FAO dialogue explores nutritional, environmental and economic virtues of growing lentils and beans

Figure: Because they are easy to grow and hold many benefits to health and the environment, pulses can create a virtuous socioeconomic cycle, speakers stressed on Monday.

FAO 22 November 2016, ROME-Consumer awareness of the nutritional and dietary benefits of pulses, the edible seeds of leguminous plants and notably including lentils, chickpeas, cowpeas and many dry beans, remains inadequate and more must be done to promote their role in food systems, FAO Deputy Director-General Maria Helena Semedo said today.

Progress has been made thanks to initiatives during 2016, the International Year of Pulses, but "it essential to keep the momentum alive," Semedo told participants in a Global Dialogue held at FAO headquarters.

Known for their relatively high protein content and their particular ability to take nitrogen and fix it in soils, pulses also a fertile building block for other crops as well.

"Pulses should not only be valued for their qualities, but also get the policy attention they deserve," she said.

The United Nations General Assembly declared 2016 the International Year of Pulses, and leading sponsorship roles were taken by Pakistan and Turkey. Lentil dahls are a hugely important staple across South Asia, while chickpeas have been found in Neolithic pottery excavated in southeast Anatolia.

"There is much still to do in research on pulses" to make them resilient to environmental stresses and help reduce rural poverty, said Nadeem Rivaz, the Permanent Representative to FAO for the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and co-chair of the IYP's steering committee.

Promotion of pulses can help foster inclusive economic growth, and greater attention to pulses is already opening export opportunities for countries such as Ethiopia and Myanmar, said Murat Salim Esenli, Permanent Representative-Designate of the Republic of Turkey to FAO and the other IYP co-chair.

The two-day Global Dialogue event allows for key stakeholders and experts from around the world to review the year's activities, which include the publication of academic papers, advocacy activities and initiative to establish lasting recommendations.

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