Passage Seven
For many people, food comes from only a handful of different crops, even though there are thousands of different plants grown for human 1 .Researchers believed we would make 2 use of these plants. Out of 350000 species of crop plants nearly 3500 are food crops.
It is a statistic that would make visitors from other planets believe we enjoy 3 which is varied and constantly refreshed with new foods. In reality, though, that is not the case. Those countries which have sufficient food 4 rely on just a few basic crops like potatoes, rice, wheat and sorphum. 5 , less than 20 species provide 90 percent of the food eaten by humans.
What is about the other crops? Could they be grown more frequently and over a greater area? Researchers believe there is great 6 in these "underutilized" crops. Crops raised in one country will often 7 in similar conditions in another.
The highprotein groundnut bambara is one of the examples. As it has an oil content of only six percent, as 8 the peanut which has an oil content of 50 percent, it has not been attractive as a cash crop. However, it grows well in very hot and dry conditions, where other crops can not be grown. Under other conditions, 9 it does not yield a very good crop. Research is now being conducted to find ways of increasing the bambara yields in conditions 10 hot and dry.
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