Lentil

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Lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus) is a short-statured, annual, self-pollinated, high value crop species. The crop has great significance in cereal-based cropping systems because it fixes nitrogen, the seeds are a high protein food and the straw provides animal feed. In developing countries, lentil is produced on relatively poor soils and in harsh environments. Lentils are an affordable source of protein for poor people.

(Photo: ICARDA)
(Photo: ICARDA)

Origin and use

Lentil was among the earliest of humankind’s plant domesticates and is associated with the start of the ‘agricultural revolution’ in the Near East. From there it spread to South Asia, North and East Africa, East and South Europe, and North America.

Lentil − a source of high quality protein − is generally used for food. Whole, split, or ground into flour, it is used in soups, stews, salads, casseroles, snacks and vegetarian dishes. In southern Asia, split red lentils are used in curries. Lentil flour, added to cereal flour, is used to make bread. Lentils need less cooking time than other pulses and do not need to be pre-soaked. Dried lentils can be sprouted.

The leaves, stems and threshed pods of lentil are important for feeding sheep and goats in the Middle East and North Africa.

Lentil plants fix nitrogen in the soil, helping reduce the use of nitrogen fertilizer. This lowers costs for farmers.

Production

Lentil does best in cool temperate zones, or in the winter season in Mediterranean climates. It is relatively tolerant to drought and poor soils. Global lentil production in 2009 was 4.5 million metric tons, the top producers being Canada, India, Turkey and the United States. Canada is the leading lentil exporting nation. The major importing countries are Spain, Colombia, Egypt, Algeria and Sri Lanka. India, Turkey, Ethiopia, China, Syria, Iran and Bangladesh are among the top ten producers. On average, about 70% of global production is consumed in the developing countries where it is produced. About a quarter of global production is from India, most of which is consumed in India itself.

In 2010 the area of lentil worldwide was 4.2 million hectares and the average worldwide yield was 1.1 metric tons a hectare.

Nutrition

About one third of the calories in lentil come from protein, the third-highest level of protein by weight of any legume or nut. In many parts of the world lentils are the cheapest protein food. They are especially important in West Asia and the Indian subcontinent where many people are vegetarians. Lentils also contain dietary fiber, vitamin B and minerals. As lentils lack two essential amino acids except when sprouted, they are often cooked with grains such as rice. The combination provides all the essential amino acids for dietary needs. Lentils are also a good source of iron, especially important for women of child-bearing age, children and vegetarians.

Impact of CGIAR Centers

The International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) works with national agricultural research partners to raise yields of lentil in developing countries. The lentil breeding program is important for developing new varieties resistant to drought and disease, the main problems faced by lentil farmers. Scientists have crossed and selected lentil genetic material from ICARDA’s genebank and worked with researchers in national agricultural research organizations to develop varieties specifically suited to agro-ecological conditions in different regions and countries.

New drought-tolerant lentil varieties that do well even in dry years have been widely adopted by farmers in Jordan, Libya and Syria. Lentil genetic material from the Middle East and Argentina has been used to improve South Asian lines, and many new varieties have been released to farmers in Bangladesh, Nepal, India and Pakistan. New varieties have boosted production, particularly in Turkey and South Asia.

In India, a new variety of lentil, Moitree, yields 50% more than varieties farmers are currently using. It matures early − an important feature in dry regions − is adapted to a wide range of environments, and is resistant to the two most damaging lentil diseases. Moitree is ideally suited for farmers to grow in the short cropping ‘window’ after the rice harvest, giving them an extra crop from fields that they would normally leave fallow.

Recent releases of improved lentil varieties in India have produced yields which were 54% to 91% higher than local varieties. Barimasur-4, Barimasur-5 and Barimasur-6 are rich in iron and zinc and give yields 90% higher than the national average. Farmers grow these on about 110,000 hectares in Bangladesh where harvests were boosted by 55,000 metric tons. In Pakistan, the improved variety Punjab Masoor 2009 is planted over 25% of the lentil area.

In Ethiopia, ICARDA and Ethiopian scientists have developed lentil varieties that can give six times the yield of traditional landraces. Ethiopia’s lentil exports have increased more than ten-fold in the past five years, largely due to these new varieties.

Small-scale agro-industries to add value to lentil introduced by ICARDA, such as splitting and packaging, frying and making snacks, are supplementing rural incomes in Bangladesh, India and Nepal.

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