Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci.

ISSN 0077-8923

A N N A L S O F T H E N E W Y O R K A C A D E M Y O F SC I E N C E S
Issue: The Potential of Pulses to Meet Today’s Health Challenges: Staple Foods
REVIEW ARTICLE

The role of pulses in sustainable and healthy food systems

John McDermott and Amanda J. Wyatt
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Washington, DC

Address for correspondence: John McDermott, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), 2033 K Street NW,
Washington, DC 20006. [email protected]

Improving nutrition is a development priority, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in Africa
and South Asia, in which there is a persistent burden of undernutrition and increasing obesity. Healthy food systems
can play a necessary role, aligned with other multisectoral actions, in addressing this challenge. Contributing to
improved nutrition and health outcomes through food-based solutions is complex. In considering the role that
pulses can play in addressing this challenge, there are useful conceptual frameworks and emerging lessons. National
food systems in LMICs provide limited diet quality. Foods for a healthy diet may be produced locally, but they
increasingly rely on improved markets and trade. What might be done to transform food systems for healthier diets,
and what role can pulses play? Food systems innovations will require a convergence of technical innovation with
smarter institutional arrangements and more effective policies and regulations. In many countries in Africa and
South Asia, pulses can make important contributions to healthier diets. Options for supporting pulses to make a
greater contribution to healthier diets include increasing the efficiency of pulse supply chains, creating more effective
public–private institutional arrangements for innovation, and establishing policies, regulations, and investments
that are nutrition sensitive.

Keywords: pulses; nutrition; health; food systems

Trends in food system transformation especially under climate change, will be inadequate
and the dietary transition to keep pace with demand for food, feed, fuel, and
fiber.3 Others suggest that it should be much easier
Feeding future populations
to feed the world in the future, given important tech-
The global population is predicted to increase
nical innovations and increased capacity in LMICs.4
from the current seven to nine billion by 2050.
While there is considerable consensus that overall
Almost all of the population growth will occur in
food supply can be met in the medium term, longer-
low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), with
term constraints to food supply, as well as more focal
the greatest relative increase in African countries.
supply shocks due to natural resource constraints
Two future demographic trends are critical to
and humanitarian crises, will need innovative solu-
understanding the challenge of feeding the world:
tions. Furthermore, in a world with increasing com-
(1) populations will be increasingly urban, with
petition for shrinking resources, sustainable food
the number of people in cities and large towns
systems for healthier diets will need to meet the
increasing faster than rural populations;1 and (2)
growing demand for more nutritious foods—some,
people will be richer and will use their increased
like meat and vegetables, that have higher resource
incomes to purchase food that requires more
requirements—using sustainable methods that pro-
resources (e.g., land, water, energy) to produce.2
tect the environment.
The challenge of feeding future populations is
contested. Some are concerned that crop yields, Food system transformation
Finding these innovative solutions requires us to
examine all elements of the food system. By food
The copyright line for this article was changed on March system, we mean all of the activities and actors
24, 2016 after original online publication.
doi: 10.1111/nyas.13319
30 Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1392 (2017) 30–42  C 2017 The Authors. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

published by Wiley Periodicals Inc. on behalf of The New York Academy of Sciences.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and
reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.
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McDermott & Wyatt Pulses in food systems

Figure 1. Dietary change from 1990–1992 to 2007–2009 across different regions. Reprinted from Ref. 2. Data from the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

