Food System

Legumes, a neglected wealth

October 12, 2018

Italy’s legume production resumes growth, yet suffers from ‘low-cost‘ foreign competition

Legumecultivation in Italy, which has declined drastically since the 1960s, is growing again. Particularly for chickpeas and lentils. However, the recovery is threatened by ‘low-cost‘ foreign competition, which continues to dominate the domestic market.

Dependence on foreign legumes does not benefit the conservation of Italian soils. Legumes-beans, lentils, chickpeas,peas, broad beans-are indeed a valuable resource for the agricultural land. Since protein crops, sown in rotation with cereals such as wheat, naturally enrich soils.

Table of Contents

Legumes, a reversal of the trend in Italy

Domestic production of chickpeas and lentils is bringing Italy back to prominence. Eighth in Europe, with about 200,000 tons of product, in total production of dried legumes. This is according to the report on legumes and protein crops-in the world, European and Italian markets-presented in Bologna, Oct. 5.10.18, by the research institute Areté, commissioned by the Agrifood Cooperatives Alliance.

In 2017, the approximately 100,000 hectares cultivated in the Bel Paese (+35%) produced 190,000 tons (+37%) of legumes. Particularly notable is the increase in the crops of chickpeas (+72 percent, second in Europe only to Spain), lentils (+60 percent, fifth largest in Europe) and peas (+52 percent).

The value of legumes in the field

Dried legume production in Italy has declined dramatically over the past half century. From 640,000 tons at one time to 135,000 tons in 2010, there has been a decline of 81 percent. Which has inevitably resulted in the depletion of agricultural soils.

In fact, legumes release nitrogen to the soils where they are grown. This characteristic has earned them the name of ‘improving’ crops, as they are precisely capable of improving the productivity of farmland. In rotation with cereals (soft and hard wheat, barley, spelt, rye), they reduce the use of agrotoxics. (1)

Foreign competition ‘
low-cost
‘

In spite of the recovery

of native crops, the Italian legume market continues to depend on foreign
to a significant extent. In 2016, our country imported 65 percent of legumes used for direct consumption and further processing. Almost double the European average of 33 percent.

The price of foreign legumes Is undoubtedly competitive. Their large-scale production has drastically lower costs, despite the fact that the territories are less suited to such crops. To the extent that drying, in cold climates.
(Canada and Central Asia),

is achieved by resorting to chemistry

instead of nature.

The absence of news about the

origin

on the label in turn plays a decisive role in consumers’ unknowing choices. Who would certainly be inclined to favor the purchase of food

Made in Italy

(all the more so since these are

commodities

, cheap vegetable protein). But the regulation ‘

Origin Planet Earth

‘

has effectively ruled out-or at any rate thwarted, with entirely generic wording (‘

EU/non-EU’

) – the requirement to indicate the origin of the primary ingredient. (2)

Unsuspecting consumers They will therefore continue to predominantly purchase legumes dried with agrotoxins in distant countries. Until they are put in a position to make truly informed choices, thanks to the dutiful labeling of the origin of raw materials. In fact, as European citizens demand, in thepopular initiative ‘Eat ORIGINal! ‘Unmask your food’, which Great Italian Food Trade unreservedly supports.

Marta Strinati and Dario Dongo

Notes

(1) Cf. ‘

Minor legumes (chickpea, lentil, chickling vetch, broad bean).

‘, monograph edited by Massimo Zaccardelli and others, 2009, at

https://www.politicheagricole.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeAttachment.php/L/IT/D/e252F1252F7252FD.070973f9d78d99d49494/P/BLOB3AID%3D9712/E/pdf

(2) See reg. EU 2018/775

Marta Strinati

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Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".