Research on underutilized crops in Sri Lanka is limited. This study, conducted in Uva and Eastern provinces of southeastern Sri Lanka, is aimed at identifying common underutilized crops in the dominant agricultural farms, estimating their contribution to household income and food security, and understanding key actors’ (leaders of farmers’ associations, collectors/middlemen, and traders/wholesalers) knowledge of and preference for underutilized crops. Participatory rural appraisal methods were followed and snowball sampling was used for 88 semi-structured interviews with farmers who cultivate underutilized crops on their farms. In addition, 36 key actors were interviewed to explore their knowledge of and preference for potential underutilized crops. Thirty farming plots were visited to identify the composition of underutilized crops. Three mixed cropping agricultural farms—home gardens (mean area, 0.80 ha), chena (shifting cultivation, 0.82 ha), and off-season paddy lands (1.16 ha)—were observed. We identified 37 underutilized crops of which finger millet (60% of households) was most common, followed by cowpea (50%), cassava (41%), sweet melon (36%), and cashew nut (24%). Key actors prioritized four crops, namely finger millet (Eleusine coracana [L.] Gaertn.), cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.), cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.), and mung bean/green gram (Vigna radiata L. R.Wilczek), as high potential underutilized crops. The contribution of underutilized crops to household income and food security in Uva and Eastern province was 31% and 16%, and 61% and 43%, respectively. An integrated approach can be undertaken in order to promote and sustain underutilized crops in the region for agro-biodiversity conservation and benefiting farmers.

斯里兰卡对未充分利用的作物的研究是有限的。这项研究是在斯里兰卡东南部的乌沃和东部省份进行的，旨在确定主要农业农场中常见的未充分利用的农作物，估计其对家庭收入和粮食安全的贡献，并了解关键参与者（农民协会的负责人，收藏家） /中间商和贸易商/批发商）对未充分利用的作物的了解和偏好。遵循参与式农村评估方法，对与在农场种植未充分利用的农作物的农民进行的88次半结构化访谈使用了雪球采样。此外，还采访了36位主要参与者，以探讨他们对潜在未充分利用的作物的知识和偏好。参观了三十个耕地，以确定未充分利用的农作物的组成。观察到了赤na（轮作，0.82公顷）和淡季稻田（1.16公顷）。我们确定了37种未充分利用的农作物，其中手指小米（占家庭的60％）最为常见，其次是cow豆（50％），木薯（41％），甜瓜（36％）和腰果（24％）。主要演员对四种作物进行了优先排序，分别是小米（Eleusine coracana [L.] Gaertn。），腰果（Anacardium occidentale L.），cow豆（Vigna unguiculata L. Walp。）和绿豆/绿豆（Vigna radiata）。（LRWilczek），因为潜在的未充分利用的农作物。乌瓦省和东部省未充分利用的作物对家庭收入和粮食安全的贡献分别为31％和16％，以及61％和43％。可以采取综合办法，以促进和维持该区域利用不足的作物，以保护农业生物多样性并惠及农民。