Written by Tom Allen-Stevens
Download PDF Massive demand for plant-based protein puts the spotlight on peas and beans to deliver for the UK market. CPM delves into the research aimed at putting varieties on farm that will meet the challenge. PCGIN is one of the feathers in the cap of the support Defra brings to UK Agriculture. By Tom Allen-Stevens A crop that fixes its own nitrogen from the air, is nutrient-rich, with properties that offer a wide range of established health benefits and one that is actually carbon positive in most of its applications: such a crop should surely be heralded and championed? Pulse crops are widely considered to represent a whole family of this wonder produce, but even the most widely grown – peas and beans – are minor crops in the UK. NFU agrifood policy delivery manager Jack Watts believes it’s a missed opportunity that’s come about through decades of policy neglect. “Pulses come with built-in public good, so present a dual purpose for society and farmers alike,” he notes. The EU currently imports around 90% of its protein requirement, with soybean and soya meal imports into the UK alone between 2.5-3M tonnes/yr. “EU policy for the past 40 years has…
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