International Year of Pulses (IYP 2016)

On December 20, 2013, the United Nations General Assembly's sixty-eighth session proclaimed 2016 the International Year of Pulses. The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has been asked to designate a year for pulses, often known as legumes.

The FAO used the International Year of Pulses to increase public awareness of pulses' nutritional benefits, role in sustainability, and ability to provide more dependable food. The year was utilized to promote collaboration among food production systems to better utilize the protein in pulses. It boosted crop rotation knowledge, increased commerce in pulses, and promoted pulse production all over the world. 

The IYP 2016 raised consumer knowledge of the nutritional advantages of pulses as a component of sustainable food production geared toward nutrition and food security. The Year offered a special chance to promote connections along the entire food supply chain that would better utilize pulse-based proteins, increase global pulse production, make better use of crop rotations, and address problems with the trade of pulses. Diet plays a significant role in both health and disease. The majority of nations experience nutritional issues, including malnutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, obesity, and diseases linked to diet (including type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer), or a combination of these. Pulses are a nutrient-rich food that can fight hunger in both industrialized and developing nations when included in a healthy diet.

The FAO of the United Nations used the Year to promote awareness of the various advantages of pulses including beans, lentils, and chickpeas throughout the world.

What are pulses and why are they significant?

Legumes that are only grown for dry grain are called pulses. Pulses include chickpeas, lentils, beans, and peas. Pulses don't include green-harvested legume crops. Vegetables are what these are. The phrase also excludes crops like soybeans that are grown primarily for oil extraction.

Significance of Pulses

  • People can get the essential amino acids and plant-based proteins they need from pulses, which promotes food security.
  • Pulses help people lose weight when included in a fiber-rich, balanced diet.
  • Additionally, pulses assist control and prevent chronic diseases like cancer, coronary artery disease, and diabetes.
  • For livestock, pulses are a crucial source of plant-based protein.
  • Pulses increase soil fertility by bringing nitrogen from the air into the ground.
  • Pulses are a sustainable agricultural choice because they consume less water than the majority of other protein crops.

The IYP 2016's particular goals are to:

  • Increase public knowledge of the vital role that pulses play in a healthy diet, sustainable food production, and food security;
  • Promote the value of the use of pulses throughout the food system, as well as its advantages for reversing the effects of climate change and malnutrition;
  • To increase the production of pulses globally, support improved research, make better use of crop rotations, and address the issues in the trade of pulses, promote connections throughout the food chain.

Read more

Comments

Thank You

Find your topic