provide approximately 75% of the world’s food and four produce over 50% of the world’s food (Bermejo and León, 1994). Prescott-Allen and Prescott-Allen (1990) state that common figures range from seven plant species providing 75% of human nutrition to 30 plant species providing 95% of human nutrition. These commonly utilized crops are intensively cultivated and require farm mechanization and increased inputs in the form of labour, high-yielding varieties, chemical fertilizers and pesticides (Bhargava et al., 2008, 2012). These accelerated inputs have resulted in intolerable pressure on fragile agroecosystems. Modern agriculture has increased homogeneity and mono-crop cultivation, resulting in loss of agrobiodiversity and frequent crop losses due to infestation by pathogens. The need of present times is a gradual shift from input-intensive to environmentally sound sustainable agriculture. Modelling of traditional farming systems to modern needs with increased organic linkages might be a good option for sustainability of the agricultural production system and maintenance of agroecological stability (Bhargava et al., 2008). This would also require a shift in focus towards increasing production by using agriculturally marginal lands for crops that are less exploited but that have immense potential for diverse uses (Partap et al., 1998).

The emphasis on a handful of major crops has narrowed the number of species on which global food security depends. The consequences of crop failures from unforeseen stresses, pests and diseases can be catastrophic (Prescott-Allen and Prescott-Allen, 1990). The past three decades have seen a wide range of research interests on underutilized crops and a number of significant programmes have been undertaken in both developing and developed countries to promote underutilized species for agricultural systems, as alternative crops or as sources of new products.