Pulses’ illusion as ‘good for schools, jails’ ridiculed

HAZLA OMAR in Arusha.

WHETHER it is ‘la carte’ or ‘buffet’ menu, many high class hotels and restaurants in Tanzania have been found to avoid including dishes prepared from leguminous crops such as beans, lentils and peas, aiming for animal products instead.

The Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Dr Charles Tizeba, has stated here that most Tanzanians also consume fewer pulses compared to other countries in the world because there is the negative misconception surrounding these leguminous crops as being food for low-income people, students and prisoners.
“And our hotels and restaurants seem to have inherited that belief, so they also avoid including beans, peas and lentils on their guest menus, despite the fact that, these types of crops are nutritious, tasty and with better health benefits than the usually coveted beef, mutton, lamb and chicken,” pointed out Dr Tizeba.
The minister was speaking during the special dialogue between the ministry officials, crop researchers and representatives from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) at the Selian Agricultural Research Institute in Arusha.
Dr Tizeba pointed out that Tanzania takes the lead when it comes to the production of leguminous crops in Africa, but its people are tagged last as far as consumption of such pulses is concerned; “which raises alarm regarding the health and malnutrition status of the country residents,” he said. But if Tanzanians don’t like to eat beans, people in Asia certainly do.
Dr Tizeba has just signed a contract which will enable local farmers here export pulses to India and thus, effective from this harvest season, consignments of leguminous crops from Tanzanian farms will be shipped to Mumbay.
There is high demand of beans and other pulses in India, therefore Selian Institute will help supply improved seeds for maximum yields in future but from next year, local farmers will be smiling all the way to the banks courtesy of lentils, peas and the ‘school dining hall’ beans.
The FAO Country Representative for Tanzania, Mr Fred Kafeero, was on view that, other than becoming green gold for farmers, pulses have other benefits; “they add nutrients into the soil; they are drought and disease resistant and can provide high nutrients to family members,” he said.
FAO is an agency of the United Nations, which is spearheading international efforts to defeat hunger and malnutrition in the world.