Problem

With approximately 1.3 billion people worldwide experiencing irregular access to nutritious or sufficient food, what can be done to help combat food shortages and malnutrition in food-insecure countries?

Findings

Rural sociologists led a multidisciplinary project—Women in Agriculture Network (WAgN): Cambodia—to address the pressing need in the country for diversified farming systems that can improve nutrition and farm profitability.

• Researchers gathered data from farm inventories of neglected and underutilized indigenous plants, wet- and dry-season market and price surveys, gender-focused farmer interviews, and first-time nutritional analysis of unique perennial vegetable species.
• Produced a list of wild food plants with nutritional and marketplace value.

Impact

The research is an example of the value that practical training and applied research can have by providing Cambodian farmers, mainly women who manage small farms, with ways to diversify their operations.

• “Wild gardens” can aid in fortifying home food security by combating hidden hunger or deficiencies of micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals.