Transforming Food Systems – Unlocking the Power of Neglected and Underutilized Crops
Despite their rich nutrition and deep cultural roots, NUS crops are still missing from modern food systems. It’s time to bring them back—into our farms, onto our plates, and into the future of sustainable food.
Importance of NUS: Nutritional Value, Climate Resilience, Cultural Roots
NUS crops are rich in essential nutrients, making them powerful allies in the fight against malnutrition and food insecurity. Their ability to thrive in diverse and challenging environments makes them inherently climate-resilient. Additionally, these crops carry deep cultural significance, forming a vital part of local food traditions and agricultural heritage.
The Opportunity: Transforming Food Systems
Reviving and mainstreaming NUS is not just about preserving biodiversity—it’s a strategic move to build more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient food systems. These crops offer untapped potential to address global challenges related to nutrition, climate change, and agricultural sustainability. Unlocking this potential is key to transforming how the world grows and consumes food.
Why Promote NUS?
Sustainable Farming
NUS crops require fewer resources, thrive in harsh climates, and support biodiversity, making them ideal for sustainable, climate-resilient agricultural systems worldwide.
Inclusive Agriculture
By valuing indigenous knowledge and supporting smallholder farmers, NUS crops promote equitable food systems and strengthen rural communities through local cultivation and market inclusion.
Solving Food Issues
Rich in nutrients and climate-resilient, NUS crops can combat malnutrition, ensure food security, and diversify global diets to address pressing agricultural challenges.
Crops to Promote & Their Benefits
🌱 Pulses
Types: Horsegram, Moth bean, Green gram, Black gram, Groundnut, Lab Lab, Winged Bean
- Grow well in poor soils with little water
- Excellent source of plant-based protein
- Rich in iron, folate, and dietary fiber
- Improve soil fertility through nitrogen fixation
- Affordable, nutrient-dense food for low-income communities
🌾 Millets
Types: Little millet, Finger millet, Browntop millet, Foxtail millet, Barnyard millet, Kodo millet
- Thrive in dry, low-rainfall areas with minimal inputs
- High in calcium, iron, and essential micronutrients
- Rich source of dietary fiber for digestive health
- Naturally gluten-free and suitable for gluten-intolerant diets
- Low glycemic index—helps manage diabetes and obesity
🥬 Vegetables
Types: Amaranth, Moringa, Sponge gourd, Ridge gourd, Cluster bean, Bitter gourd, Roselle, Okra, Byadgi Chilli, Purple Yam
- Packed with vitamins A, C, iron, and calcium
- Fast-growing and ideal for home or community gardens
- Help regulate blood sugar and support immunity
- Promote dietary diversity and combat hidden hunger
- Culturally rooted in traditional and local cuisines
🍎 Fruits
Example: Indian Gooseberry, Jackfruit, Javaplum, Papaya, Musk melon, Gauva
- Rich in nutrients and used in traditional medicine
- Tolerant to dry climates and poor soils
- Valued for digestive and medicinal benefits
- Natural coolant and supports hydration
A Campaign on revival and promotion of NUS
The Need for Visibility
Yes, we need a campaign—because without visibility, NUS crops will remain on the margins, despite their enormous potential. This campaign is about sparking real change—transforming our food systems to become more diverse, resilient, and equitable from the ground up.
Bringing NUS Back into Focus
Our mission is to bring NUS crops back into focus, starting with farmers and local communities and extending all the way to end consumers. By promoting their cultivation, research, and consumption, we aim to unlock the full value of these often-overlooked crops.
Promoting Cultivation, Research, and Consumption
We’re launching a movement to return NUS crops to the spotlight—on farms, in markets, and on our plates. Through strategic collaborations with retailers and compelling content from farm-based influencers, we’re raising awareness, shifting perceptions, and driving adoption. Combined with advocacy efforts, this campaign supports the creation of a more diverse, nutritious, and climate-resilient food future.
Campaign Strategies
Retailer Campaigns
Through strategic partnerships with local and regional retailers, we launched in-store promotions, featured NUS products on endcaps, and developed co-branded educational materials.
These efforts introduced consumers to NUS crops in familiar shopping environments, emphasizing their nutritional value, culinary versatility, and environmental resilience.
Farm Influencer Videos
Featuring real farmers growing and sharing their experiences with NUS crops, these stories highlight the cultural value and practical benefits of these resilient species.
We collaborate with trusted agricultural influencers, who will showcase the cultivation, benefits, and uses of NUS crops.
Community Engagement
Where food traditions are rooted—through vibrant, hands-on experiences that celebrate culture, knowledge, and biodiversity.
We host seed fairs, food festivals, cooking demonstrations, cooking competitions, and theme-based drawing contests to spark curiosity, creativity, and pride in local food heritage.
These activities offer fun and meaningful ways for communities—especially youth—to reconnect with traditional crops and food practices.
Through social media storytelling, we amplify community voices and traditional wisdom, making NUS crops visible, relevant, and inspiring for a new generation of eaters, growers, and changemakers.
Our Recent Events
Event 03/May/2025
Through strategic partnerships with local and regional retailers, we launched in-store promotions, featured NUS products on endcaps, and developed co-branded educational materials.
These efforts introduced consumers to NUS crops in familiar shopping environments, emphasizing their nutritional value, culinary versatility, and environmental resilience.
Retailer Campaign on Forgotten Crops (NUS) – 10th May 2025, Dharwad
A focused campaign highlighting the importance of Forgotten Crops, in collaboration with the Agricart Organic Store at Dharwad. Over 100 consumers attended the event, showing enthusiastic interest in learning about and tasting a variety of dishes prepared using NUS.
This campaign not only reconnected consumers with forgotten culinary traditions but also encouraged healthier, climate-resilient food choices through local and sustainable sourcing.
Be a Voice for Forgotten Crops
Join us in transforming food systems from the ground up—by putting forgotten crops back on the plate. Whether you’re a policymaker, a development partner, a chef, or a farmer, your voice and actions can help unlock the potential of NUS for people and the planet.