The project links European researchers and expertise to their Asian colleagues to investigate the potential sustainable use of NUS, and to explore new opportunities for niche products, both for local and international markets. These goals are reflected in the make up of the project team, coming from European Union member states, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and P.R. China. The main objective of this project is to elaborate a list of recommendations and strategies for the sustainable use of priority NUS based on a multi-criteria assessment of Asian NUS. By providing an exchange platform for European and Asian experts and other stakeholder - jointly elaborating a list of recommendations for researchers and policy makers - the project will bring mutual benefits for all partners and regions involved. The project is funded by EU and has started from September 2006 to August 2007 (see website: www.agrofolio.eu). Hanoi University of Agriculture is a partner of the project since September 2006. The project team has been established at HUA, and its members are mainly from Faculty of Land Resources, Faculty of Agronomy, and Center for Agricultural Research and Ecological Studies (CARES).

Figure 1. Local longan, litchi, tamarin, palm are widely planted in the hamlet, but market output is limited in
Can hamlet, Tuong Duong district, Nghe An province

Neglected and Underutilized Crop Species (NUS) are those grown primarily in their centres of origin or centres of diversity by traditional farmers, where they are still important for the subsistence of local communities, or were once more widely grown but are today falling into disuse for a variety of agronomic, genetic, economic and cultural factors. Some species may be globally distributed, but tend to occupy special niches in the local ecology and in production and consumption systems (see Figure 1 & 2). While these crops continue to be maintained by socio-cultural preferences and use practices, they remain inadequately characterized and neglected by research and conservation. The aim of the project is to maintain agricultural diversity and to improve the agricultural portfolio, by supporting the use of NUS in Asian countries. Thus the project contributes to agricultural diversification, income generation, and food security on a regional and international level. The proposed project will be based on cooperation between researchers working on genetic resources and NUS.

Figure 2. Agroforestry model to introduce litchi and pineapple plantation in the upland in
Can hamlet, Tuong Duong district, Nghe An province