Cultivation of legumes deserves more attention
Wednesday, 23 February 2011
The government is reportedly upbeat about tripling rice production in the 'Aus' season and has imported five tonnes of 'super seeds' from Uganda for the purpose. If all goes well this should lessen Bangladesh's worries over rising grain prices in the international market. But while grain production is important it appears that successive governments' focus on round-the-year production of the staple has neglected the place of legumes in the diet. Land under the cultivation of lentils/pulses has declined by as much as a hundred thousand hectares over the past decade, according to one estimate. As a consequence, the average daily intake of lentils or daal, considered the 'poor man's meat', has fallen drastically. It is said to be no more than 15 grams, just a third of the per capita requirement recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Under circumstances where meat, fish, milk and eggs (class A proteins) are no longer affordable for the average citizen, lentils, with their class B vegetable protein, do help balance the diet somewhat. Lentils may not have all the essential amino acids needed for growth and repair of the brain and body, but it is certainly better than no protein at all. This is why all kinds of pulses, including a rich variety of other seeds and nuts, are considered indispensable in the vegetarian diet ---- which is 'completed' with a generous addition of some milk-based food.
In the mid 1990s, the country was able to meet about 80 per cent of the demand for lentils and legumes through domestic production. But by 2003 import had gone up to nearly 50 per cent. A couple of years ago it was announced that the government would be addressing this deficit problem through a Taka 240 million project to enhance the per capita availability of lentils by two grams at least. Bangladeshi scientists have reportedly developed 27 new high-yielding varieties of lentils, including chickpeas. The yield from these varieties, however, has not been up to expectations. They are found to be more pest-prone than the traditional varieties. The latter may yield less per hectare but are clearly hardier and tastier, and do not need expensive agrochemical inputs. They are, therefore, worth salvaging, according to organic activists who are trying to recover the lost seeds that farmers here have been cultivating for centuries.
It is reassuring to learn that the government means to improve the per capita availability of lentils. But averages can hardly come close enough to the real picture. With pulses and ordinary vegetables getting costlier and even low-value fish selling at high prices, most people's meals have become terribly inadequate. This is compounded by the general ignorance as to what constitutes a balanced diet. The expert opinion is that the relative proportions of the various foodstuffs in the diet should be such that about two-thirds of the energy requirement is provided by complex carbohydrates (cereals, roots, fruits and vegetables), one-sixth by fats, and one-sixth by proteins (at least one-fifth of this protein coming from animal sources, meat milk, fish and eggs, and the rest from vegetable proteins like legumes and other seeds and nuts). Although these proportions can be varied to suit the special conditions and special needs of different people at different times, the principles are the same. National leaders, therefore, need to attend not only to securing the staple grain but the other essentials as well.
Under circumstances where meat, fish, milk and eggs (class A proteins) are no longer affordable for the average citizen, lentils, with their class B vegetable protein, do help balance the diet somewhat. Lentils may not have all the essential amino acids needed for growth and repair of the brain and body, but it is certainly better than no protein at all. This is why all kinds of pulses, including a rich variety of other seeds and nuts, are considered indispensable in the vegetarian diet ---- which is 'completed' with a generous addition of some milk-based food.
In the mid 1990s, the country was able to meet about 80 per cent of the demand for lentils and legumes through domestic production. But by 2003 import had gone up to nearly 50 per cent. A couple of years ago it was announced that the government would be addressing this deficit problem through a Taka 240 million project to enhance the per capita availability of lentils by two grams at least. Bangladeshi scientists have reportedly developed 27 new high-yielding varieties of lentils, including chickpeas. The yield from these varieties, however, has not been up to expectations. They are found to be more pest-prone than the traditional varieties. The latter may yield less per hectare but are clearly hardier and tastier, and do not need expensive agrochemical inputs. They are, therefore, worth salvaging, according to organic activists who are trying to recover the lost seeds that farmers here have been cultivating for centuries.
It is reassuring to learn that the government means to improve the per capita availability of lentils. But averages can hardly come close enough to the real picture. With pulses and ordinary vegetables getting costlier and even low-value fish selling at high prices, most people's meals have become terribly inadequate. This is compounded by the general ignorance as to what constitutes a balanced diet. The expert opinion is that the relative proportions of the various foodstuffs in the diet should be such that about two-thirds of the energy requirement is provided by complex carbohydrates (cereals, roots, fruits and vegetables), one-sixth by fats, and one-sixth by proteins (at least one-fifth of this protein coming from animal sources, meat milk, fish and eggs, and the rest from vegetable proteins like legumes and other seeds and nuts). Although these proportions can be varied to suit the special conditions and special needs of different people at different times, the principles are the same. National leaders, therefore, need to attend not only to securing the staple grain but the other essentials as well.