Beans and Sustainable Agriculture:.

Pulses are an amazing protein and might save the Planet,Pulses like chickpea and pigeonpea contribute towards the new Sustainable Development Goals to reduce poverty and hunger, improve health and gender equity, promote responsible consumption and help adapt to climate change. Beans as a means for sustainable agriculture for the following reasons; 1)Lower Carbon footprint. 2) Water . 3) Nitrogen Fixing & Soil Microbial Diversity. Pulses have a lower carbon footprint in production than most animal sources of protein. One study showed that one kilogram of legume only emits 0.5kg in Co2 equivalent, whereas 1kg of beef produces 9.5 kg in CO2 equivalent . Lentils are one of the foodstuff that contributes the least emissions, far fewer than turkey, salmon or other common sources of protein. How do Beans reduce Carbon Emissions? 1)Low water use results in low energy use. 2)Reduces nonrenewable energy in the entire crop rotation by 22-24%. 3)Pulse-Pulse-Wheat cropping has 34% less carbon footprint compared to a Cereal-Cereal-Wheat cropping pattern. 4) Better farming practices, including use of pulse crops, can lower the average carbon footprint by 24 to 37%. 5) Nitrogen fertilizers contribute to carbon footprint as its energy footprint is over 7.5 times more than other fertilizers such as phosphate and potash. 6) Pulses help reduce use of chemical fertilizers by fixing nitrogen. continue