ABSTRACT
Very few of the world’s plant species are used for food, feed, fuel, shelter, industry, medicine and the improvement of the environment. The risk associated with the dependence on few crops for these requirements will be higher in future due to the prospect of major changes in climate (particularly in tem perature and rainfall) and less genetic efficiency. Furthermore, the livelihood options for rural people will become more limited because of the narrow base of the food basket. This will have immense implications for nutritional security and hidden hunger. Over the years the emphasis given to major crops has reduced the diversity of species on which the world’s food and nutrition security and the environmental safety relies. There are many other species, currently of diverse importance, which remain to be tapped.
