ERANET - SusCrop - LegumeGap

The potential of legumes to simultaneously contribute to several production, environmental, and nutritional objectives is well known by science and policy. Legumes contribute to increased European protein self-sufficiency, diversification of cropping systems and farm businesses, reduction in fertilizer and pesticide use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, enhancement of sustainable diets, and prevention of land degradation and biodiversity loss. Despite these widely recognised benefits, grain legume production in Europe is still low, partly due to inadequate investment in breeding, sub-optimal management practices, and gaps in farmers' knowledge. To ensure food and nutritional security under climate change and reduce pressures on natural resources, the potential of legumes must be fully utilised. The LegumeGap project will contribute in this direction by identifying the potential contribution of new cultivars, optimal management practices, and farmers' knowledge in closing the yield and protein gaps, reducing the observed yield variability and EU-level protein shortfall, and optimising the environmental performance of legume production in Europe. We will focus on two key representative legumes: faba bean and soya bean, due to their growing popularity, broad adaptability and high protein concentration in the seeds. A systems approach will be employed, where biophysical and socio-economic limitations, opportunities, and their interaction are taken into account. The innovative combination of different methodological approaches, including modelling, field experiments, a large scale farmer survey, and data analysis, will allow us to deliver more than their individual parts and to identify and recommend ways by which the potential of these two crops can be maximised.