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Elita Chikwati : Agriculture Reporter

Government has encouraged farmers to grow pulses which perform well under harsh climatic conditions in order to boost nutrition and food security. Pulses are annual leguminous crops such as beans, cowpeas and lentils among others. Agriculture Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Minister Dr Joseph Made made the call at the International Year of Pulses (IYP) official nomination ceremony for special ambassador of Africa in Harare yesterday.Masvingo communal farmer Mrs Elizabeth Mpofu was nominated the African special ambassador for the IYP.

The 68th United Nations General Assembly declared 2016 the International Year of Pulses.

In a speech read on his behalf by permanent secretary, Mr Ringson Chitsiko, Dr Made said pulses are a key component of a healthy diet and a good source of vegetable protein.

He said pulses brought numerous advantages to farmers and local communities.

“The prominence given to pulses is relevant for the African continent where food and nutrition security are a major issue. It is estimated that 795 million people around the world are undernourished, and almost all the 780 million hungry people live in developing countries.

“Food security and nutrition are therefore important and strategic issues that require multi-sectorial coordination at the highest level.

“Pulses reduce the risk of total crop failure in multiple systems and thus improve food security,” he said.

He said by addressing the issue of food and nutrition security, Government did not only improve the welfare of citizens, but also enhanced economic growth.

“The IYP is in line with Government’s commitment to addressing food and nutrition security situation in the country which is articulated in the Zim-Asset,” he said.

Climate change has threatened agriculture production and productivity as evidenced by the 2015/16 rainfall season, which was the worst in 35 years.

Dr Made said farmers could improve soil fertility and increase biodiversity by growing pulses.

“The IYP represents the unique opportunity to raise awareness on the potential pulses in the agriculture sector and provide additional impulse to increase their production at global level.

“We are confident that Mrs Mpofu with her knowledge and influence will intensify the message that increases production and consumption of pulses to improve livelihoods of people in Africa,” he said.

FAO sub-regional co-ordinator for Southern Africa and representative for Zimbabwe, Mr David Phiri, said FAO’s director-general José Graziano da Silva, nominated six special ambassadors with Mrs Mpofu representing the African region.

“Mrs Mpofu is an agro-ecological farmer who held various leadership positions since the 1990s. She is a member of the International Co-ordination Committee and the general co-ordinator of La Via Campesina, an international peasants’ movement with a membership of over 200 million farmers from about 164 local and national organisations in 73 countries from Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas.

“She was very instrumental in establishing the Eastern and Southern Africa Organic Farmers Forum and currently also chairs the Zimbabwe Smallholder Organic Farmers Forum (ZIMSOFF),” he said.

Mr Phiri said Mrs Mpofu is expected to support FAO and other partners in raising awareness of the significant contribution of pulses to food security and nutrition, raise awareness on the positive impact of pulses to climate change, human health, and soil biology and, motivate relevant stakeholders to take advantage of the IYP to encourage connections throughout the food productionchain among other things.

Mrs Mpofu said she was glad to represent Africa.

“The majority of smallholder farmers in Africa and elsewhere are women, yet their contributions are not fully recognised and under-represented. Women’s immense contribution to farming and food production is not captured in official statistics and are also discriminated against when it comes to access to and control over the land in most African countries. To have an effective awareness about the important contribution of pulses to food security and nutrition, we need to address these deficiencies through policy reforms.

“Women and children, particularly in rural communities are on the frontlines of hunger. These hungry people live on poor income and high risk farming areas in East, Central and Southern Africa. If pulses are to contribute towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals related to hunger by 2030, our campaign should have the women at the centre,” she said.