In order to succeed it is crucial that the Crops for the Future Research Centre (CFFRC) draws on local knowledge of potential under-utilised crops.
This means reaching out to rural communities to help to understand existing knowledge and to develop more complete knowledge systems on these potential crops.
We want to look at local, indigenous crops that are not grown on a large scale, but instead as 'homestead' crops that serve individual and local needs. An under-utilised crop may be grown in one village for its supposed medicinal value, it might be grown in another for animal feed.
Only with the help and expertise of local communities can we begin to collate, research and quantify this vast range of unexplored knowledge.
The work done at the CFFRC is about much more than just scientific research.
It is our hope that the work we do will help to encourage sustainability and support coping strategies amongst the rural poor.
We want to develop a value chain for these crops that deals with:
In short, we want to find commercially viable end uses for these under-utilised crops that will improve the livelihoods of the people who grow them.
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University of Nottingham Malaysia Jalan Broga, 43500 Semenyih Selangor Darul EhsanMalaysia
telephone: +6 (03) 8924 8799 fax: +6 (03) 8924 8798 email: enquiries@cffresearch.org