United Nations proclaimed 2016 to be the International Year of Pulses -- which most Australians call "legumes." Being among the 40 participating countries in the initiative which is set to be launched worldwide early next year, Australia is now preparing for the grand event.
Australian Food News reported that the legume industry in the land down under contributes a total of AUD$1.6 billion annually to the Australian economy. As a matter of fact, that made the country one of the largest legumes exporters in the world which include lupins, lentils, chickpeas, soybeans and several varieties of peas and beans.
Despite the increased exports driven by flourishing international demand, Australians struggle to name the grain. ABC informed that the price of pulses has enforced farmers to allocate more land to other leguminous plant such as beans, lentils and chickpeas. On 2014, these legumes have a total planting area up by 20 percent. Additionally, the prominent part of South Australia's cropping belt called Yorke Peninsula was locked in for pulses this year with a total of 17 percent of land allocation.
UN endorsed 12 varieties of pulses, during its announcement on Tuesday in Rome, which will contribute to food security and sustainable agriculture in the future. However, it was emphasized that local consumption of grains is in reverse despite the fact that the export value of pulses such as lentils doubled up since year 2011.
Pulse Australia's Mary Raynes stated that year 2016 marked five years of preparation to boost the profile of pulses with shoppers. "We just wanted to get the profile of pulses on everybody's agenda, in creating awareness of the health benefits and also the sustainability of pulses, both environmental and economically," she proclaimed.
AFN also reported that UN will utilize the calendar year to reach its objective of growing legume production by 20 percent before 2020. Furthermore, it also targets to help develop market access to facilitate local, national and international trade, and to upsurge consumption by 10 percent.
