Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum)

Re: Pulses are praised for their health, environmental and economic benefits. How can their full potential be tapped?

David Bergvinson

Director General of ICRISAT
India

Pulses are Smart Food

Pulses are under-recognized for their value and their importance in diversification and complementing other foods. They are critical for both farmers and consumers. ICRISAT’s research focuses on: (a) improved grain quality, nutritional traits, food safety, nitrogen fixing properties and hybrids. (b) drought tolerance and adaptation to diverse dryland agroecosystems and to differing rotations with cereal crops. Breeding is enhanced with modern genomic and molecular tools, precise phenotyping and crop simulation modeling. ICRISAT works along the whole value chain of pulses in an integrated manner to create a win-win situation for the farmer, consumer and the planet.

Pulses are Smart Food as they are:

Good for you

  • Pulse crops such as lentils, beans, pigeonpeas and chickpeas are a critical part of the general food basket 
  • Important source of plant-based protein and amino acids for people around the globe
  • As part of a healthy diet they help address obesity, manage chronic diseases like diabetes, coronary conditions and cancer

Good for the Planet

  • Highly water efficient, pulses are smart crops that grow in drought prone areas
  • Helps improve soil fertility by fixing nitrogen and promoting soil microbes
  • Pulses make a positive contribution in reducing release of greenhouse gases

Good for the Smallholder Farmer

  • Pulses can better withstand climate change thus reducing risk for the smallholder farmer
  • Multi-use crop – food, fodder, fuel, building material – helps improve livelihoods of farmers
  • Particularly important for female farmers, who are the larger share of the labor force in pulses farming.

Click here to know more.

Some of the identified constraints to pulses production are:

  • Inadequate knowledge of farmers and extension personnel of the available improved pulse cultivars and technologies related to it.
  • Inadequate access of farmers to quality seeds and other farm inputs.
  • Poor adoption of improved cultivars and recommended crop production practices.
  • Lack of varieties that resist excessive vegetative growth under high moisture/fertility conditions.
  • High vulnerability of pulse crops to both the biotic (pests and diseases) and abiotic stresses (temperature extremes and aberrant rainfall driven by climate change).
  • Pulses are largely grown in marginal lands under rain-fed conditions without many inputs leaving low space for any potential improvement.
  • Inadequate availability of labour-saving technologies (varieties suitable for machine harvesting, herbicide resistance) for pulses.
  • Pulses are also prone to damage by the storage pests.
  • Wide fluctuations in the farm gate price of the pulses.

Data on understanding the grain legumes’ environment in the target countries have been obtained from baseline studies through household surveys (e.g. Asfaw et al. 2009; Kiresur et al. 2009a, 2009b; Lokesha et al. 2009a, 2009b; Ndjeunga et al. 2010; Simtowe et al. 2009; and Suhasini et al. 2009a, 2009b); situation analyses studies (Kassie et al. 2009; Katungi et al. 2009); literature reviews of published works (Shiferaw et al. 2008a; Abate et al. 2011, 2012; Kassie et al. 2011). Major conclusions from the baseline and situation analysis studies include:

  • Rural smallholder households dominated by aging populations (avg. 48 yrs) and low levels of education (<4 yrs schooling);
  • Research systems in SSA region also face the aging population issue, with the average age of researchers >50 years;
  • Grain legumes account for <20% of the total cultivated area in majority of the target countries (except in Niger, Malawi, and Kenya);
  • Use of improved, modern varieties was generally low across target countries during baseline studies; unavailability of improved seed and, in some cases, lack of access to credit were identified as major bottlenecks for their adoption;
  • More than 70% farmers use their own saved seed across target countries; (except Kenya, where own saved seed accounted for just over 34%);
  • The current investment in Agriculture Research for Development (AR4D) falls short of the recommended 1-1.5% intensity ratio (i.e., investment as percentage of Agriculture output).

The other issue that has emerged if the funding availability for research on pulses. Results of the ‘Global Pulse Productivity & Sustainability Survey’ indicates that the annual investment in pulses is about US$175m for the 13 crops in the pulse category, while billions are invested into other crops such as corn. A media release about the report was issued by the Global Pulse Confederation during the Pan African Legume conference in Zambia on 1 March. Several common themes emerged from the surveys, with the overarching visions for pulse crop research not varying a great deal between developed and developing nations. There is a strong desire and action across all national and global research and funding agencies to develop genomics tools for breeding programs, conduct state-of-the-art breeding programs for improvement in genetic gain, pest resistance and quality, improve crop production and crop protection practices, produce food sustainably, transfer information in a useable form, help make farming profitable, and develop new resilience in crops to meet climate change challenges, including drought and heat. In addition, all global funding agencies mention ending chronic hunger, providing nutritional foodstuffs to end malnutrition, and focusing on maternal health and the gender gap. These themes resonate around the world and across economies. The complete report can be accessed here.

