This brief is based on a baseline survey study conducted by Oxfam conducted in Myanmar, Peru, Vietnam and Zimbabwe and shows that indigenous peoples and smallholder farmers (IPSHF) from surveyed communities feel that they have insufficient knowledge on nutrition and the importance of diverse diets, although they suffer from hunger periods, particularly before the harvest of the staple crop. This is supported by the results of the household dietary diversity score exercise, which showed that IPSHF mainly focused on consuming staple food, with other nutritionally important food groups present in their diets only to a limited extent. It was during the hunger  periods that some of them diversified their diets, for example by including wild food plant, particularly before the  harvest of the staple.

This study highlights that neglected and underutilized species (NUS) play  an important role in diversifying the diets of IPSHF, in particular as part of  their coping strategies during the hunger season. It also explores the challenges that limit the integration of NUS into mainstream agricultural and nutrition policies. A key focus is on gender dynamics, emphasizing the role of women in preserving and utilizing NUS.

The results showed how NUS, in particular, can improve the food and nutrition security of IPSHF in the surveyed communities during the hunger period. Future  interventions are crucial to:

• diversify diets, filling in the gaps caused  by the reduced consumption of certain food groups in both sufficiency and hunger periods;

• safeguard the intake of a wider range of macro- and micro-nutrients, particularly those that are deficient in local diets; and

• strengthen the strategies that households apply to cope with seasonal hunger.

To be successful, such interventions should i.a.:

• Look into bottom-up and participatory approaches that can be embedded in local culture, to build on IPSHF’s traditional knowledge on NUS.

• Strengthen IPSHF’s access to NUS in a wide range of landscapes, from agricultural fields and home gardens to forests and other natural environments, taking into account that access to certain NUS may be limited by factors such as gender, entitlement to access private or communal land, stigmatization and cultural norms.

• Empower women to catalyse the adoption of more biodiversity-based diets, given that – although they are the most vulnerable members of the household in times of food scarcity – women are responsible for food preparation and the main implementers of strategies to cope with the hunger season.

• Develop an educational programme on nutrition and healthy diets for IPSHF, in which all household members may participate.

• Identify and promote the implementation  of legal frameworks, policies and financial incentives that encourage the use of NUS and agricultural diversification.