involved in the production, processing, trans- Dietary transition

port, and consumption of food. In LMICs, food While there is much focus on how many people
systems are undergoing rapid transformation.5–8 As need to be fed, an even bigger question is, What
countries develop, the share of agriculture in the foods will people be eating? Globally, we are seeing
gross domestic product (GDP) and in agricultural dramatic shifts in dietary patterns. The changes are
employment tends to shrink (with some notable attributed to improved agricultural practices that
exceptions in Africa south of the Sahara and Latin have increased productivity, increased the diver-
America, where employment in agriculture shrinks sity of foods, and reduced the dependency on
while GDP remains the same).8 There are important seasonality.13 As caloric consumption has risen, the
supply constraints. In Africa, rural populations are composition of diets has changed (Fig. 1).2 Rising
growing, albeit at a slower pace than urban popu- income levels, urbanization, and globalization have
lations. This has resulted in smaller farm sizes and changed the demand for different types of food.2,14
continuous cropping with few inputs, resulting in For example, in Asia, diets are shifting from a high
soil degradation.9 In Asia, there has been much more proportion of staples toward lower proportions of
intensification of cereal production through the staples and higher proportions of livestock and
use of fertilizer and irrigation, but, particularly in dairy products, fruits and vegetables, and fats and
the western Indo-Gangetic plains of South Asia, cur- oils.14,15
rent agricultural water use for cereal production is In the next section, we review how food system
unsustainable.10,11 transformation in LMICs can have positive and neg-
There have been rapid changes on the demand ative effects by exploring the links between agricul-
side. Food retail grew rapidly, beginning in the 1990s ture, food, and health.
in East Asia (outside of Japan and China), South
America, South Africa, and Central Europe. In the Links between agriculture, food,
late 1990s and 2000s, the “supermarket revolution” and health in the food system
arrived in China, Vietnam, India, and Russia, grow-
ing from 5% to 20% by the end of the 2000s.12 As Drivers of the double burden of malnutrition
Popkin observes, “There is a rapid growth of mod- Until recently, hunger and undernutrition in LMICs
ern retailing and consumption of consumer pack- were considered to be the primary nutrition prob-
aged foods and beverages and the shift of the food lems facing the international development com-
value chain from traditional traders and retailers to munity. By undernutrition, we mean underweight
one where supermarkets and food manufacturers (low weight for age), stunting (low height for age),
directly source food from farmers and traders.”6 wasting (low weight for height and weakness),

Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1392 (2017) 30–42 C 2017 The Authors. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 31
published by Wiley Periodicals Inc. on behalf of The New York Academy of Sciences.
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Pulses in food systems McDermott & Wyatt

Figure 2. Percent contribution of different drivers of the total estimated reductions in stunting in South Asia, 1970–2010. Reprinted
from Ref. 19.

and micronutrient deficient (deficient in vitamins Pathways and evidence for nutrition-sensitive
and minerals). There has been significant progress agriculture
in reducing the prevalence of stunting in LMICs Investment in agriculture can drive both eco-
over the past 25 years. However, slow and uneven nomic and human development. On average in
declines, particularly in Africa south of the Sahara LMICs, agriculture generates about 10% of GDP
and Southeast Asia, and variable progress within the and employs about 45% of the total labor force.22
same country mean there is still important work for There has been considerable effort to conceptualize
researchers and policymakers.16–18 the relationship between agricultural growth and
What are the drivers of undernutrition? Multi- nutrition by defining the causal pathways that con-
country analyses associate stunting with a range nect the two.23–27 Although the frameworks may dif-
of drivers: food, health and sanitation, and gen- fer in terms of definitions of the pathways or what
der and equity in the Smith and Haddad analysis factors they highlight, there are four broad areas
of 116 countries, and assets, women’s education, common across all: (1) food prices; (2) income from
and open defecation in the Headey, Hoddinott, and agriculture; (3) consumption of own production,
Park analyses of four countries in South Asia.19,20 primarily due to market imperfections; and (4) fac-
Figure 2, adapted from the Smith and Haddad anal- tors linked to gender. There is a consensus that these
ysis, demonstrates that food contributes a bit more areas linked to agricultural growth can influence
than one-third of the total estimated reduction in nutrition and health through multiple pathways—
the prevalence of stunting.19 Food and agriculture directly and indirectly.26 Figure 3 depicts an adapted
are important but not the only elements of improv- illustration of the pathways presented in Gillespie,
ing nutrition. Harris, and Kadiyala.23,24
At the same time, the number of children and On the basis of such conceptual pathways,
adults who are overweight and obese is rising nutrition-sensitive agricultural programs have been
in all regions and nearly all countries, includ- designed to have specific nutrition goals and to
ing in LMICs. Some countries that have reduced integrate both agriculture and nutrition inter-
undernutrition—like Brazil, China, and Chile— ventions (e.g., nutrition education and behavior-
have seen rapid increases in the prevalence of obe- change communication) to achieve them.25 In prac-
sity and related chronic disease.17,18,21 There are tice, nutrition-sensitive agriculture programs may
20 countries where high prevalence of the three or may not align with other types of interven-
forms of malnutrition—under-5 stunting, women tions from other sectors, such as water, sanitation
of reproductive age with anemia, and adult over- and hygiene, or health (e.g., immunization and
weight and obesity—overlap.17 promotion of use of community health services).

