Abstract
Leguminous species, and especially pulses (annual leguminous crops that are harvested solely for their dried seeds as a food), have an important yet under-appreciated role in sustainable cropping systems. Pulses contribute positively to soil fertility and agricultural biodiversity, and are a highly nutritious food source. Yet in India, soon to be the world’s most populous country, and the world’s largest importer, producer and consumer of pulses, pulses remain the only major food group not to have increased in output since independence in 1947. Given the multiple benefits of legumes it surprising that they are not grown more extensively and successfully by smallholders. Existing efforts to address this issue have focused on the scientific and agronomic barriers to increasing legume production. In contrast, this project focuses on the barriers to production as identified by the growers themselves. Working with 440 farmers from 19 non-tribal and 11 tribal villages in Tripura, NE India, we used facilitated discussion to identify their key barriers to pulse production. To identify the commonly consumed, grown and available pulses we used facilitated pile sorting. Twenty-eight barriers to legume production were identified by farmers, including eight principal barriers: water management; soil fertility; seed supply; lack of technical knowledge; financial constraints; limited fertiliser supply; lack of processing units and fencing. Understanding the wider socio-economic pathways to sustainable pulse production is essential to facilitate increased pulse production on the ground. Our results clearly demonstrated that a systems approach should be taken to the production gap of pulses
Highlights
Grain legumes have a critical role in sustainable food systems (Franke et al, 2018): they are highly nutritious and they contribute positively to soil fertility and agricultural biodiversity (Crews and Peoples, 2004)
A total of 57 non-tribal groups and 32 tribal groups comprising 440 farmers participated in the survey. Among those 440 farmers, 168 farmers were from 11 tribal Gram Panchayats (GP; rural constituencies) and 272 farmers were from 19 non-tribal GP
Existing efforts to stimulate increases in pulse production have been based on technical barriers identified by experts, and have largely failed
Summary
Grain legumes (or pulses -annual leguminous crops that are harvested solely for their dried seeds such as lentils or chickpeas) have a critical role in sustainable food systems (Franke et al, 2018): they are highly nutritious and they contribute positively to soil fertility and agricultural biodiversity (Crews and Peoples, 2004). In addition there is work on sustainable farming approaches (such as intercropping and crop diversification) using legumes to improve nutrient management and productivity (Choudhary et al, 2014; Dwivedi et al, 2015; Shukla et al, 2017) These agronomic approaches are providing effective solutions to the barriers identified by experts, but critically they have yet to lead to an increase in production. Dairy products remain relatively expensive, so that access is restricted to higher socio-economic groups (Kurpad and Minocha, 2017)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
