Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 6824 I EUROPEAN SEED I EUROPEAN-SEED.COM ess than a month after the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, a vegetarian Labour MP stood in the Houses of Parliament and took aim at the Conservative government not for its handling of the referendum, which only a few weeks earlier had caused bitter divisions within the U.K. and throughout Europe, but of its handling of the pulse sector. At such a politically charged time, it’s noteworthy to think a British politician would choose dry beans, dry peas, chickpeas and lentils to make a political statement. Such a scenario speaks to the power of what a global initiative designed to promote these crops is accomplishing. The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has designated 2016 as the International Year of Pulses (IYP), in order to promote these crops and increase their consumption throughout the globe. Dry beans, dry peas, chickpeas and lentils are high in protein, fibre, and various vitamins, provide amino acids and are hearty crops. They are most popular in developing countries, but are increasingly becoming recognized as an excellent part of a healthy diet throughout the world, the FAO notes on its website. IYP is meant to promote pulses and their health benefits, but it’s also highlighting new projects that are making a huge difference in parts of the world that need it most. FORGET ABOUT THE SUPPLEMENTS Five new bean varieties bred with high iron and resilience to the impacts of drought have been released in Uganda for the first time. The varieties — co-developed by the National Crops Resources Research Institute (NaCRRI), the Rwandan Agricultural Board and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) through HarvestPlus, were released as part of the government’s strategy to tackle malnutrition and reduce anemia in the country, especially in children and expectant mothers. Stanley Nkalubo, leader of the Legumes Research Program at NaCRRI, which evaluated and released the varieties on July 22, said the biofortified beans will provide a cheap source of nutrition among poorer communities. “Instead of buying expensive supplements, communities can now buy and grow these beans as a way of boosting nutrition and reducing anemia — a major health concern in Uganda — also knowing they will get yield despite drought,” he said. Eleonora Dupouy, food safety and consumer protection officer with the FAO based in Budapest, Hungary, remembers 2015 when the idea for IYOP was proposed by Pakistan and Turkey. In a recent interview with Protein2Food, a European Union-funded group working to develop high- quality food protein from multi-purpose seed crops and grain legumes, Protein, Politics, and Pulses The International Year of Pulses of shedding light on how valuable and versatile pulse crops are for Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Compiled by Marc Zienkiewicz Photo courtesy CIAT