Push to boost legumes production
Pulses, a subgroup of legumes, are plant species members of the Leguminosae family.
By Farai Mabeza
THE private sector must be roped in to drive the commercial production of pulses by farmers, agricultural experts said in Harare last week.
Pulses, a subgroup of legumes, are plant species members of the Leguminosae family (commonly known as the pea family) that produce edible seeds which are used for human and animal consumption.
They include kidney beans, navy beans, mung beans, cowpeas and black-eyed peas.
The 68th United Nations General Assembly declared 2016 as the International Year of pulses (IYP).
This is aimed to promote the production of pulses.
The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) has appointed special regional ambassadors across the world as part of the campaign to increase the production of pulses.
A Zimbabwe national, Elizabeth Mpofu was appointed the ambassador for Africa.
She called for appropriate facilities to assist women farmers in the production of pulses.
“Women’s immense contribution to farming and food production is not captured in official statistics and are also discriminated against when it comes to access to and control over the land in most African countries. To have an effective awareness about the important contribution of pulses to food security and nutrition, we need to address these deficiencies through policy reforms,” Mpofu said after accepting the appointment.
Agritex agronomist, Lungowe Sepo Marongwe, said the only way for pulses to be produced at a commercial level in the country was if the private sector was brought in to support farmers.
“I think we need to engage the private sector so that we increase the production of pulses.”
FAO sub regional coordinator for southern Africa and representative for Zimbabwe, David Phiri, said his organisation was using the British funded Livelihoods, Food and Security Programme to increase production of pulses.
He said more efforts were still needed.
“I am pleased to note that in Zimbabwe FAO is promoting the production and commercialisation of pulses among small holder farmers. With the support of a United Kingdom funded project, we have introduced and assisted farmers in various provinces to commercially produce mung bean as a new crop.This will greatly enhance opportunities for income generation.”
Smallholder farmers affected by drought in Gwanda, Matobo, Mangwe and Chivi have been assisted with high yielding varieties of cowpeas to help them re-establish their productive capacities after two years of poor rains, Phiri added.
He said adequate attention was needed to increase production and productivity of pulses to ensure that the demand-supply gap does not impact prices adversely, as this would make pulses inaccessible to the poor and undernourished.
“The policy framework is extremely important. It’s the policy framework that provides incentives for farmers, for the private sector and everybody else to be involved.
“ The government has the research capacity to try to find the best pulses for every geographical part of the country.”
FAO’s chief technical adviser, Ali Said, said it was also important to change people’s mindsets in order to boost production.
“Zimbabwe is maize centric. We have a lot of work to do in order to diversify crop production and change the consumption patterns. To bring in the private sector and boost production we must look at drivers such as prices and import licences.”
The UN nominated FAO to facilitate the implementation of the IYP in collaboration with governments, relevant organisations, non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders.
“The IYP 2016 aims to heighten public awareness of the nutritional benefits of pulses as part of sustainable food production aimed towards food security and nutrition.
“The year will create a unique opportunity to encourage connections throughout the food chain that would better utilise pulse-based proteins, further global production of pulses…and address the challenges in the trade of pulses,” FAO explained.