FAO celebrates World Pulses Day with New York luncheon

On 12 February 2020, the Food and Agriculture Organization with the United Nations (FAO) Liaison Office in New York celebrated World Pulses Day 2020 with a luncheon hosted by the United Nations Foundation at the Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice. The event was co-organized by the Permanent Missions of Burkina Faso, Canada and Turkey to the United Nations (UN), and it featured FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu as the keynote speaker.

“This is a great opportunity for all of us to remind the world of the role of pulses in addressing food security challenges, achieving healthy diets, and contributing to sustainable agriculture,” said Qu. He went on to remark the crucial role of pulses for the economy, considering that they have a higher selling price than other staple crops, as well as for climate change, given that they have lower methane emissions.

These remarks were echoed by Eric Y. Tiare, Permanent Representative of Burkina Faso, who spoke on the great importance of “these easy-to-grow legumes for the food security of my country.” Louise Blais, Deputy Permanent Representative of Canada, referred to pulses as “an integral part of sustainable food systems”, while Deputy Permanent Representative of Turkey Serhad Varlı noted that “the consumption of pulses can save lives by helping increase nutrition around the planet”.

World Pulses Day is an official UN Observance, celebrated every year on 10 February. The theme for 2020 is "Plant Proteins for Sustainable Future", aiming to underline not only the significant contribution of pulses to nutrition, but also their potential to improve the sustainability of food systems and the successful implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

The second part of the luncheon featured a panel of high-level speakers from the private sector and civil society, moderated by Director-General of the International Agri-Food Network Robynne Anderson. Head of the Global Pulse Confederation Joe Cramer kicked off the discussion by noting that pulse crop varieties need a boost in visibility, if they are to be used more in scientific research. Director of Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Legume Systems Research Barry Pittendrigh agreed: “We actually scale findings brought about by research innovation to create educational programmes for farmers.”

Michelle Finley, Roquette Communications and Public Affairs Manager for Canada, shared her experience about investing in companies that focus on texturizing plant-based proteins. “We need to develop the industrial capacity to meet the incredible demand for plant-based proteins,” said Finley.

The increased demand for pulses-based food products comes as no surprise to Chief Executive Officer of Replenish Farms Patience Koku. “Pulses are on the table for every meal in Nigeria,” she noted. “In my land, they are called ‘the poor man’s meat’.”

The luncheon concluded with a vivid Q&A session featuring interventions from the floor.


You can find more information on the luncheon, including the agenda and a photo gallery, in our dedicated events page.

For more information on the World Pulses Day observance, visit the dedicated pages by the UN and FAO.