The FAO KP Farmers Market in Peshawar marked World Pulses Day on 10 February, gathering farmers, government officials, private sector buyers and development partners to strengthen links between producers and markets. The market showcased pulses and legumes alongside vegetables, edible oils, dairy and processed staples produced by farmers trained under FAO programmes, highlighting practical ways to boost incomes and market access.<\/p>\n
Pulses were highlighted as strategic crops for sustainable agrifood systems because they improve soil health through nitrogen fixation, cut reliance on chemical fertilisers and enhance climate resilience. In Pakistan, pulses are cultivated on around 1.3 million hectares, yet domestic output has lagged behind growing demand, leaving the country reliant on imports. Given their suitability for marginal and rain-fed lands, pulses offer strong potential to bolster livelihoods and dietary diversity across provinces such as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.<\/p>\n
Approximately 100 participants attended the Farmers Market, including representatives from government departments, restaurants, chambers of commerce, exporters and retailers, creating a platform for direct dialogue on market requirements and quality standards. Conversations focused on opportunities for direct sourcing, value addition and improving post-harvest handling to meet the needs of high-value buyers.<\/p>\n
Kiyal Akmatbek<\/strong> underlined the importance of pulses, saying “pulses and legumes\u2014such as peas, red beans, mung beans and soybeans\u2014play a vital role in improving soil fertility, reducing production costs and strengthening food and nutrition security.” She reiterated FAO’s support for farmers through Farmer Field Schools, improved agronomic practices and climate-smart cropping systems to increase productivity and resilience.<\/p>\n Informational standees at the event demonstrated FAO-supported good practices across value chains, from improved production methods to post-harvest handling and value addition, showing how these changes can benefit farmers, consumers and the environment. The market aimed to raise public awareness about sustainable production while building practical market linkages between producers and buyers.<\/p>\n Observed globally on 10 February, World Pulses Day raises awareness of pulses’ contribution to sustainable development, climate action and healthy diets. Through initiatives like the FAO KP Farmers Market, FAO continues to collaborate with provincial authorities, farmers and the private sector to strengthen value chains and promote more resilient, inclusive agrifood systems in Pakistan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Join FAO KP Farmers Market celebrating World Pulses Day in Peshawar, linking farmers with buyers and promoting climate-smart pulses for resilient livelihoods.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":16884,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[94],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pakistan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16885","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16885"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16885\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}