Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum)

Pulses are produced solely for their seed s, the full potential can be through improving handling during cooking: soaking overnight and because of malting process the consumer gets more nutrients out of it; the soaking also reduces the problem of gas in the gastric system common with most leguminous seed products: the use of leaves most the pulses as vegetable, as one reduces the tender foliage to give way for seed formation or when one thins to get the right population, the leaves may be used as vegetables as they are rich in vitamin A , C, minerals  as well as suppling the body with roughage. Example green grams are frequently recommended for detoxifying the body and getting rid of toxics in the system .Green grams are also said to have health benefits which are- fighting breast cancer, weight control, Diabetic friendly, controls blood pressure; and like other pulses a source of protein

Environmentally they fix oxygen in the soil so it is advisable to intercrop it with crops that siphon more from the soil like maize: when seed is harvested the waste may be left on the farm to be cover crop, this stores carbon in the soil which changes to soil organic carbon which is the source of soil fertility; with this results good soil structure, good soil aggregate  and with this is good soil moisture retention and penetration and stable soil aggregate; with good infiltration there is less soil and nutrient erosion: soil that is healthy is also at the right structure is able to retain moisture and this means the crop(s) thrive even during soil stress.

This kind of soil may keep carbon below the soil which would otherwise be disposed to the atmosphere negatively affecting environment: when carbon is kept below the ground results in Carbon sequestration- long-term storage of carbon dioxide or other forms of carbon to either mitigate or defer global warming and avoid dangerous climate change.

Economics of pulses:  yield /acre may be about 6-8 bags of 90kgs  and  currently In Kenya 90kg bag is going for about  ksh/= 9000 then from your 6 bags one should be able to  get a total of about  ksh/=54000 And if its 8 bags then one should be get at least ksh/=72000

Joan

Dear Participants,



The first online discussion of the International year of Pulses (IYP) is coming to an end. As I said before, I am very happy for all interesting contributions made by the participants. We will present a summary of this discussion to the IYP Steering Committee and I am sure that your comments will help us improve the second half of the IYP.

If you know or you are organizing an event on pulses, you can contact me and we can include information about the event in the website of the IYP ([email protected]). Since we will probably need some additional information about some of the topics discussed here, I will contact you through email personally.



We will have another online discussion between October and November and we hope you can contribute with again.



Teodardo Calles

Hello everyone,

Boosting the value of industrial development

This has been another interesting FSN debate, highlighting as-it-does one of the most under-appreciated traditional food sectors - pulses & legumes; plants that have sustained people and their livestock since the dawn of agricultural history. It is useful to develop and take advantage of an 'International Year' given the additional focus that this will bring with the flow-on investment of resourceful people with their intellect, technologies and financial investments.

My contribution centres upon the third of the original questions that were provided with which to stimulate the debate:

What are the main challenges that farmers in your country face with regard to the production of pulses? How should these be addressed?

In a brief desk-top study that I undertook to explore the constraints and opportunities for developing more efficient value chains for pulses and legumes in the countries of Southern Africa I summarized my findings as follows:

Given the paucity of time available with which to search, collate and analyse findings, the report briefly focuses upon opportunities for national food legumes industries in Southern Africa in the context of regional issues. On the one hand – there are the industrial realities, expanding populations and per capita consumption of food legumes that is slowly declining, but not sufficient to negate imports which continue to climb. And, on the other hand, there is lack of productivity, yields that have remained unchanged for >25 years, lack of public and private sector support and familiarity with legume crops/foods that borders on neglect. Every country in the region has a value chain for food legumes, but they have become entrenched within traditional life such that they are barely recognized for the potential that exists – and thus this potential remains under-exploited. There is no discernible regional value chain. The South African economy dominates the region; and the nine other countries included within the study work largely in partnership with and/or through South African services, expertise, facilities and/or finance in support of regional development – and if not directly, then indirectly.

There is only so much that can be achieved within an FSN debate of this kind, but if the findings of my study can be further developed by national decision-makers (and others) and, in particular, with use of the action plan proposed, then the study will have had merit. Given the internal nature of studies of this kind, the report that was produced should be considered as 'unpublished' (see attachement).

As a final point to my contribution, I draw your attention to the threats (from the SWOT analysis model) that typify some of the constraints that impact upon the industrial development of these crops; they are: 

•  Lack of investment in training qualified people, with provision of infrastructure and with establishment of reliable industrial producer institutions; industry slow to establish support services.
•  Lack of industrial leadership in regional countries; and for regional production.

