RESEARCH PROPOSAL

The Types of Underutilized Plants Available and their Importance in Food Production

The Types of Underutilized Plants Available and their Importance in Food Production

Introduction

Research and development act effectively in the generation, adaptation and transfer of technology in order to generate income, jobs and keeping people in the field that important family agribusiness (Von-Lossau & Lohmann, 2012). As in the small property, there is a limitation resources to the production scale in order to have an income satisfactory, the agribusiness craft is an alternative to adding value to production, enabling so the family income, social inclusion and inhibiting the rural exodus. There are species that, properly evaluated, have the potential to be part of the supply chain of vegetables at local, regional or national level. Thus, the small farmer will have new options cultivation with suitable materials, expanding the range of products available to consumer market. Most of these vegetables have high genetic variability due to process of local maintenance of varieties. At the same time, they are vulnerable to process of genetic erosion because of rural exodus, as they are kept, traditionally grown by small farmers and for family consumption.

Neglected and underutilized species play a crucial role in food security, income generation for the family farmer. They have paper important in rural poverty reduction based on development arising from local resources. However, in the globalized world, underutilized species benefit Also the population in general, since they provide balanced diets profitability diverse, better preservation of agro-ecosystems and greater use of marginal lands together with the preservation of cultural identity (Ghosh, Padulosi, Bergamini & Lawrence, 2012). The priority given to economically important crops said led to decreased the diversity of foods available to mankind for many generations. The call "Nutritional paradox" has its roots in the "simplification" of agriculture, a process that favored some cultures over others, based on their advantages comparative: development in wide range of habitats, needs simple cultivation, processing and storage easy, nutritional properties, taste etc.

According to the Ministry of Science and Technology, over 70% of children of the state of Amazonas have stunting, or low height caused by the lack of a balanced diet. The problem is caused, mainly, the absence of vitamin A, zinc and iron, and is connected to aspects cultural and socioeconomic region. One of the solutions to the food problem would be the introduction of vegetables in school meals, which have high nutritional value, beyond productivity potential. Indigenous communities, peoples and riverine traditional farmers are those who, even today, cultivate and consume species native. This is because the market is facing extensive agriculture in expense of traditional agriculture (Jain & Suprasanna, 2011). Among the underutilized cucurbits with potential for inclusion or expansion of consumption, include bushing, gourd, pumpkin tarts, cucumber, melon-hillbilly, cucumber okra and bitter-to-meter. These and other cucurbits underutilized, as well as pepper vegetable, are intensively consumed in Asian countries as part of the daily menu of the population and its use is reported in many publications. The literature on the use cucurbits ...