32 Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1392 (2017) 30–42 C 2017 The Authors. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

published by Wiley Periodicals Inc. on behalf of The New York Academy of Sciences.
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McDermott & Wyatt Pulses in food systems

Figure 3. Conceptual framework for the primary pathways between agriculture and nutrition. Reprinted from Ref. 24. Adapted
for Feed the Future by Anna Herforth, Jody Harris, and SPRING, from Gillespie, Harris, and Kadiyala (2012) and Headey, Chiu,
and Kadiyala (2011).

Consistent with what we understand to be the there has been considerable emphasis on food sys-
drivers of undernutrition, agricultural interventions tem frameworks and analysis in recent years.19,34–38
alone cannot be expected to have positive effects on Here, we focus on one food system framework,
reducing stunting if they fail to consider inequal- developed within the CGIAR Research Program on
ities that exist within households (gender biases, Agriculture for Nutrition and Health, that empha-
education) or within societal structures or aspects sizes demand and supply drivers of value chains and
of public health, like water and sanitation. their sustainability, health, and economic outcomes
There are many competing options for devel- (Fig. 4).39 This framework emphasizes consumption
opment investments, so strong evidence for likely and demand drivers as well as supply drivers in value
economic returns and development outcomes and chains; includes diet quality as a common determi-
impacts can strengthen one option over another. nant of both under- and overnutrition; considers
The economic case has been well made for economic and health impacts tracked by intermedi-
nutrition.28 Over the past few years, randomized ate outcomes; and includes both environmental and
controlled trials (RCTs) have investigated the evi- business sustainability outcomes—reflecting the
dence for a range of nutrition-sensitive agricultural growing importance of private sector actors for eco-
interventions, such as biofortification and improved nomic development. This framework builds on sin-
and diversified household food production. These gle production to consumption value chains—from
studies have demonstrated improvements in diet agricultural inputs and production through distri-
quality, micronutrient intake, and women’s knowl- bution, processing, consumption, and waste man-
edge and empowerment by combining agricultural agement. These multiple value chains then combine
interventions, gender empowerment, and nutrition into a food system within a dynamic economic, envi-
education.29–33 ronmental, social, and political national context and
consider multiple levels from local to global.
Nutrition-sensitive value chains in national Food system strategies and plans are now
food systems considered in larger development efforts, globally
While these program interventions demonstrably and nationally.17,40 As LMICs develop, there is
improve nutrition, the ultimate goal is to trans- increasing complexity of food supply chains as
form national food systems to improve socioeco- food systems transform. Most of the value addition
nomic and health status sustainably. The concept moves from primary agriculture to transport,
of food system transformation is appealing, and processing, retailing, and other activities. In food

Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1392 (2017) 30–42 C 2017 The Authors. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 33
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Pulses in food systems McDermott & Wyatt

Figure 4. Conceptual framework describing impact pathways of supply and demand side value chain interventions. Reprinted
from Ref. 39.