More food for thought then. 

Peter Steele

Agricultural Engineer

Rome, Italy

19 June 2016

Good day everyone,

Thanks for this global initiative to promote pulses, and delighted to be part of this group. India is experiencing a sharp increase in the price of various pulses i.e. 100-250% increases during last 15-18 months. As like cereal and vegetable crops, the productivity of pulses are very low because of lack of high yielding varieties/hybrids, poor production practices, ignorance by the policy makers/ Governments, etc. Well known for protein security, soil health and low-water responsive, pulses get less attention by all, especially in India.  

Further, diet diversification with Vegetable Legumes especially garden pea, cowpea, lablab bean and snap bean will certainly suffice the purpose.

Regards,

How can we increase pulse consumption in communities where pulse crops do not play an important part in traditional cuisine/meals?  My response is almost certainy influenced by my background in international agriculture marketing.  I suggest the answer to the question differs depending on whether the community in question is part of a developed economy (Europe, Japan, USA, Australia), emerging economy (Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico), or a lesser developed economy (Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Haiti, Myanmar). 

Developed Economies

Consumer behavior researchers argue that trying to directly change consumer behaviors and/or incorporate new traditions (pulse consumption) in developed economies is difficult and costly.  Consumers in developed economies have relatively high incomes, a wide variety of food choices available and do not depend on pulses for sustenance. Having said that, consumers in developed economies have greater freedom to make new choices that meet their needs. 

In order to meet the needs of consumers in developed economies we must first identify those needs by recognizing the realities and trends that affect their behavior.  Consumer behaviors in developed economies are impacted by trends that may differ significantly from those of emerging or lesser developed economies.

Simpler, Healthier Foods Trend.  Developed economy consumers are increasingly looking for foods that are both healthier, simpler and more convenient (Food Technology Magazine Food Trends 2016).  These consumers are also pushing for “clean” labels and product formulations that contain safe, simple, natural ingredients. And they are looking for labels with foods that are consistent with their environmental and/or moral consciousness – foods that are environmentally sustainable and non-destructive.  Of course, pulses meet these needs. 

Flexitarians and Environmental Consumerism.  Increasingly, in more developed economies of the world we are seeing the rise of part-time vegetarians (also known as “flexitarians”) and environmentally conscious consumers that are making informed choices to reduce their meat consumption because of health, sustainability and other concerns.  The growing support and awareness of “Meatless Monday” is an example of this trend (http://www.meatlessmonday.com/about-us/why-meatless/).  

Hidden Vegetables.  Developed world consumers are constantly being reminded by their governments and health professionals that they should eat more vegetables. But many consumers in developed countries frequently shy away from vegetables due to taste expectations or simply because of preference for less healthy options (with fat, salt and sugar) .  One way to increase consumption of vegetables – including pulses - is as “hidden vegetables.”  One example of this trend is the pasta aisle where we can now find dozens of new pastas that contain spinach, sun dried tomatoes, pulses, etc.  Pulse derivatives such as pea protein and pulse flours are perfect means by which to increase consumption of pulses with non-traditional consumers as “hidden vegetables.”

Gluten Free.  Gluten free food offerings have had phenomenal growth over the past several years.  This has undoubtedly helped create more opportunities for pulse related products since pulses and pulse derivatives are gluten free and can be used in a variety of applications where wheat would normally be used such as snack foods, pastas, pastries, and breads. 

Emerging Economies

On order to increase pulse consumption in emerging economies that do not have a tradition of pulse consumption we must first acknowledge the realities of emerging economies. Emerging economies typically have a growing middle class with increasing incomes and typical aspirational consumer behaviors.  These aspirational behaviors are not always a positive when it comes to pulse consumption.

Aspirational Food Consumption.  Research is clear that as emerging economies’ middle classes grow consumer behaviors - particularly in relation to food consumption - become less traditional and more aspirational with greater consumption of animal products, and vegetable oils.  In fact, some experts argue that aspiration for a more western diet in emerging countries could have a more detrimental affect on global health and hunger than population growth.  As Mexican incomes have grown pulse consumption has declined and Mexico now wears the dubious crown of most obese country on earth. 

Trade Liberalization and Urbanization.  An argument could also be made that urbanization, trade liberalization and changing trade policies are impacting traditional consumption patterns by expanding consumer choices.  Freer, more open trade is changing eating habits by providing an unprecedented level of consumer choices. In other words, consumers that traditionally had a small set of food choices now have many more options.  Foods that may have been only available seasonably may now be available year round.  And fast food restaurants have grown at an alarming rate in urban areas (Taco Bell reportedly plans to open more than 100 new outlets in Brazil in 2017).

