Orphan Crops

Abstract Orphan crops are crops with little significance at the global scale but play vital role in the food and nutrition security in the developing world. The term ‘orphan’ refers to the neglect of the crop by the international research community. Similar to major crops such as maize, wheat and rice, orphan crops belong to cereals, legumes, vegetables, root and tuber and fruits. Orphan crops possess desirable agronomical, nutritional and health‐related properties, which makes them favourable crops by both farmers and consumers. The ability of orphan crops to grow under extreme environmental conditions indicates their prospect in the changing climate. However, due to little scientific improvement, orphan crops produce inferior yield in terms of both the quantity and quality. The recent efforts by some researchers and institutions at the national and global levels have advanced the improvement of few orphan crops. Key Concepts Orphan crops play vital role in the food security in the developing world. Orphan crops provide nutritional security for resource‐poor consumers. Orphan crops are resilient to diverse environmental constraints. The improvement of orphan crops has been given little attention at the national and global levels. Scientific improvement of orphan crops is necessary to enhance food security in the developing world.