Abstract:
Underutilized crops possess many nutritional, medicinal and botanical values.
The problem is most of the underutilized crops are grown in local and wild areas
and remain unknown to the people. Furthermore, popularizing the growing and
selling of underutilized fruit and vegetable varieties among Sri Lankan farmers
can be a good solution to enhance farm income. This research was conducted to
identify the limitations and potentials of the underutilized crops. Though there is
prior research on underutilized crops, the field is fragmented. Hence this
literature review aims to synthesize the existing knowledge of the importance,
potential, and limitations of the underutilized fruit and vegetable market in Sri
Lanka. Twenty articles were selected for the study using the PRISMA method.
Many of the researchers found that there are many advantages of popularizing
and growing underutilized fruits and vegetables among consumers, such as
poverty alleviation, as a solution for hidden hunger, as a source of micro/ macro
nutrients, and as a source of additional farm income. Though there are some
limitations to promoting underutilized fruit crops, some research articles
revealed that there are potentials to promote the underutilized crops.
Furthermore, some of the researchers had discussed the topic of value addition
and demand for underutilized crops in their research articles. Hence this
research identifies the potentials and limitations of the underutilized crops.
Further research should be conducted in the future to popularize the
underutilized crops among Sri Lankans.