For consumers that have not traditionally consumed pulses the increased exposure to new product choices might be a great thing.  But for consumers in countries that traditionally consumed pulses, such as Mexico, increased incomes and the availability of more choices is likely to have a negative impact on pulse consumption and consumer health – unless consumers are provided more options that are reflective of the changing consumer landscape. 

Need for More Choices.  Having a greater range of consumer choices can certainly be positive if the global pulse industry, food processors and distribution channels are prepared to meet consumers’ aspirational needs by providing more consumer choices.  If consumer aspirations are to dine out more then the global pulse industry needs to work with quick serve restaurant (QSR) sector to make choices available that include pulses.  If more women are part of the workplace in emerging economies such as is the case in Brazil, then the global pulse industry needs to work with food manufacturers to provide more convenient options that include pulses.  If consumers have more money available for snacking then the global pulse industry needs to be work with snack food manufacturers to broaden their product line to include pulse based products. 

Lesser Developed Countries

Pulses already play a key role in many lesser developed countries since they can be used both for self-consumption or as a cash crop.  In countries with poor soils or arid climates there are a number of pulses that can be grown where cereal crops will not survive (e.g., pigeon peas, cowpeas, bambara beans).  Pulse crops provide farmers with an option to sell when times are good or to consume their harvest when times are bad.  In countries such as Ethiopia, Haiti, and Madagascar pulses serve as both a major nutritional source and additional income source for producers (pulses are high-value crops, usually getting 2-3 times higher prices than cereals).

One of the keys to increasing consumption in lesser developed countries is supporting programs dedicated to improving production and storage, trade enhancement and market linkages, and education (e.g., agricultural extension).  The UN World Food Program, USAID and many NGOs have created programs that are focused on providing adequate nutrition to mothers and their young children during the first 1,000 days of life.  These programs are designed to reduce the many health and long term development issues that are associated with chronic malnutrition during early childhood.  Working to incorporate more pulses into these early childhood nutrition programs is one avenue for increasing long-term consumption of pulses in lesser developed countries.  In addition, programs that support the education of females have proven particularly effective in terms of long-term economic gains and household food security.   

Programs that help establish market linkages and stabilize incomes for domestic producers are very important because pulse consumption is highly income elastic in lesser developed countries.  Unlike developed markets, the rate of consumption of pulses is highly dependent on prices. If the domestic price of pulses is too high then consumers may choose to consume more of a less expensive protein source or more grains (e.g., rice, corn) or often they may simply consume less food.  

Per capita consumption of pulses in lesser developed countries (and the rest of the world) has dropped in both emerging and lesser developed countries.  According to the FAO, this is not just a change in dietary patterns but is the result of a failure of domestic production to keep pace with population growth.  In order to increase per capita pulse consumption in lesser developed countries we must encourage increased research and development (R&D) in pulse sector since, despite relatively high rates of return, investment in agriculture generally and pulse sector specifically is often neglected in lesser developed countries. And to the extent that R&D exists it is dominated by the public sector.  While public sector investment should be encouraged and enhanced we must also support and encourage more private sector investment in lesser developed countries.  Any additional investment will almost certainly pay off in terms of increased pulse productivity, improved incomes and increased per capita pulse consumption. 

Research Sharing and Technology Transfer. 

The ease of sharing information and technology provides an unprecedented opportunity to increase pulse consumption in non-traditional pulse consuming communities – regardless of whether they are developed, emerging or lesser developed economies. For purposes of illustration let’s use Japan as an example.  With exception of traditional desserts (anko, sweetened beans) there is no tradition of pulse consumption in Japan.  Japanese traditional cuisine (washoku) is based heavily on rice, seasonal ingredients, side dishes, seafood and noodles. Popular Japanese noodles are commonly made from wheat, buckwheat, konjac and rice – but not yet from pulses. Companies in the United States are using pulses in the manufacture of noodles, breads and snack foods.  With technology transfer Japanese noodle manufacturers might also use pulse derivatives in their noodle products. 

