First paper published from UCD-based COST Action on crop diversification

"(opens in a new window)Underutilised crops in Europe: An interdisciplinary approach towards sustainable practices", the first paper from UCD-based COST Action on crop diversification has just been published. The DIVERSICROP research network was established in 2023 to investigate crops that have become underutilised in Europe, even though they have a long history of cultivation for food in the region, great potential to improve human nutrition and provide useful traits for sustainable food production. Under the leadership of Dr (opens in a new window)Sónia Negrão of UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science, the DIVERSICROP network brings together researchers from archaeology, plant science, nutrition and policy to better understand the environmental, economic and socio-cultural circumstances that have led to the underutilisation of these crops.

The new paper was written by DIVERSICROP members from more than 10 countries across Europe, with Assoc. Prof. (opens in a new window)Meriel McClatchie from UCD School of Archaeology as the lead author. The paper outlines some of the key challenges in promoting crop diversification, emphasises the need for a multisectoral approach that considers how past actions and traditions have shaped modern practices, and explores a pathway towards more sustainable farming and food systems.

DIVERSICROP started out as a project funded by the Earth Institute under the Strategic Priority Support Mechanism scheme (2019). Sónia Negrão (who works with modern crops) and Meriel McClatchie (who worked with ancient crops) had met previously at a networking event in UCD, and they began hatching a plan to integrate modern and ancient data to support farming for the future. The Earth Institute's funding scheme enabled Sónia and Meriel to develop a major project proposal on underutilised crops, which was funded by the EU's COST Action Scheme in 2022. 

DIVERSICROP now has over 350 members from more than 50 countries in Europe and beyond, all working together to tackle the challenge of producing nutritious food in a sustainable manner. According to Sónia Negrão, "DIVERSICROP is a response to global concerns highlighted by the UN, where an over-reliance on a narrow variety of crops threatens food security across the globe. Urgent action is needed to diversify crops and strengthen crop resilience to secure our food future. DIVERSICROP enables diverse researchers and stakeholders to work together and bring new perspectives to tackle this challenge."

Meriel McClatchie highlights how "DIVERSICROP aligns with national and European efforts to promote crop diversity, but it takes a novel approach by looking to the past to plan for the future. The DIVERISCROP network asks the question ‘Why are these crops now underutilised?’ before developing potential strategies for their revival." Find out more about the DIVERSICROP network, including how to get involved, at (opens in a new window)https://diversicrop.eu/.

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• McClatchie, M., Matterne, V., Rovira Buendia, N., Andonova, M., Lohwasser, U., Waalen, W., Bantis, F., Knez, M., Milešević, J., Orahovac, A., Prosperi, P., Banerjee, A., Radić, I., Mueller-Bieniek, A., Beglaryan, M., Murphy-Bokern, D., Gil, D., Balázs, B., & Negrão, S. (2025). Underutilised crops in Europe: An interdisciplinary approach towards sustainable practices. Archaeometry, 1–16. (opens in a new window)https://doi.org/10.1111/arcm.13073