Role of Legumes in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security: An Indian Perspective

Abstract

Because most animal food products are too expensive for the rural poor, a significant proportion of the Indian population suffers from both protein energy malnutrition and chronic energy deficiency. Statistics on food demand and fertilizer requirements highlight the dependence on foreign imports of fertilizer for food crop production. However, legume crops have a potentially important role to play in increasing indigenous nitrogen production, besides meeting human demands for protein and energy. Some legumes have the ability to solubilize otherwise unavailable phosphate by excreting organic acids from their roots, in addition to improving soil fertility. Legumes also help to restore soil organic matter and reduce pest and disease problems when used in rotation with non-leguminous crops. In the north-eastern Indian Himalaya, indigenous legumes such as rice bean, jack bean and tree bean are more nutritious than other legumes and offer major scope to restore soil fertility. This paper describes the importance of promoting legumes in the context of national food security.