Conclusions

Author Patti Dingh said “Change occurs at the edges, without permission.”  To me this powerful statement is a recognition that change is not always straight forward but may instead occur on the periphery.  To increase pulse consumption in non-traditional consuming countries we must look for these transformative opportunities at the edges.  In developed economies we must be mindful of trends that can seriously impact consumption patters (e.g., gluten free trend, flexitarian trend).  In emerging economies, we must look for opportunities to create change that recognize the aspirational needs of consumers with more income and food choice options.  And in lesser developed economies we must look to improve production systems with more research and development, create market linkages for pulse producers and educate both producers and consumers (particularly females).  By doing so we can increase both incomes and per capita pulse consumption.  

Bonjour aux modérateurs de cette consultation en ligne et dont les problématique de consomption, de valorisation et de production sont posée.

1) Concernant la faible valorisation et consomption des légumineuses, l'un des problèmes actuels que j'ai rencontré sur le terrain en milieu tout comme en milieu rural, c'est qu'il y a une vrai stigmatisation de ceux et celles qui se nourrissent de légumineuses comme le poids de terre  ou le haricots ou niébé par exemple. Ces aliment qui jadis avait nourris des familles entières et permis de traverser de longues périodes de famines se retrouvent aujourd'hui perçu comme un aliment de pauvre et de basse classe par ceux là même qui s'en sont servis pour vivre au village, aller a l'école et se retrouver en ville. Cette stigmatisation découle de l'absence de valorisation de ces légumineuses stigmatisées dans les recettes exposées pendant les foires alimentaires et il n'y a pas recettes attrayantes capitalisées et vulgarisées. Cette stigmatisation diminue la demande et donc la production. Cette dernière n'est faite que par les femmes pour supplier a l'insécurité alimentaire. Nous avons appuyé une ONG locale au Togo a élaborer un repertoire de mets locaux améliorés à l'aide de soja, ainsi sept mets ont été repertoriés et vulgarisé dans les centres de santé au Nord Togo (Oti et Tonte) t en deux ans, la demande a augmenté. Pour inverser la tendance pour le cas du Burkina Faso et aussi dans des pays comme le Ghana, le Togo, le Mali et le Niger que je connais bien, a) il faut une réelle communication pour retablir l'image des légumineuses comme n'étant réservées aux pauvres mais des aliments à valeurs nutritives démontrées et bonne pour la santé - mettre en avant les effets bénéficques sur l'état de santé actuel des populations serait un avantage de vulgarisation et b) il faut établir un repertoire des mets à bases de légumineuses sous le leadership des ministères en charge de l'agriculture et de la santé avec l'appui des ONG travaillant dans la nutrition et vulgariser ce repertoire à travers les structures de santé, les ONG et collectivités locales et pour les repas de cérémonies officielleset enfin c) retablir l'image et la perception de la population par une communication appropriée et au Burkina, les foires comme la journée du paysans, les foires régionales agrosylvopastorales,

2) L'effet premier constaté est que les légumineuses sont des aliments qui viennent au sécours des ménages pendant les périodes de soudures au moment où les céréales se font rares et les aliments coutent chers sur le marché. Sans avoir fait une étude de l'état nutritionnel, on peut tout de même dire que disposer et diversifier l'alimentation améliore le statut nutritionnel des populations. Et c'est cet état de fait qui est reconnu aux légumineuses comme le poid de terre ou voandzou. Le suivi de la consommation de soja au Nord Togo en collaboration avec les agents de santé à montré un bon taux d'émoglobine des enfants et les rendent vigoureux face aux maladies.

3) Les principales difficultés que nous avons rencontrées et les solutions approtées sont:

- la faiblesse des rendements et des production du le plus souvent à des variétés non adaptées. La solution que nous avons apportée est la production e la vulgarisation de semeneces d evariétés améliorés de niébé et de soja par exemple en collaboration avec la recherche (INERA au Burkina et ICAT au Togo) a la formation de producteurs semenciers et les différents accompagnements avec les semences de base, le suivi technique et la certification. A la suite de ce système formel, le système informel permet une vulgarisation à grande échelle des semences améliorées. Ces variétés améliorées ont permis d'ccroitre les redements de niébé de 26% et celui de soja de 38% en un an.

- l'accès a la terre et l'insécurisation fonciere  notamment pour les femmes et limites leurs capacités productives. La solution apportée a été d'impliquer les hommes comme bénéficiaries et pendant les rencontres d'évaluation des résultats annuels du projet. AInsi les hommes ont réalisé que si leur femmes avainet plus de terres, elles allaient produire plus et multiplier leur revenu et la consommation à la maison - au Togo comme au Bénin, le soja est une partie intégrante des ingrédiants de la sauce pour toutes les femmes- et cela relève de la dignité même du ménage. Aisni donc, les femmes qui ne pouvait louer que 0,25 ha ont pu accéder de 0,5 a 2 ha rien que pour la culture du soja.

