15 May 2025
Amid global challenges of food insecurity, poor nutrition, and climate change, neglected crops like amaranth are gaining renewed attention. A group of researchers, including from 1000FARMS, studied farmers’ preferences for amaranth varieties across diverse geographical contexts to guide targeted breeding.
The results revealed significant variation in farmer preferences, emphasising the need for context-specific breeding strategies. These findings can support the development of improved amaranth varieties that meet local needs, expand economic opportunities – especially for women – promote healthier diets, and boost biodiversity. This work also offers a model for participatory research on opportunity crops, informing inclusive agricultural policies and sustainable development strategies across Africa and beyond.
