Abstract:
Underutilized crops serve many purposes for a household. This study was conducted to study
the importance of these crops for households in Thanamalwila divisional secretariat division in
Moneragala District. The purpose of this research was to identify the importance of underutilized
crops for farmers in Monaragala District of Sri Lanka. Data were collected from 120 farmers
who cultivate underutilized crops, through a fi eld survey with the help of a questionnaire during
January- October 2015. Group discussions were also conducted to collect in-depth information.
The fi ndings reveal, a signifi cant number of underutilized crop species are being cultivated by the
farmers. Among them, some cereals, vegetables, legumes, fruits, yams and tuber crops and herbals
are common. Farmers’ main goals of cultivation are to fulfi ll the food requirement of the family,
fi nd extra income and to use them as herbals for simple health disorders. When farmers’ attitudes
towards the underutilized crops are taken into consideration, they have positive attitude towards
economic benefi ts of cultivating underutilized crops, medicinal and nutritional values, low cost of
cultivation, less water requirements, less pest and disease problems, etc. However, farmers have
neither agreed nor disagreed upon three broad levels of importance of underutilized crops namely,
contributing to the biodiversity, environmental protection and tolerance to climate changes. Most
of the farmers have general understanding about the importance of underutilized crops. Moreover,
farmers are still willing to cultivate these crops for selling if they can have necessary facilities and
a good market.