- Il n'y a pas un meilleur accès au marché pour les producteurs/productrices et donc ils sont à la merci des commeçants après les récoltes afin de pater a prix trss faibles. La solution que nous avons apportée est l'organisation des coopératives, la formation, l'appui en équipements de transformation pour encourager la consommation locale et générer des revenus et stockés pour vendre plus chers plus tard.

Enfin, il n'y a pas des actions et des moyens conséquents dégagés par les états pour soutenir ces filières. Dans une certaine mesure le niébé mais pas a une échelle importante comme pour les appuis au riz et au mais.

To increase pulse consumption, the difficulty of the long overnight soak can be reduced by a quick soak technique I have been teaching for decades.  Many community women, as well as women from marginal, urban neighborhoods cook pulses more frequently now that they have learned the technique.  Unfortunately I do not have documentation to prove the fact; they, however do say that at the altitude of Quito, Ecuador and rural areas in the Andes they are now eating more dried “leguminosas” they call them.  Before they say they would have cooked them once a week or once a fortnight, and that now they are eating them as often as three times a week.

Given the lower boiling point at the altitude, and thus longer cooking time, traditionally the culinary culture consumed fresh pulses, particularly fava beans and peas, but beans (Phaseolus) as well.  Thus traditional cooking techniques made use of the quicker cooking fresh product, rather than the dried one. 

Quick soak method: 

Cover picked over dried beans with water (approximately 2 cups of beans to 2 to 3 liters of water).  Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 1 to 5 minutes.  (thinner-skinned pulses require less simmering than thicker-skinned varieties). Remove from heat, cover, set aside and let soak for at least 1 hour.  Drain and use the quick-soaked pulse like any soaked pulse.  (By draining the first water, flatulence is also diminished.)  

Sorry, I  wrote this response in Word and pasting it on the website seems to have changed its format.  Plese let me know if the response is legible.    

Greetings, and thank you for the very interesting reading, and for the webinar!  The USAID SPRING project is working on building the evidence base to better integrate agriculture and nutrition. Our work focuses broadly on how to operationalize the Primary Pathways for Linking Agriculture and Nutrition, which include own production, through income, and women’s empowerment, and how globally we can better define and scale up nutrition-sensitive agriculture interventions. Nutrition sensitive agriculture practices relate the most directly to food production and consumption, and nutrient values, but there are many practices, such as good WASH and environmental management practices related to reducing post- harvest loss, time and energy of women, use of income, and the role of public and private value chain and food system actors. Some of these are inherent in the agricultural systems, while there are many gaps. 

Relative to this decision forum, I am working on a formative research study in Northern Ghana to examine the agriculture information systems related to cereal-legume cropping systems (primarily maize, soy, cowpea, and pigeon pea), and how we can better promote nutrition through these systems.  We chose these crops because there are a lot of existing materials and research to build on.  Our formative research will focus on the gauging the perceptions of farmers and other system actors on how we can  “add value”  to these related value chains through embedding nutrition-sensitive agriculture content into existing information systems.  So, we are interested in extension and rural advisory services content, because even here, there are many gaps in the way content is integrated and how it is promoted, and thus opportunities for helping rural households understand the linkage between soil health, plant health, the environment, and human (and animal) nutrition. We are also equally interested in the role of other system actors, such as input suppliers, aggregators, retailors, processors, and financial service providers, and others who also have a role in the information systems through training, investing and marketing.

We look forward to sharing this later this year.  We are also interested in collecting any specific farm-level extension materials, or materials used among other value chain actors relative to promoting the linkage between human nutrition and pulses.  

Regarding: “What are the main challenges that farmers in your country face with regard to the production of pulses? How should these be addressed?”

