Can I Offer You Some Legumes In This Trying Time?

How legumes can foster sustainable farming and improve livelihoods

As we enter 2023, COVID-19 (thankfully) seems to be increasingly taking a back seat as other issues (unfortunately) are becoming increasingly prevalent. Namely, inflation has dethroned COVID-19 as the top global conversation piece as almost everything everywhere has become noticeably more expensive and unaffordable for many. 

In 2022 the global inflation rate reached 8.75%, significantly higher compared to the 2008 global financial crisis which saw global inflation reach 6.34%. What's particularly worrying is the cost of food, which has stubbornly remained high despite efforts to reduce inflationary pressures. While food prices have increased between 6-12% on average in Canada and the United States, this pales in comparison to many developing countries that have seen devastating rises in food prices with countries like Zimbabwe experiencing a  285% increase in food prices. These horrific increases in food prices are not isolated to one region but can be seen all over the world with Argentina experiencing a 95% increase, Türkiye at 77%, Ghana at 60%, and many more countries grappling with crippling food prices.   

Source: Bloomberg

Blaming the eye-watering rise in food costs solely on COVID-19 is misleading, as multiple different factors were at play that led to the current situation we find ourselves in. Factors you might expect, such as continued supply-chain issues and the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian War are indeed big factors. However, 2022 has been an awful year for farmers and crop cultivation due to extreme weather patterns exacerbated by climate change. 2022 broke temperature records all over the world with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees celsius in Europe, extreme droughts plaguing North America, and heavier-than-normal rain flooding Asia has resulted in many staple crops being neutralized or unharvestable. 

For example, California was only able to cultivate 250,000 acres worth of rice from the typical 500,000+ acres - resulting in over $1.3B worth of economic loss, and over 14,000 agricultural workers losing their jobs. Additionally, maize, another staple crop, has experienced much lower yields as extreme temperatures have delayed planting for many farmers. The situation was so dire that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) predicted that 2022 yielded 9 million tonnes less corn compared to 2021, which will have ripple effects throughout the industry. For example, cattle farmers who rely heavily on maize as the primary feed for cattle are likely to keep beef prices elevated throughout 2023, further contributing to higher food prices.

Another less-discussed but alarming symptom that has been accelerated due to climate change is soil degradation. It is estimated that a third of the planet’s entire landmass is already severely degraded, and annually it is estimated that over 24 billion tonnes of fertile soil is being lost. Furthermore, the Joint Research Center (JRC) estimates that as a result of soil degradation, 20% of the world’s croplands are experiencing decreases in productivity while affecting 27% of rangeland (rangeland refers to land used for cattle/ livestock farming) productivity. The loss in productivity is most significant in the sub-Saharan African region but is also prevalent in Europe; it is estimated that if current soil degradation were to continue, the United Kingdom will run out of fertile soil in 30-40 years. Unfortunately, soil degradation is expected to continue as food demand continues to increase largely driven by wealthier nations. 

To meet demands, farmers have proliferated their usage of agrochemicals such as fertilizers, pesticides and other growth chemicals that have resulted in a threefold increase in cultivation in the past 20 years; however, at the cost of long-term soil sustainability. As mentioned previously, soil degradation that results in decreased land productivity will disproportionately affect the developing regions where farmers will have no choice but to expand their farms to achieve previous productivity levels; putting further financial hardship on farmers and exacerbating soil degradation, creating an unsustainable feedback loop. 

Now after three paragraphs of doom and gloom, you are probably expecting me to reveal some sort of ground-breaking technological solution that will fix all of the problems I have outlined above. Unfortunately, I do not have such solutions, and if you read the title you know what I am about to say is nuts. 

Legumes (which consist of peas, beans, and some nuts) can serve as a humble solution to address elements of soil degradation. There are over 16,000 types of legumes; however, we will be primarily focusing on grain legumes such as lentils, peanuts, chickpeas, and soybeans as these are also among the most commonly cultivated legumes around the world. The key selling point of legumes is their ability to retain nitrogen, a crucial element in determining the soil’s fertility. Studies show legumes are capable of retaining 250-500 pounds of nitrogen per acre, which has the potential to yield billions of dollars worth of savings for farmers worldwide that would have been spent on nitrogen fertilizers. 

Furthermore, it is estimated that despite over 110 metric tonnes of nitrogen fertilizers being used for agriculture on an annual basis, only 30-50% of this nitrogen is productively used by the crop, resulting in excess nitrogen being released into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change, as nitrogen also acts as a greenhouse gas. Due to recent inflationary pressures, nitrogen-based fertilizers are trading for $751/ tonne in 2023, legumes can be bought for a fraction of the price while mitigating excess carbon that would have been generated through the production and transportation of the fertilizer. 

Oftentimes, farms would focus on cultivating a handful of staple crops, namely cereals, and maize, among others. This practice of "mono-culture" has been an important factor in the rapid degradation of soil quality along with proliferating pests and plant-based diseases, which has severely impacted cultivation rates in farms across the world. In addition to playing a crucial role in replenishing the soil with nitrogen, chemicals released by legumes have been shown to improve water retention along with nutrient circulation that preserves soil health, which helps reduce the ills of mono-cropping. Farms that have implemented legume rotations with cereal farming have seen a boost in crop yields year-over-year along with a staggering 56% reduction in emissions on a per-hectare basis when legumes preceded wheat. Traditionally, legumes have been predominantly grown in Asia; however, given the bountiful benefits that the crops offer, legume cultivation has dramatically increased in North America, Africa, and South America, where an increasing number of farmers have realized the benefits of incorporating legumes into their farms. 

Not only are legumes beneficial for soil regeneration and improving crop health and yields, but they can also serve to improve the lives of millions. Legumes are naturally rich in nutrients and are much more effective in providing these compared to other cereal crops like rice. For example, if a family of seven requires a total of 60kg of protein a year, this could be satisfied with 165kg of soybeans or 290kg of common beans which can be easily cultivated in a small plot of land, while excess can be sold to local markets. While this is an oversimplified example, it demonstrates that legumes can fill nutritional gaps while providing farmers with an improved livelihood; such examples of this have been demonstrated throughout East Africa. 

This is not to say that legumes alone will solve our current food crisis; however, today when the world seems to be fixated on high-tech solutions to solve the world’s most challenging problems, low-tech solutions like a humble legume plant can play a huge role in solving some of humanity’s dire challenges.