Breeding and sustainable utilisation of orphan and traditional crops for equitable food systems

Crop biology and sustainable crop production increasingly recognize the importance of orphan and traditional crops for improving food security, dietary diversity, and smallholder livelihoods. African indigenous crops, sweetpotato, cassava, legumes, and other underutilized crops often possess valuable traits related to drought adaptation, pest and disease resistance, nutritional quality, and tolerance to marginal growing conditions. However, these crops continue to receive less investment in genetic improvement, genomic research, phenotyping, formal seed systems, and market development than major cereals and commercial crops. Climate change is further intensifying production risks, while conventional breeding pipelines may not adequately reflect farmers’ priorities or the needs of women and other groups who play central roles in crop production, seed management, and household nutrition. Although participatory breeding and gender-responsive approaches are gaining attention, evidence remains fragmented regarding their effectiveness, scalability, and contribution to long-term sustainability. This Research Topic aims to consolidate innovative research on the biological, social, and institutional pathways through which orphan and traditional crops can contribute to climate-resilient and equitable food systems. It will examine how genetic diversity, farmer knowledge, modern breeding tools, and locally relevant selection criteria can be combined to develop varieties with improved resilience, nutritional value, yield stability, and market potential. The Topic will also address how participatory and gender-responsive breeding can influence variety adoption, seed access, livelihood outcomes, and the conservation of crop diversity through sustainable utilisation. By connecting crop improvement with sustainability and equity, it seeks to identify practical strategies for strengthening research and innovation in crops that remain scientifically and commercially underrepresented. To gather further insights in the breeding, conservation, production, adoption, and scaling of orphan and traditional crops, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes: • Climate-resilient breeding for drought, heat, pest, and disease tolerance • Genetic diversity, germplasm conservation, and characterization of underutilized crops • Participatory plant breeding and farmer-led variety selection • Gender-responsive breeding and inclusive trait prioritization • Genomic selection, marker-assisted breeding, and accessible phenotyping approaches • Indigenous crops, sweetpotato, cassava, legumes, and other orphan crops • Nutritional, functional, and health-related traits in crop improvement • Informal and formal seed systems for improved variety dissemination • Crop management and agroecological production under climate stress • Adoption, value chains, markets, and livelihood impacts • Policy, institutional, and investment barriers affecting underutilized crops • Case and territory studies from Africa, Asia, Latin America, and other climate-vulnerable regions Topic editors: Godfrey Sseremba Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/85501/breeding-and-sustainable-utilisation-of-orphan-and-traditional-crops-for-equitable-food-systems