On 22 December 2016, the FAO office in Angola, in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, organized an event to highlight the importance of pulses in improving food security and nutrition in Angola.

Like the year itself, this event aimed to raise awareness about the importance of pulses in sustainable food production and healthy diets. Often overlooked, pulses can play an important role in improving food security and nutrition. This event was a chance to highlight the value and use of pulses in the food chain, their benefits to soil fertility and their role in combating malnutrition and climate change.

The activity was chaired by Mr. Mamoudou Diallo, FAO Representative in Angola, and Mr. José Amaro Tati, Secretary of State of Agriculture. The occasion was also used by the FAO representative to highlight the importance of pulses production for the improvement of soils and for the utilization of their vegetative rests to feed livestock.  

The event consisted in a fair including an exhibition of pulses grown and marketed in Angola. These pulses on display included 10 different types of beans (pinto, black, white, yellow, butter and dry beans), lentils (red, brown and yellow lentils), fava (green and brown fava beans), chickpeas, pigeon peas and lupin beans.

Pulses are already part of the standard diet in Angola, especially beans (butter, pinto and dry beans) and chickpeas. However, the fair hoped to highlight the wide range of available pulses that can be incorporated into an everyday diet and to raise awareness of the important environmental and nutritional benefits gained from this staple. According to the National Development Plan (2013-2017), Angola is expected to produce 1.37 million tons of pulses in 2017.

Secretary of State of Agriculture Amaro Tati praised this successful event and stated that it should be endorsed by the Agrarian Research Institute and replicated in the provinces. The institute should work towards improving seeds and technologies and making them available to both large and small scale producers, including family farmers.