Pulses take the stage in flagship partnership
Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the Global Pulse Confederation (GPC) have agreed on a three-year partnership to promote cultivation of foods such as lentils, dry beans, dry peas and chickpeas and to advocate for their high nutritional values.
The agreement “provides a framework for the FAO and the GPC to demonstrate leadership in the development of the global pulse sector”, said Cindy Brown, Board President of the Global Pulse Confederation, which has 24 national association as well as 600 private-sector members.
For FAO, closer ties will build on the successful collaboration with the International Year of Pulses celebrated in 2016, for which the GPC became the main donor. The new partnership aims to move from advocacy to on-the-ground actions including a pilot programme in Burkina Faso and mapping out ways to leverage value chains for products such as cowpeas and Bambara beans.
FAO and the GPC will work together to boost the visibility of World Pulses Day – February 10 – around the world, with the GPC using its networks to encourage greater private-sector participation.
They will also cooperate to identify at least three investment opportunities involving at least 1 000 smallholders each and pitching the plan to potential investors. To support that, FAO will conduct value-chain analyses using its AgrInvest framework in selected countries, while the GPC will analyse the discovered opportunities and propose business plans to investors and donors.