Tuber crop diversity among tribal communities

Abstract

Tribal communities in India cultivate and conserve a wide diversity of tropical tuber crops, which form the backbone of their food and livelihood systems. These crops include greater yam, cassava, sweet potato, aerial yam, taro, elephant foot yam, yam bean, and arrowroot, which are maintained not only in homesteads but also in jhum fields, thereby ensuring the conservation of local landraces. Local landraces are highly adaptable and climate resilient. Odisha leads the country in sweet potato area and production, with tribal farmers in districts such as Koraput, Kandhamal, and Rayagada, etc. Similarly, aerial yam is widely cultivated in the Eastern and Western Ghats, while elephant foot yam and taro are common across tribal belts of Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, and the North Eastern states. Yam bean and arrowroot are minor tuber crops patronized by tribal communities for food, nutrition traditional folk medicines. Naturally biofortified types are available in case of crops such as sweet potato, yams, and taro, etc. Thus, the conservation and diversified cultivation of tuber crops by tribal communities ensure food and nutritional security and the conservation
of valuable genetic resources.