Power of Diversity: Charting the Path for Opportunity Crops

• In 2025, more than 250 stakeholders across seven countries identified priority opportunity crops through national consultations.
• Countries selected crops rooted in local diets and resilience, from fonio in Nigeria to amaranth in Kenya and peach palm in Colombia.
• The Funding Facility moved into implementation, advancing gap analyses, genebank reviews and plans to strengthen seed systems and value chains.

Opportunity crops – often nutritious, climate-resilient and deeply rooted in local traditions – have long been overlooked by research and investment. In 2025, the Power of Diversity Funding Facility helped change that trajectory.

The Power of Diversity Funding Facility moved from launch to implementation, marking a critical first year in elevating opportunity crops within national and global food systems. Across seven countries, more than 250 farmers, scientists and policymakers came together through national consultations to identify which opportunity crops should be prioritized for investment, research and scaling. These dialogues marked the first major milestone of the Funding Facility, establishing a shared direction grounded in local knowledge and national priorities. 

In Colombia, stakeholders highlighted peach palm and chayote for their strong nutritional value and market potential. In Nigeria, fonio and pigeon pea were selected for their resilience and importance in local diets. Zambia prioritized cowpea and sorghum, while Kenya focused on amaranth and finger millet – crops valued for versatility and cultural significance. 

In India, consultations led by the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation chose horse gram and minor yams. Through previous consultations under the BOLDER project, Tanzania and Uganda selected a broader set of crops: Bambara groundnut and sweetpotato leaves in Tanzania and pumpkin and amaranth in Uganda. 

Following these decisions, the partners moved into gap analysis – a methodology that helps determine which species, regions or ecosystems are underrepresented in genebank collections. In collaboration with the BOLD project, participants from Colombia, Ecuador, Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan and Zambia dove deep into the topic through a two-week-long training at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT’s hub in Colombia. 

AGROSAVIA, the only Latin America-based partner, underwent a genebank review in late 2025, with positive results. “Accepting an external review was an act of trust and openness, as well as an act of institutional maturity: a willingness to open the door to learning, improving and moving towards world-class standards,” shared AGROSAVIA’s Agrobiodiversity Department Lead, Dr Carolina González. Value chain analyses have been initiated and data collection commenced in Colombia, Zambia, Kenya and Nigeria.

The next phase of the Funding Facility will focus on securing the diversity of these crops in genebanks, characterizing and evaluating the collections and strengthening value chains through a competitive grant scheme to ensure that these crops are not only conserved, but also cultivated, marketed and consumed. 

At the same time, the Funding Facility is working to elevate opportunity crops within national policy frameworks, helping governments recognize their role in building more resilient, nutritious and diverse food systems. This includes the facilitation of policy dialogues and knowledge sharing to better integrate these crops into food system planning.