**7.1 Bridging awareness and knowledge gaps**

There exists serious research and knowledge gaps regarding the growth habits and input requirements of underutilized grasses, which have served as major constraints to the strives for promoting cultivation and creating demand of products developed from underutilized grasses. For time being, efforts are needed for raising awareness among stakeholders and encouraging them to execute research on underutilized grasses in order to redress their neglect status. Another aspect that needs thorough attention is to conduct a detailed analysis on the evolving status of species from underused grass to a well utilized crop. It becomes even more pertinent to develop criteria of a peak promotion stage at which a specific grass will cease to be underutilized. Agronomists need to shoulder the responsibility for promoting grasses that are not only biologically viable but also economically attractive to local farmers, keeping in view their technological level and size of landholdings. In addition, such a promotion package must also encompass boosting local diversity of flora and impart sustainability to production systems without compromising established farming systems and promoting cultivation of underutilized grasses on marginal lands and degraded soils that cannot support other crops of economic significance.
