The challenges outlined in the "Forgotten Foods: A manifesto for the future of the food system?" article resonate powerfully with the consultation call for the design of the Agrifood System Technologies & Innovations Outlook (ATIO) Knowledge Base, especially when viewed through the lens of CropBASE—a global knowledge system dedicated to agricultural diversification. The manifesto argues that transitioning from a fossil-food system to one enriched with forgotten, underutilised crops can not only enhance nutritional security but also catalyse resilient, culturally sensitive innovations; CropBASE embodies this vision by integrating scattered qualitative and quantitative data on thousands of agrobiodiverse species into a single, accessible repository. In the context of the ATIO KB consultation, this integration suggests compelling use cases where users—ranging from policymakers to grassroots farmers—could, for example, access detailed information on innovative products that support credit and insurance mechanisms for farmers in specific countries, or employ statistical analyses to correlate inclusivity and co-design levels with successful adoption rates. Furthermore, the dialogue on policy innovation and social innovation, as raised by the consultation questions, finds a practical counterpart in CropBASE; the platform not only documents scientific and agronomic data but also captures cultural, traditional, and socio-economic dimensions that are essential for formulating policies which acknowledge both the technical and societal aspects of agrifood transformation. Equally, the call for featuring grassroots innovations in the ATIO KB becomes more tangible through CropBASE's examples, where localized, farmer-driven practices and innovations are documented with a rigor that invites further detail on aspects such as operational feasibility and community impact. Additionally, the discussions on how branded commercial products and distinct innovation units should be featured—ranging from individual models like solar-powered irrigation pumps to comprehensive agrifood systems—further highlight the need for a harmonized taxonomy; CropBASE’s capacity to categorize over 2,700 crops using diverse data points exemplifies how such taxonomies could be refined to address variations in quality, readiness, and adoptability. On the technological front, the envisaged chatbot-like search and AI-driven enrichment of records within the ATIO KB are perfectly aligned with the automated, intelligent categorization processes already in use in CropBASE, ensuring that users can both filter classic data and interact with dynamic AI interfaces to extract meaningful insights. In essence, linking CropBASE's global, AI-assisted repository of agrobiodiversity data with the ATIO KB’s participatory, multi-dimensional approach can generate innovative ideas that bolster agricultural development, foster policy and social innovations, and ultimately drive the transformation towards more sustainable and inclusive food systems.
博士 Ebrahim Jahanshiri