system transformation, the private sector plays a section, we explain these potential benefits in more
greater role, and the role of the public sector shifts detail.
to enabling public sector investments and policies.
There is also greater focus on influencing consumer Pulses in future food systems
behavior through marketing, behavior change com- Pulses, members of the legume family, include vari-
munication, and nutrition education. Diet quality eties of dried seeds, such as dried peas, edible beans,
assessments of food systems need to consider lentils, and chickpeas. Globally, the per capita con-
both adequacy of macro- and micronutrients and sumption of pulses is a relatively minor share of
moderation of sugar and high-density energy overall dietary intake (Fig. 1).2 One objective of
sources, salt, and fat consumption, all associated the International Year of Pulses (www.IYP2016.org)
with overweight and obesity and diet-related non- was to increase pulse consumption by encouraging
communicable diseases (NCDs), such as diabetes. people to eat a 60- to 100-g serving of pulses at
To date, food system transformation in LMICs least three to five times per week (up to 15–25 kg
has had the most success in improving food security per year). Per capita consumption of pulses is not
by increasing the supply while decreasing the prices widely measured. Total availability of pulses for food
of cereals and by increasing incomes for farmers and across countries ranges from approximately 2 kg per
other actors along value chains for both staples and capita per year in high-income countries to 10–15
perishable foods. However, sustainable food system kg in middle-income countries, mostly in Asia and
transformation cannot be achieved without pay- Latin America. For low-income countries in Africa
ing greater attention to environmental impacts and that produce pulses, the estimates are likely to be
more equitable human development. similar, although production and trade data are less
A food systems approach is very useful for consid- robust.41
ering the role of pulses, given the multiple poten- The proteins in pulses and cereals are comple-
tial development benefits—nutrition, health, and mentary, meaning that together they provide ade-
environmental—that pulses can provide. In the next quate amounts of all the essential amino acids.

34 Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1392 (2017) 30–42 C 2017 The Authors. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

published by Wiley Periodicals Inc. on behalf of The New York Academy of Sciences.
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McDermott & Wyatt Pulses in food systems

Pulses also provide essential micronutrients. Pulse production has lagged behind both cereal produc-
protein is a relatively large share of overall pro- tion and population growth.
tein consumption in low-income countries, rang- These production trends are also reflected in
ing from 10–35% in Africa and falling as incomes prices (Fig. 5). Globally, prices for five pulses—
grow.41 Rwanda, owing to high consumption of beans, broad beans, chickpeas, lentils, and peas—
beans, has the highest share in Africa. In China were relatively stable until the 1970s, when they
and high-income countries, protein from pulses started to rise. More recently, there was a sharp rise
represent only 1–2% of total protein consumption. in prices for pulses, particularly for broad beans,
The country with the greatest pulse consumption is lentils, and dry peas, whose prices more than dou-
India. Protein from pulses represents 12.7% of total bled between 2006 and 2008. The increased prices
protein in the Indian diet.41 for pulses contrasts with cereals. In Bangladesh,
Shifting consumer preferences have led to declin- prices for non-staple crops (largely pulses, roots,
ing shares of pulse consumption. This is despite and tubers) have roughly doubled while cereal prices
increasing evidence of the nutrition and health ben- have declined between 1975 and 1995.44 In India in
efits of pulse consumption.42,43 At the same time, recent years, there have been major price increases
there are underlying pulse supply inefficiencies that for both domestically produced pulses and imports
reduce pulse availability and access. Table 1 shows of higher-value pulses, such as pigeon peas and
the development of overall production and yields lentils. For food processing, use of lower-priced
per hectare (ha) in 11 major pulse-producing coun- dried yellow peas has dramatically increased in
tries and their principal pulse crops. Most of the recent years in both India and China.41,42
increase in pulse production through improved As can be seen from the trends in pulse produc-
pulse yields (doubling or tripling in the past tion and consumption described above, there are
20 years) comes from high-income (e.g., Canada, large differences in the role of pulses in national
the United States, and Australia) and non-India food systems. These reflect important national and
BRIC countries (Brazil, China, and Russia) but not subnational differences in ecological potential, eco-
from most LMICs.41,42 Between 1965 and 2014, the nomic development policy and investment, and
population grew by 160% and pulse production sociocultural practices. In the context of national
grew by 76%, while cereal production—which grew food system transformation using the framework in
by 266%—increased at 3.5 times the rate of growth Figure 4, we consider four key intervention areas
of pulse production. More recently (from 1999 to where pulses can contribute.39
2014), according to FAOSTAT, pulse production
has increased (45%) relative to cereals (38%) and Agricultural innovations to improve
population growth (24%).a Pulses that are traded the efficiency and effectiveness of pulse
globally are mainly dried peas and beans coming production
from Canada, the United States, and, more recently, As highlighted above, most improvements in pulse
Myanmar. Trade has increased less for chickpeas, production efficiency and supply have occurred in
lentils, and pigeon peas.42 high-income countries. There has been much less
In LMICs, pulses are produced on a smaller scale success in increasing pulse yields in mixed-crop
and as part of mixed-crop managed systems, largely smallholder systems in LMICs. However, there are
with cereals. In these agricultural systems, pulses can a few examples of interventions that have improved
complement cereals by fixing nitrogen and improv- yields and supply of pulses in smallholder systems.
ing soils. Yields per ha are relatively low, often Beans are an important component of Rwandan
much less than 1000 kg/ha, and have lagged behind diets. In the reconstruction after the 1994 genocide,
increases in cereal yields. Ethiopia is one exception the Ministry of Agriculture, the Rwanda Agricul-
with faster-growing yields.42 In LMICs overall, pulse ture Board, and the International Center for Trop-
ical Agriculture (CIAT) developed and extended,
through a coordinated effort, new varieties of beans.
Around 86% of farming households in Rwanda
a
Based on the authors’ own analyses of FAOSTAT data grow beans.45 The new varieties of beans yielded
accessed December 21, 2016. at least double the locally available alternatives. In

Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1392 (2017) 30–42 C 2017 The Authors. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 35
published by Wiley Periodicals Inc. on behalf of The New York Academy of Sciences.
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Pulses in food systems McDermott & Wyatt

Table 1. Evolution of overall production and yields per hectare (ha) in the major pulse-producing countries and
their principal pulse crops
Yield (kg/ha) Production (×1000 metric tons) Principal pulse crops
Country 1980–1982 1990–1992 2011–2013 1980–1982 1990–1992 2011–2013 2011–2013

Australia 888 1056 1352 228.2 1742.0 3050.0 Beans, dry; broad beans;
chick peas; cow peas,
dry; lentils; lupins;
peas, dry; pulses, nes;
vetches
Brazil 455 505 994 2440.5 2624.4 3054.6 Beans, dry; broad beans;
peas, dry
Canada 1516 1736 2197 248.7 824.6 5382.4 Beans, dry; chick peas;
lentils; peas, dry
China 1256 1347 1591 6517.4 3,726.8 4541.4 Beans, dry; broad beans;
chick peas; cow peas,
dry; lentils; peas, dry;
pulses, nes
Ethiopia 0.0 0.0 1522 0.0 0.0 2580.9 Beans, dry; broad beans;
chick peas; lentils; peas,
dry; pulses, nes; vetches
India 457 554 635 10,441.5 13,045.1 17,554.0 Beans, dry; chick peas;
lentils; peas, dry;
pigeon peas; pulses nes
Myanmar 655 641 1307 414.8 547.9 5,061.9 Beans, dry; chick peas;
cow peas, dry; peas,
dry; pigeon peas
Niger 222 113 313 273.3 343.9 1556.1 Bambara beans; beans,
dry; chick peas; cow
peas, dry; peas, dry;
pulses, nes
Nigeria 414 642 1080 615.7 1428.0 3866.8 Cow peas, dry and pulses,
nes
Russian 0.0 1365 1372 0.0 3080.6 2307.9 Beans, dry; broad beans;
Federation chick peas; lentils;
lupins; peas, dry;
pulses, nes; vetches
USA 1594 1813 1917 1551.2 1581.2 2030.7 Beans, dry; chick peas;
cow peas, dry; lentils;
peas, dry
Source: FAOSTAT data sets. Accessed August 15, 2016.
Notes: Pulses include FAO’s 11 categories of pulse types: dry bean, broad bean, cowpea, chickpea, pigeon pea, lentil, dry peas, Bambara
bean, lupin, vetch, and pulses, nes. Pulses, nes is an FAO category that includes pulses that do not fit in any of the other 10 categories
of pulses. Yield is calculated by dividing annual pulse production by area harvested and calculating the 3-year average in each period.