I would like to add some caution to the promotion of any particular intervention without viewing that action in context. While we fully recognize the nutritional, soil and climate related benefits, this solution, if forced onto farmers without a broader contextualization of their situation may result in negative outcomes. For example, there has been a project working in Ethiopia for many years on pulses, particularly around breeding, farmer seed selection and improved yields. However, uptake remains low despite various training, educational and field demonstration sites. In this case researchers are focusing upon the benefits, but not the costs, or broader challenges being faced. In this part of the country, chronic food insecurity is prevalent and land sizes are very small (0.5 ha or less, on average). Farmers current decide to grow root crops (specifically: enset, taro and sweet potato), which have yields per hectare that are 3 to 8 times greater than that of pulses. For them, despite the carbohydrate dense nature of these crops, the choice is an obvious one: if they grow root crops they may have food shortages 1-3 months of the year, however if they switch to the pulses, the food gap widens due to the decreased yields per hectare. Thus, it is logical for farmers to fully recognize the benefits, yet not adopt. It is worth emphasizing here that the land size is small, and growing seasons limited due to rain-fed agricultural practices, which further limit the options and opportunities. Some have farmers have integrated pulses, potentially a an attempted second crop after the main growing season or as smaller patches of their land. In sum: We should seek to understand the context before advocating that pulses are the answer. There may be alternatives, more suitable and more appropriate, even ones which farmers themselves have already taken action on (such as improved varieties of root crops).

International Year of Pulses

Celebration of 2016 as the International Year of Pulses is timely and important because of the important role that pulses play in enhancing soil health and improving human nutrition and wellbeing.

Pulses and Soil Health:

Soil health refers to its capacity to function as a dynamic and biologically-active entity that affects health of plants, animals and people and generate numerous ecosystem services of relevance to human and nature conservancy. Important among these ecosystem services are net primary productivity, food and nutritional security, biodiversity, water purification and renewability, carbon sequestration and moderation of gaseous emissions elemental cycling etc. Pulses impact soil health through their impacts on soil physical, chemical and biological properties. Incorporating pulses in crop rotation impacts soil physical properties including aggregation (especially percentage of macro aggregates > 3mm) and soil structure because of the  glomalin contents, soil tilth and formation of biophores, enhanced porosity and favorable pore size distribution, and improved aeration and gaseous exchange. Pulses also affect soil chemical properties especially soil fertility through biological nitrogen fixation(BNF), soil organic carbon (SOC)content through input of a high quality residues with a narrow C:N ratio and changes in soil PH.The rate of BNF(Kg N/ha) under pulses can range from 30-120  for lentil, 20-100 for chickpea, 5-70 for dry bean and 80-160 for faba bean. Thus, C:N ratio of crop residues for chickpea and lentils is about 17 compared with that of 40 for oilseed crops and more than 30 for wheat. The C:N ratio of some non-leguminous crops can be >100.Biologically,pulses can also impact microbial biomass carbon (MBC), soil enzyme and accentuate activity and species diversity of soil biota including macro biota (e.g. earthworms and termites) and enhance disease-suppressive attributes of the soil.

Improvements of soil structure by pulses can improve the water use efficiency of the following crops. Experiments conducted in Queensland, Australia documented the water use efficiency (kg/ha.mm ) of sorghum of 5-7 when sorghum followed sorghum compared with 10-14 when sorghum followed mungbean and 11 –13 after lab lab. Increase in WUE is due to better water conservation in the root zone and avoidance of drought.

Adaptation and Mitigation of Climate Change:

Through their impacts on soil health and functionality, pulses enhance adaptation and mitigation of climate change. Growing pulses can decrease gaseous emissions ( e.g.,nitrous oxide) by reducing input of nitrogenous fertilizers, improving soil structure and tilth, conserving water and soil, and increasing crop diversity thereby reducing inputs of herbicides and pesticides. Pulses can also increase the rate of soil carbon sequestration by increasing MBC and contributing N-rich residues. The measured rates of SOC  in soils of India range from 300 to 400 kg.C/ha.yr. However, inoculating pulse crops with rhizobia can increase emission of nitrous oxide from soil.

Global Food and Nutritional Security:

In addition to about 800 million people who are prone to hunger, there are about 2 billion who suffer from hidden hunger and malnutrition. As an important source of protein and minerals, including pulses in diet is an important strategy to alleviate hunger and improve human health and wellbeing. Substituting pulses for animal-based protein can save a lot of land and grains to feed the growing population of the world.

Pulses are important to soil, environment and human health. Designation of 2016 as the UN International year of Pulses will enhance awareness about the importance of pulses.

Sincerely

Rattan Lal

Distinguished University Professor of Soil Science

Director, Carbon Management and Sequestration Center

President Elect, International Union of Soil Sciences

Adjunct Professor, University of Iceland

The Ohio State University

Columbus,OH 43210,USA

Phone:614-292-9069

Fax:     614-292-7432

E-Mail:[email protected]