Legumes: a superfood for people and soils

ICARDA is grateful to the Government of India (ICAR), IFAD, OFID, the Crop Trust, and CGIAR’s Research Program on Grain Legumes and Dryland Cereals (GLDC) for supporting our work on legumes.  

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Every year in September, during ‘India Nutrition Week,’ nutritionists, health gurus, development professionals, chefs, and other food and nutrition experts converge across the subcontinent to discuss and promote the benefits of a balanced diet for a healthy lifestyle. While malnutrition rates have dropped significantly in India over the past decades, it has not been entirely eradicated among the poorest.

Countless campaigns are organized in schools and the media to promote healthy foods – especially fruits, vegetables, and pulses – to combat malnutrition and support optimal brain and body development.

In India, about a third of the population follows a plant-based diet. And while pulses have been a centerpiece of Indian traditional cuisine for millennia, per capita consumption of pulses must increase to boost people’s health and nutrition profiles.