addition, systematic efforts were made to increase story has depended on the critical performance
the iron content of these new varieties to provide of government and public institutions in breed-
50% of the daily iron requirements through a ing and distributing new varieties and delivering
process called biofortification.45 These bioforti- extension services, all supported by international
fied iron beans, as they are known, have already research.
been adopted by approximately 30% of Rwandan The challenge for increasing production and
bean-growing households.46 The Rwandan success improving yields in smallholder farming systems

36 Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1392 (2017) 30–42 C 2017 The Authors. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

published by Wiley Periodicals Inc. on behalf of The New York Academy of Sciences.
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McDermott & Wyatt Pulses in food systems

Figure 5. Trends in average prices for certain pulses from 1961 to 2013, export price in USD.
Source: FAOSTAT data sets, accessed August 12, 2016.

in LMICs is in trying to support tens or hundreds to food companies and their demands for particular
of thousands (or even millions) of smallholders traits, such as increased fiber, protein, and specific
by integrating input supply, knowledge and prac- micronutrients.
tices, and access to output markets. Success in such
Innovations in logistics, processing,
integration has been achieved in some vertically
and marketing of pulses
integrated high-value crops for export markets and
As food supply chains lengthen, there needs to be
for milk marketed by cooperatives in India.47 For
much greater investment in value addition beyond
pulse production, one example of successful inte-
the farm. Innovations in logistics, storage, and han-
gration comes from India: the More Pulses (MoPu)
dling will be similar to those for cereals, except that
initiative of Tata Chemicals and Rallis India.48 In
the volume of pulses is much smaller. Innovations
selected states in India, Tata provides seeds, fertil-
in communication and institutional arrangements
izer, and other inputs; provides a knowledge pack-
will be critical in networking small- and medium-
age of agricultural practices; and offers farmers the
size entrepreneurs that can link producer groups
opportunity to sell their pulses through two Tata
and food processors and retailers. At present, supply
brands, the Rallis and i-Shakti pulse supply chains.48
chains for pulses in LMICs cannot supply sufficient
Often, farmers are able to use government grants for
or consistent quantities of pulses, which limits the
increasing pulse production to pay for the inputs.
ability of food companies and retailers from devel-
Initial experiences in MoPu intervention areas indi-
oping and promoting pulse-based foods, whether
cates that yields and incomes can double. There
processed or just graded and packaged. In India and
is potential to extend this integrated input–output
China, medium and large food processors often use
approach to other countries, particularly for higher-
imported pulses, such as yellow peas from Canada,
value pulses, such as chickpeas.
to assure sufficient supply in making noodles and
Research can play an important role in open-
other processed foods.
ing up new opportunities for pulse innovation by
Shorter pulse supply chains serving small
smallholder farmers.49 Both new, higher-yielding
and medium towns will also be important. The
and shorter-season varieties and good agricultural
inefficiencies of local millers in India have been
practices for integrating pulses into rice–wheat sys-
highlighted by the economist G. Chandrashekar,
tems in South Asia or maize or other crop–livestock
along with calls for a systematic upgrading of
systems in Africa will be important. Such research
milling infrastructure (personal communication
has been relatively neglected but could provide good
with author). Overall, demand for processed (par-
returns while also increasing food system sustain-
ticularly convenience) foods will increase. There are
ability by improving soil quality and water efficiency.
opportunities for pulses to contribute to improving
Varietal development also needs to be more sensitive

Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1392 (2017) 30–42 C 2017 The Authors. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 37
published by Wiley Periodicals Inc. on behalf of The New York Academy of Sciences.
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Pulses in food systems McDermott & Wyatt

the nutritional and health quality of processed states, there are concerted efforts to include the pur-
foods. In general, pulses provide more micronu- chase of pulses as well as cereals, in large part because
trients than cereals and can naturally improve pulses are acknowledged to have potential to address
micronutrient levels with or without additional for- protein deficiency.52 In Africa, the World Food
tification. One key constraint to pulse-based foods Program’s (WFP) Purchase for Progress program
is their long cooking times. Innovations to create seeks to source foods it distributes in Africa from
more instant pulse-based foods will be critical. smallholder farmers in the country or neighboring
Relative to cereals and soybeans, formulations for countries. The WFP is actively exploring expanding
including pulses in processed foods are not widely pulse purchases along with their more tradi-
developed or used in most countries. At present, tional cereal purchases.53 Other opportunities for
many mothers in LMICs struggle to get sufficiently demand-pull public purchases of pulses from small-
nutrient-dense foods to feed young children; there holders include broader development programs
is a considerable market opportunity for pulses (such as Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Program,
to be incorporated into complementary foods which has modified the food baskets participants
for young children.50 Another food processing receive to include pulses), as well as more targeted
demand that can be met with pulses is in the area school feeding and food voucher programs.37
of nutritionally complete foods to prevent and
treat undernutrition in humanitarian emergencies. Enabling policies and investments
Currently, many of the emergency foods provided In most LMICs, relative to cereals, pulses have
are based on groundnuts, but other pulses may been largely neglected by policy makers and public
provide a cheaper and aflatoxin-free alternative investors. As noted above, yields and overall pro-
that could be produced locally. duction have been much greater for cereals than
pulses in the last 50 years. This has also been
Interventions to increase demand for pulses reflected in relatively lower consumer prices for
In most low-income countries, lack of dietary diver- cereals and increasing prices for pulses. The pol-
sity among the poor remains a critical development icy distortions underlying these cereal–pulse trends
challenge. Nutrition education and behavior change have been assessed in India.54 Policy instruments
communication have been effective at increasing the have included input subsidies for cereal producers
diversity of food consumed by mothers and chil- (water, electricity, and fertilizer), increased public
dren, especially when combined with homestead investments in breeding and agronomy of cereals
food production and integrated into community relative to pulses and other crops, and price sup-
health services targeting women and children.29–33 port through high support prices and procurement
Beans and other pulses are ideal for use in of cereals for public food distribution programs.
these homestead food production and consumption Most of these policies were developed in the 1960s
systems. and 1970s to promote the Green Revolution goal
As noted, the expansion of demand for pulses was of national food security in cereals and were very
an important component of the International Year effective. In many other LMICs, policies and invest-
of Pulses. A number of marketing strategies have ments have focused on cereal production. However,
been employed, including branding, social market- now countries are expanding their policy goals from
ing campaigns, and cooking contests.40 Marketing food to nutrition security and seeking to use agricul-
by private sector companies can be very effective. ture to diversify diets and improve nutrition. This
In India, the i-Shakti branding of pulses, dals in requires a rebalancing of policy and investment,
particular, by Tata is a good example of what is pos- described by Pingali as crop-neutral policies.54 In
sible and could be further developed with improved India, there are some moves to re-balance poli-
supply chains.51 cies through increasing minimum support prices
In LMICs, efforts to increase demand through for pulses and including them in food distribution
programs that buy and distribute local agricultural systems in some states.52 Increasing public invest-
products have increased in recent years. The public ments in breeding and agronomy are also beginning,
distribution system (PDS) in India is the largest pub- but unwinding input subsidies for cereals is very
lic food distribution system in the world. In some difficult politically. Of particular importance will be

