Fifteen Crops That Could Help Build More Resilient Food Systems

08 September 2026, Ghana: What if some of the crops best suited to improve nutrition, support farmers and strengthen climate resilience are already growing in fields across Africa – but they are just overlooked?

A new Crop Trust publication, Opportunity Crops for Sustainable Food Systems, explores 15 such crops. Developed through the BOLDER initiative with partners in Benin, Ghana, Tanzania and Uganda, it highlights their potential to diversify food systems dominated by wheat, rice and maize. These 15 crops can open opportunities to improve resilience, nutrition and livelihoods.

The crops featured in Opportunity Crops for Sustainable Food Systems include amaranth, Bambara groundnut, baobab, cowpea, finger millet, fonio, jackfruit, jute mallow, miracle berry, moringa, pearl millet, pumpkin, sesame, sweetpotato and turkey berry.

These crops were not chosen randomly. More than 250 farmers, researchers, genebank experts, private-sector and government representatives provided input. They helped identify crops true to local priorities and opportunities in each of the four African countries, and now genebanks are focusing on those crops. 

The publication explores each crop’s history, biology, nutritional value, cultivation practices, conservation status, market opportunities and development challenges. Together, the profiles paint a picture of food systems that are more diverse, adaptable and rooted in local knowledge.

This demonstrates the importance of listening to farmers and local communities. Their knowledge, experience and continued stewardship have helped conserve these crops and the diversity they represent.

The opportunity is not to replace the crops the world already depends on, but to widen the field of possibilities. By conserving, improving and investing in crops that farmers and communities already know, we can build food systems with more options – for better nutrition, stronger livelihoods and greater resilience. 

Opportunity Crops for Sustainable Food Systems shows that some of those options are already here, waiting to be recognized and put to use

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