Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition

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DISCUSSION No. 133   •   FSN Forum digest No. 1268

Pulses: innovations from the field to the cooking pot

until 4 November 2016

 

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Dear Members,

Today we would like to share with you the first comments received to the online discussion Pulses: innovations from the field to the cooking pot.

To enrich this exchange we are also holding a webinar later today, 20 October, from 15:00 to 16:00 CEST. Please join us at http://fao.adobeconnect.com/iyp2016ii; our facilitators Sieg Snapp and Karen Cichy will focus on innovative practices that could help increase the role of pulses from a producer and a consumer perspective.

Please keep posting your contributions to the online discussion in English, French or Spanish, and do not hesitate to contact us at [log in to unmask] for any further information.

Your FSN Forum team

 

 

 

 

CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED

iconPierrette Mubadi, Congo

Pierrette points to the fact that rural populations tend to abandon their traditional diets, and believes that inter alia a lack of information on the benefits of legumes causes this trend. Legumes should however play an important role in fighting malnutrition among children. More broadly, the government should support sustainable initiatives in the agricultural sector in the fight against poverty.

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iconVicki Morrone, Michigan State University, USA

Vicki elaborates on the situation in Malawi, where current seed systems and seed policies constrain smallholder production and make it difficult for farmers to legally engage in seed production. Research and extension efforts should focus on the selection of appropriate pulse varieties, and farmers should be empowered to produce seed for local community use.

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iconAqleem Abbas, The University of Agriculture, Peshawar, Pakistan

Aqleem lists several advantages of producing and consuming pulses as compared to meat and cereals. He argues that people can be made aware of the potential of pulses by organizing seminars and workshops. In addition, modern pulse varieties should be supplied and research laboratories for the development of resistant cultivars should be established.

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iconAliya Bakry, Consultant, Morocco

Aliya suggests that integrating pulse-based recipes in mainstream culinary-oriented media has been a successful approach to stimulate pulse consumption. In particular, the objective should be to introduce and promote the use of pulses in the diets of children, as food habits are adopted at an early age.

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iconCynthia Donovan, Legume Innovation Lab, Michigan State University, USA

Cynthia echoes Vicki’s comments regarding the need to promote local seed production. Furthermore, she argues that efforts are needed to change the perception of legumes, which are often regarded as ‘proteins for poor people’. She mentions examples of initiatives that have already been undertaken in different countries; in Guatemala for instance, the MASFRIJOL programme aims to enhance bean productivity and to increase appreciation of the nutritional importance of beans. However, the effectiveness of these initiatives should be evaluated.

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iconLawal Musibau Olajire, Green agriconsult and services, Nigeria

Lawal stresses that in Nigeria, people are only familiar with a few varieties of pulses. Efforts should be reinforced to raise awareness about other types of pulses, and attention needs to be paid to value addition. Furthermore, Lawal argues that middlemen have to be checkmated in order to bring prices down for consumers. In Nigeria, the price of cowpea has doubled between June and September this year.

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iconMahesh Maske, M S Swaminathan Research Foundation, India

In the Wardha district in India, the Leveraging Agriculture for Nutrition in South Asia programme aims to promote pulses and to bring about a change in the consumption patterns of smallholder farm families. Mahesh points out that in this region, smallholders have only limited access to quality seeds. Research and extension efforts should focus on farmer selection of appropriate varieties. The introduction of low-cost pulse processing machines and including pulses in social protection programmes will help stimulate their consumption for better nutrition.

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