38 Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1392 (2017) 30–42 C 2017 The Authors. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

published by Wiley Periodicals Inc. on behalf of The New York Academy of Sciences.
 17496632, 2017, 1, Downloaded from https://nyaspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nyas.13319 by CAPES, Wiley Online Library on [06/09/2024]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
McDermott & Wyatt Pulses in food systems

reducing subsidies leading to the overuse of water in tion goals at the center of cross-ministerial action. A
the western Indo-Gangetic plains. As more sustain- recently completed analysis from India noted pos-
able water-use policies become necessary, there will itive albeit small investments, such as agricultural
have to be a change in crops, and increasing integra- missions directed at pulses and inclusion of coarse
tion of pulses would be an important component of grains and pulses into the PDS in some states and
such a strategy. enabling trade policies—such as temporary removal
While agricultural policies are important, con- of duty on import of pulses—that if combined
certed efforts for improving nutrition and health and/or scaled up could help create a healthy food
through pulse consumption must engage and con- system in India.66 Greater emphasis on improving
vince health policy makers. Public health invest- diet quality in health systems could accelerate this
ments focus on large health impacts, and, relative process.
to other sectors, investment decisions are based on
Translating opportunities to actions
rigorous evidence from RCTs, meta-analyses, and
systematic reviews. For example, in the Rwanda We have described a number of opportunities to
iron bean example, evidence was crucial for gain- enhance the contribution of pulses in improving
ing cross-sectoral support from both agriculture nutrition and health through food systems and
and health ministries and from the Prime Minis- value chains in LMICs. However, translating these
ter’s office for investments in scaling up biofortifi- into actions and results will require cooperation and
cation. Recent results from an RCT concluded that coordination between public and private actors and
Rwandan women who consumed iron beans showed among multiple sectors—particularly food, agricul-
significantly improved iron status compared with ture, nutrition and health, and social development.
women who consumed regular beans.55 This study With economic development, the relative role of
is part of a growing body of convincing evidence the private sector in food systems increases dramat-
that the common bean is a good vehicle for iron ically. In LMICS, most food is produced by small-
biofortification.56 The health evidence, combined holders, marketed for smaller-scale market agents,
with the promising yield data, has been packaged and processed by smaller enterprises, but public
into a public awareness campaign that leverages the sector support is usually relatively large. With eco-
power of mass media and pop music stars to edu- nomic development, larger commercial companies
cate Rwandans on micronutrient deficiencies and play a greater role in the food system, and the public
the benefits of iron beans.57 sector plays less of an active and more of an enabling
One high-impact area that the health sector is and regulating role. Increasingly, large private com-
increasingly interested in mitigating is the bur- panies consider both sustainability and health
den of overweight and obesity and diet-associated considerations along with their necessary emphasis
NCDs.58,59 This is a global problem and is increas- on profit. This is the so-called triple bottom line
ingly important in LMICs where deaths due to of profit, planet, and people, which examines the
NCDs are disproportionately increasing. In addi- company’s financial, environmental, and social
tion to the health burden, the economic impacts are performance over time. Beyond the imperative
enormous. In India, current health system expen- for sound business plans, most large food and
ditures are approximately 4% of the GDP, which food-processing companies have detailed social
could dramatically rise toward 10–18% of GDP lev- responsibility plans that address environmental
els in high-income countries if current obesity and sustainability. Social responsibility plans that
NCD trends continue.60 There is a growing body include the provision of healthy foods are generally
of high-quality evidence on the potential for pulse less common, but, as can be seen above, there are
consumption to moderate consumption and reduce strong imperatives to consider health.
obesity, including systematic reviews demonstrating This linking of innovations for wealth, sus-
health effects, such as reduced cholesterol, glycemia, tainability, and health has led to the concept of
and blood pressure.61–65 A focus on diet quality will convergent innovation.67 As systems become more
be an increasingly important area of cross-sectoral complex, convergence is important. A simple exam-
intervention in LMICs in the future. Maharastra and ple is the change in policy required to move from
other Indian states are increasingly placing nutri- food security to consider healthy and sustainable

Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1392 (2017) 30–42 C 2017 The Authors. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 39
published by Wiley Periodicals Inc. on behalf of The New York Academy of Sciences.
 17496632, 2017, 1, Downloaded from https://nyaspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nyas.13319 by CAPES, Wiley Online Library on [06/09/2024]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
Pulses in food systems McDermott & Wyatt

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