Pulses - Africa's game changer in climate- SMART agriculture

Aggressive promotion of the growing of pulses in Africa could substantially mitigate the effects of climate change in the continent, so says Dean Miller from AGT Africa, a branch of the largest pulse-processing company in the world.While veganism is arguably on the rise globally, there is a belief that growing of crops such as peas, beans, lentils and chickpeas could supplement the important vitamins and minerals like potassium, folate and iron. Pulses are rich in fibre, which is beneficial to weight management.“Most regions that are drought stricken; that have less than four hundred millilitres of rainfall annually, for one kilogram of dried pulses, it only takes fifty litres of water to grow”, said Dean Miller- Group Marketing Manager at AGT.Crops such as pigeon peas and Bambara beans (which are in the pulses family) are almost ancient grains, but can be cultivated in very poor soils and in semi-arid areas in Africa. These crops are climate smart as they simultaneously adapt to climate change and contribute towards mitigating its effects. It is believed that 85 million hectares of pulses have contributed globally 3-6 million tonnes of nitrogen in soils.Miller says, while one kilogram of pulses can take fifty litres of water to grow, the same weight on beef, will take thirteen thousand litres of water for only one cow to come to fruition and for it to be slaughtered. This, he calculates to twelve thousand, nine hundred and fifty (12,950) more litres to produce beef with the exact, same, type of protein as opposed to producing a pulse.Crops such as pigeon peas and Bambara beans (which are in the pulses family) are almost ancient grains, but can be cultivated in very poor soils and in semi-arid areas. These crops are climate smart as they simultaneously adapt to climate change and contribute towards mitigating its effects.AGT, which stands of Alliance Grain Traders, is one of the largest suppliers of value-added pulses, staple foods and food ingredients.