This publication demonstrates the important contribution of wild plants to the life of rural households, particularly in developing countries. The enhanced use of these resources would increase income and food security, assist development through small-scale investment, improve the efficiency and profitability of farm household labour use and help eliminate or alleviate poverty. The role of wild plants, especially in rural farm households, is, however, very often ignored or underestimated by planners, policy-makers, aid and development agencies, banks, extension services, economists, agronomists, genetic resource organizations and others.
Wild plants are rarely exploited as a main occupation or source of income but form a component of the many activities that make up the economy of farm households. In the planning of farming system development projects for rural households, the role of wild plants needs to be assessed as far as possible.
The Farm Management and Production Economics Service of FAO's Agriculture Department has commissioned this publication in order to raise awareness of the role of wild plants in many farming systems, providing examples from a range of different systems around the world.
Use and potential of wild plants in farm households describes the major areas in which wild plants contribute to farm household incomes and the welfare of the local people and assesses the potential for future development. The book also points out the social, economic, legal and institutional constraints to enhance the use of wild plants and proposes ways in which these constraints may be overcome.
Doyle Baker
Chief, Farm Management
and Production Economics Service
Martin Maurer and Angelika Schueckler of the Farm Management and Production Economics Service (AGSP) were responsible for the preparation of the book. For AGSP's conception of the publication, intensive discussions were held on an earlier draft by J.R. Moss entitled "The importance of underexploited and wild plants to rural communities: an opportunity for farming systems development". Andrea Perlis provided editing services. The comments of Nazmul Haq (International Centre for Underutilized Crops) and Patrick Mulvany (Intermediate Technology Development Group) on an earlier version of this manuscript are gratefully acknowledged.
