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UN PhotoFAO / WORLD PULSES DAY 2026
STORY: FAO / WORLD PULSES DAY 2026
TRT: 3:17
SOURCE: FAO
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT FAO ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: ARABIC / ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 5 FEBRUARY 2026, ROME, ITALY
JUNE 2025, BEKAA REGION, LEBANON
1. Various shots, chickpeas fields in Bekaa region in Lebanon.
2. Various shots, farmers receiving training on chickpea production
3. Wide shot, farmer Bilal Abdul Karim Muhammad attending the FAO training.
4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic), Bilal Abdul Karim Muhammad chickpea producer: “The training was very useful. They taught us many important things about chickpea, including sterilization to ensure food safety, eliminate spoilage microorganisms and extend shelf life. We have been using copper sulphate for seed treatment, but now we learned how to use less expensive, more practical reliable and effective methods.”
5. Various shots, hummus production in a Lebanese restaurant
6. SOUNDBITE (Arabic), Bilal Abdul Karim Muhammad chickpea producer: “Chickpeas are important and contribute to food security. Ultimately, your body needs chickpeas. You can eat them raw. You can eat them cooked. They’re used a lot in restaurants. When you grow chickpeas in Lebanon, you save Lebanese treasury dollars instead of spending them abroad. It's a very good return. At the same time, it contributes to food production cycle in Lebanon.”
7. Various shots, farmers receiving on-field training on chickpeas production
5 FEBRUARY 2026, ROME, ITALY
8. Tracking shot, Chikelu Mba, Deputy Director of the FAO Plant Production and Protection Division
9. SOUNDBITE (English), Chikelu Mba, Deputy Director of the FAO Plant Production and Protection Division: “Pulses contain proteins, minerals and fibres, much more than any other types of crops. And in many parts of the world where access to animal protein is constrained either by economic, social or religious considerations, pulses are the only sources of these important nutrients.”
JUNE 2025, BEKAA REGION, LEBANON
10. Various shots, pulses sold in a shop in Lebanon
5 FEBRUARY 2026, ROME, ITALY
11. SOUNDBITE (English), Chikelu Mba, Deputy Director of the FAO Plant Production and Protection Division: “Pulses are, interestingly, the only types of crops, or even by extension, plants, that enrich the soil. Pulses are able to trap atmospheric nitrogen and convert these gases into nutrients in a form that they sustain other plants and other crops.”
JUNE 2025, BEKAA REGION, LEBANON
12. Med shot, chickpea plan in Bekaa region in Lebanon.
For generations, chickpeas have been at the heart of Lebanese cuisine. From the creamy texture of hummus (smooth chickpea dip) to the crunch of falafel (deep-fried chickpea balls), chickpeas are woven into the country's cultural identity, with domestic consumption averaging 3.25 kilograms per person each year.
Despite favourable growing conditions, local production has struggled to meet national demand, and Lebanon currently imports more than 70 percent of the chickpeas it consumes.
Limited access to quality seeds of suitable varieties and outdated cultivation practices, among other issues, have long hampered its production, pushing many farmers away from a pulse with numerous benefits for both nutrition and the environment.
Through enhanced access to the quality seeds of improved varieties, training and field demonstrations, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is supporting farmers in Lebanon to improve or expand chickpea cultivation through its One Country One Priority Product (OCOP) initiative.
A farmer for over four decades, Bilal Abdul Karim Muhammad has received training to improve productivity and sustainability.
SOUNDBITE (Arabic), Bilal Abdul Karim Muhammad chickpea producer: “The training was very useful. They taught us many important things about chickpea, including sterilization to ensure food safety, eliminate spoilage microorganisms and extend shelf life. We have been using copper sulphate for seed treatment, but now we learned how to use less expensive, more practical reliable and effective methods.”
The Lebanese government aims to increase local chickpea production to meet 40 percent of the national demand by 2030, ensure that the produce are of premium quality standards and thereby boost decent employment across the crop’s value chain. Through the OCOP initiative, FAO is supporting these scaling efforts by developing farmer capacity and accessible technical resources, and strengthening the chickpea sector at the national level.
Bilal believes that the initiative contributes to the country’s “food security.”
SOUNDBITE (Arabic), Bilal Abdul Karim Muhammad chickpea producer: “Chickpeas are important and contribute to food security. Ultimately, your body needs chickpeas. You can eat them raw. You can eat them cooked. They’re used a lot in restaurants. When you grow chickpeas in Lebanon, you save Lebanese treasury dollars instead of spending them abroad. It's a very good return. At the same time, it contributes to food production cycle in Lebanon.”
Versatile, nutritious, and affordable, pulses like chickpeas are a source of protein and micronutrients. They contribute to fighting hunger and malnutrition around the world, explains Chikelu Mba, Deputy Director of the FAO Plant Production and Protection Division, ahead of 2026 World Pulses Day (February 10).
SOUNDBITE (English), Chikelu Mba, Deputy Director of the FAO Plant Production and Protection Division: “Pulses contain proteins, minerals and fibres, much more than any other types of crops. And in many parts of the world where access to animal protein is constrained either by economic, social or religious considerations, pulses are the only sources of these important nutrients.”
These hardy crops also protect the environment, since they require fewer external inputs, adapt to harsh environments, and leave a lighter environmental footprint than other staples, helping build climate-resilient agrifood systems.
SOUNDBITE (English), Chikelu Mba, Deputy Director of the FAO Plant Production and Protection Division: “Pulses are, interestingly, the only types of crops, or even by extension, plants, that enrich the soil. Pulses are able to trap atmospheric nitrogen and convert these gases into nutrients in a form that they sustain other plants and other crops.”
The global average annual consumption of pulses in 2024 was 7 kg per capita, with the highest in Africa (11 kg per capita) and the lowest in Europe (3.53 kg per capita).
India is the world's largest producer of pulses, with 25.3 million tonnes in 2024.
To raise public awareness of the benefits of pulses, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at its 73rd session in December 2018 endorsed Burkina Faso's proposal to observe World Pulses Day on 10 February annually.
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