ABSTRACT
Seasonality refers to the natural growing and production period of foods, and is one of the key components for determining food availability. It is also just one dimension of food security that encompasses several aspects of food systems worldwide. A deep, context-specific understanding of seasonal food availability patterns could prove fundamental in tackling issues related to food and nutrition security, and can also provide an entry point for a number of interventions aimed at improving the diet diversity, incomes, and resilience of smallholder farmers. This chapter presents the rationale behind the understanding of seasonal food availability patterns, in particular those related to neglected and underutilised species (NUS), as well as the use of seasonal food availability calendars. These calendars represent a tangible result of a data collection on seasonal food availability in Guatemala, Mali, and India, and one of the many outcomes that can be developed following the participatory assessment of seasonality.
