Rome, Italy
February 10, 2021
Each year, on 10 February, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), governments around the world and their partners mark World Pulses Day in recognition of pulses’ nutritional benefits as well as contribution to sustainable agri-food systems and a world without hunger.
This year’s World Pulses Day theme is Love Pulses – for a healthy diet and planet.
The United Nations General Assembly in 2018 first designated 10 February as World Pulses Day and FAO as the lead agency for the Day, following the success of the 2016 International Year of Pulses led by FAO.
Why pulses? What you need to know:
- Pulses - the edible seeds of legume plants, such as lentils, chickpeas and Bambara beans - are rich in nutritional value, an important part of a healthy diet, and a good source of protein and micronutrients.
- Pulses have a higher selling price than other staple crops, offering an important cash crop opportunity to smallholder farmers.
- Pulses are known for their ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen, catalyzing the creation of high-quality organic matter in soils and facilitate water retention. These characteristics help farmers optimize their use of fertilizers and energy in arable agricultural systems, which also reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
- Growing pulses needs less water compared to other protein sources, and is vital to biodiversity. For example, intercropping with pulses increases farm biodiversity and creates a more diverse landscape for animals and insects.
- Pulses can be stored for months without losing their high nutritional value, providing increased food availability between harvests.
As we can see, pulses can help rendering our agri-food systems more sustainable, and are critical to addressing the challenges of poverty, food security, human health and nutrition, and environment. Overall, pulses play an essential role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
To raise awareness about the importance of pulses, FAO is organizing the following events:
Global event on 12 February 2021
A virtual ceremony with live speeches/statements and video messages from FAO Director-General QU Dongyu; Permanent Observer of the Holy See to FAO Monsignor Fernando Chica Arellano on behalf of Pope Francis; Argentina’s First Lady Fabiola Yáñez; ministers of agriculture from India and France - Narendra Singh Tomar, Julien Denormandie, and representative of China’s minister of agriculture, Renjian Tang; FAO Permanent Representatives of Burkina Faso and Argentina - Joséphine Ouedraogo, Carlos Bernardo Cherniak; UN Food System Summit 2021 Special Envoy Agnes Kalibata; President of Global Pulse Confederation 2021 Cindy Brown; World Trade Organization Counsellor Diwakar Dixit; and FAO Deputy Director-General Beth Bechdol. (Draft programme).
The event will take place between 15:00-17.00 Rome time. Register here or follow the event via live webcast here.
Event in New York on 10 February 2021
A virtual event with the participation of: FAO Deputy Director-General Beth Bechdol; President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council and Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations in New York Munir Akram; Permanent Representatives of Burkina Faso, Guyana, and Malawi to the United Nations - Eric Y. Tiare, Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett, Perks Master Clemency Ligoya. It will also feature a panel to discuss the benefits of pulses. More info about the programme here.
The event will take place between 13:00-14:30 New York time. Register here or follow the event via live webcast here.
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