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Vegetables are beneficial when grown in drought-plagued regions. According to researchers at AVRDC--The World Vegetable Center, indigenous vegetables are more resilient to drought and disease than staple crops and they are essential to the survival of individuals and communities, especially in the face of climate change, writes Danielle Nierenberg and Sarah Small of the Food Think Tank in Huffington Post.
The authors add that vegetables adapt to and combat climate change and are less affected by extreme weather than crops because they have shorter growing times. Additionally, vegetable growers are protecting future plant biodiversity by creating seed banks and seed exchanges that preserve important food crops. Seed saving also helps farmers and researchers find varieties of crops that grow in extreme climates.