One of the five priority areas identified by the GFAR Steering Committee was
defined as ¿ Emergence of Global Networks in Commodity Chains¿. This line of action
refers to many crops that are not currently fully covered by the CGIAR-mandate, but are
very important to humankind, especially for many small growers in agricultural farming
systems. Some of these crops are essential for direct contributions to food security at both
local and regional levels, while others also play a significant role in poverty alleviation and
rural economies for income generation. In addition these crops contribute to the
sustainability of agricultural systems and in some cases play an important role in the
preservation of species and ecosystem diversity.
These crops fall into two main groups:
l Major commodity crops, such as citrus, cocoa, coconut, coffee, cotton, oil
palm, pineapple, rubber, sugar cane, etc.;
l Neglected or under-utilised crops, which while important at local/regional
level, are not of global importance.