ICRISAT has made strong intervention to increase pulse productivity.

a) CGIAR research program in Grain Legumes (CRP-GL) is led by ICRISAT to improve:

  • Productivity and stability of these crops in diverse farming systems.
  • Marketability of these crops in local, national and international domains.
  • Nutritional value of these crops. Increased consumption of grain legumes resulting from higher productivity and affordability is enabling smallholder farm families to better meet their nutritional requirements for protein, oil, micronutrients, vitamins, fiber and healthier carbohydrates.
  • The contribution of grain legume germplasm and management techniques that its sister CRPs utilise to improve sustainability and resilience of farming systems.

The program focuses on addressing the following issues:

1.       Addressing abiotic stresses and climate change effects

PL 1. Drought and low-phosphorous tolerant common bean, cowpea, and soybean

PL 2. Heat-tolerant chickpea, common bean, faba bean and lentil

PL 3. Short-duration, drought-tolerant and aflatoxin-free groundnut

2.       Capturing unique legume ability to fix nitrogen

PL 4. High nitrogen-fixing chickpea, common bean, faba bean and soybean

3.       Managing key biotic stresses

PL 5. Insect-smart chickpea, cowpea, and pigeonpea production systems

4.       Generating new opportunities to intensify cropping systems

PL 6. Extra-early chickpea and lentil varieties

PL 7. Herbicide-tolerant, machine-harvestable chickpea, faba bean and lentil varieties

PL 8. Pigeonpea hybrid and management practices

Read more about the CGIAR Research program on Grain Legumes here.

View the Grain legumes – flyer here.

b) Strategy paper on Pulses: At the request of the Prime Minister’s Office, Government of India, to prepare a long-term strategy to increase economic opportunities for rural families in India, ICRISAT prepared a set of six strategy papers: 1) Pulses 2) PMKSY 3) Soil Mapping 5) Agri Markets 5) Crop Insurance and 6) Digital Agriculture. The Strategy paper on Pulses provided a set of recommendations to achieve self-sufficiency in pulses production by 2020.

Achieving self-sufficiency in pulse production in India - Video link.

As a follow up, ICRISAT, as requested by the Government of India, hosted a high-level planning meeting at its headquarters in Hyderabad, which was chaired by Mr Shobhana K Pattanayak, Secretary, Agriculture, Department of Agriculture Cooperation & Farmers Welfare (DoAC & FW), Government of India. Mr Pattanayak called on all value chain actors including farmers, seed companies, private sector and research organizations to find a joint solution to resolve all hurdles and issues that are preventing Indian farmers from meeting their demand for hybrid pigeonpea seeds and other pulses. Read more here.  

Talk on the Indian pulse industry by Dr Bergvinson: Video link.

C) Maintaining a gene bank: Identifying germplasm with new sources of resistance to diseases and pests, tolerance to climatic and other environmental stress and improved quality and yield traits for crop improvement. More information on the genebank can be obtained here.

Dr Bergvinson on “From genebank to farmer’s hand” can be read here.

d) Breeding programs: Contribute improved germplasm, breeding lines and cultivars that raise land productivity and yield stability. Varieties and hybrids that are resistant to pests and diseases, drought tolerant, biofortified, etc., contribute to improved yields, better returns and improved nutritive value.

Know more on the center of genomics here.  Know more on crop physiology here.

Examples on how consumption of pulses contributes to household food security and nutrition in communities/countries of operation

Read more here. Watch video here.

Additional information links

ICRISAT IYP Page: http://www.icrisat.org/iyp/

Publication on Pulses: http://oar.icrisat.org/

Videos of ICRISAT mandate crops: https://www.youtube.com/user/icrisatco

100 Voices Video series on topical issues: http://www.icrisat.org/100-voices/

ICRISAT’s contribution to the SDGs: http://www.icrisat.org/sdg/

Pulse Recipes: For interesting pulse recipes click here