By Dr Meghna Sarma, Dr Moloy S Baruah and Dr Mokidul Islam
World Pulses Day is celebrated every year on February 10 to recognise the importance of pulses and their role in human nutrition, environmental wellbeing, and sustainable agriculture.This celebration presents a unique opportunity to raise public awareness about pulses and the fundamental role they play in the transformation to more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems for better production, nutrition, environment and a better life.
World Pulses Day is a designated United Nations global event to recognise the importance of pulses as a global food.It has been proclaimed on February 10 since 2019 by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 20, 2018.According to UN,pulses remain influential in mitigating the global challenges of poverty, food security, nutrition, human health and soil health.
Pulses are a subgroup of legume crops which include crops like chickpeas, peas, beans, lentils, etc. Pulses have multiple uses including livestock forage, human consumption and soil enhancing green manure.
India is the largest producer (26%), consumer (30%) and importer (14%) of pulses in the world. Pulses account for around 20% of area under foodgrains and contribute around 7-10% of total food grain production in the country. Maximum pulses produced in India are chickpeas (48%), pigeon pea (14%), blackgram (12%), green gram (8%) and lentils (7%).
The average productivity of pulses in the North East Region (NER) is 848 kg/ha which is higher than the national average of 764 kg/ha indicating the potential of pulse production in this region. In Meghalaya, pulse crops like peas, lentils, beans can be very promising for the rice fallows as there is huge potentiality to incorporate such crops in large scale in a fragile ecosystem for wider adoption.
For farmers, pulses serve a dual purpose-they can be consumed to ensure household food security or sold to create economic stability. Additionally, the nitrogen fixing properties of pulses revitalise soil,boosting the productivity and longevity of farmland. By incorporating pulses into intercropping and cover cropping practices farmers can promote biodiversity in both farms and soils.
This year the theme for World Pulses Day is “Pulses:Bringing diversity to agrifood systems” emphasizing the contribution to diversified and sustainable food systems for growing populations. World Pulses Day is a great opportunity to heighten public awareness of nutritional benefits of eating pulses. These crops have a lower carbon footprint than most foods because they require a small amount of fertiliser to grow. They also have a low water footprint as they are adapted to semi-arid conditions and can tolerate drought stress.
The Government of India has been implementing the National Food security Mission (NFSM) on Pulses through state governments to increase production of pulses in the country since 2007-2008. Collective efforts can bring change and India can play a crucial role in promoting their cultivation, trade and consumption by encouraging farmers to grow pulses through various government schemes and incentives.
This World Pulses Day, let’s honour the humble pulses that nourish us and sustain our planet.
(The authors are experts at the ICAR KVK Ri-Bhoi, ICAR Complex for NEH Region, Umiam)
