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Global role of legumes

The use and cultivation of legumes have great benefits for climate change mitigation, biodiversity conservation, health, crop rotation, and  improvement of soil fertility. On this page you will find articles about the crucial role they play globally.

Become a Pulse Ambassador Workshop

The importance of pulses (lentils, Phaseolus beans, peas (Pisum and Lathyrus), chickpeas, fava beans, cowpeas) for sustainable cropping systems and healthy diets is widely and increasingly recognized. This workshop highlighted the benefits of pulses and the opportunities to use their potential to enhance the diversity of cropping systems and in diets for the protein transition, combining agronomic, sociological, nutritional and gastronomic aspects. A large space was given for interaction between participants about ways to promote pulses in their own communities.

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Looking back on the Soup&Talk event

On 21 January, the 8th annual Soup&Talk organized by 2000m2 Weltacker took place at the Heinrich Böll Foundation. The aim of this event was to warm up with hot soup and exchange ideas on existing approaches for the transformation of sustainable agriculture. Lisa Hoffmann, the project coordinator, presented the project at the event. Can beans

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The central role of legumes in Kenyan diet

Kenya is considered a farming nation. Among farming communities in the country, legumes are an important source of nourishment and are, therefore, central to many diets in the country. They are indeed good sources of protein, fibre, they protect against diseases, they fertilise the soil for other crops and they contribute to the economy of the country. Want to know how? Discover the role of vegetables in Kenya in this article! 

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Legume Fatigue: Prevention Is Better Than a Cure

The importance of legumes in arable farming Legumes are of particular importance in arable farming due to their symbiosis with root nodules (rhizobia). The ability of root nodules to fix atmospheric nitrogen makes legumes an important basic component in crop rotations, especially in organic farming. For this reason, legumes are often used not only as

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Pulses and the “protein transition”

Takeaways from Terra Madre 2022 Closed roundtable, public conference and a closer look at the recent IPES-Food report The high protein content of pulses is one of the main reasons why we (the Global Bean community and many others) believe that they have a key role to play in fixing our broken food system –

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Global Bean at Terra Madre

Until now the Global Bean Project has been a digital network  for me. Enthusiastic people —some might say nerdy :)) — work together to share knowledge through online meetings and publications to promote the wonderful and diverse family of legumes. This time however, thanks to our yearly cooking event „Give peas a chance“ in collaboration

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A case of cowpeas in Baringo County, Kenya

Many regions of Kenya can be categorized into arid and semi-arid lands that receive unsustainable rainfall of between 250mm-500mm. Millions of smallholder farmers in the arid and semiarid lands of Kenya prefer cultivating legumes over other cash crops – crops grown mainly for sale – due to…

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Drought equals lower legume yields in Germany?

There is no denying that 2022 has been a particularly dry year.
However, for most field crops like pulses, it can be positive to have “dry weather” at the end of the crop cycle for example. Did legume yields suffer from the drought? What parameters are the ones impacting legumes? What are the means to adapt legume cultivation to the drought in Europe?

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The grain legume market in Europe

Grain legumes have several agronomic, environmental and dietary benefits. Surprisingly, they play only a minor role in today’s farming systems as well in human nutrition in the EU. In fact, dry grain legumes represent only 2.1 % of arable land in the EU – but with an increasing trend.

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Heat wave impacts legume yields in India

As India witnessed the hottest March in 122 years, Rajasthan – one of the regions where the most food-products are cultivated – was one of the worst affected states with 25 heat waves and the highest number of heat wave days, with temperatures soaring past 40 degrees.

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