Role of legumes in poverty reduction in Asia: A synthesis

More than two-thirds of the world’s poor are in Asia, and poverty is disproportionately concentrated in the rural areas of : the region. Higher productivity in agriculture is important for improving incomes of the poor. Particularly important are policies and investments to improve infrastructure and support services. Concerted research and development efforts supported by government policies have brought a paradigm shift in favor of rice and/or ricewheat based cropping systems (RWBCS) in the last three decades in majority of the Asian countries. As a result of this shift, legumes were relegated to marginal environments or eliminated from the cereal-based cropping systems. There are increasing concerns about land degradation and declining productivity of the high input rice-wheat cropping systems. It has become necessary to rehabilitate legumes for the sustainability of the RWBCS. The projections of future poverty incidence have also highlighted the need and importance of intensification in RWBCS in Asia. Besides their role in maintaining soil fertility, legumes are important in attaining food security, alleviating poverty, raising the income and improving livelihoods of resource-poor rural farmers. Legumes easily grow with minimum tillage andprovide high quality protein in food and feed. Crop diversification with legumes as component of intercrop, crop rotation or relay crop is identified as one of the strategies to maximize the agricultural productivity and farm incomes. Strengthening the research and extension system will enhance legume productivity and facilitate on-farm diversification. Improved rural infrastructure will reduce transport costs, and increase accessibility of markets and public services. Therefore, sustained R££D activities, concerted efforts of government and private sectors, and sound economic policies to encourage crop diversification with legumes need to be addressed to boost the legumes industry in Asi