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MADE POSSIBLE BY
BAYER
20
PIGEON PEA
– a potential crop
for food and health security
F
OOD AND NUTRITION SECURITY AS WELL AS CLI-
MATE CHANGE ARE SERIOUS CHALLENGES IN THE
WORLD TODAY. HOWEVER, MANY PRODUCTION
COUNTRIES ARE ENDOWED WITH UNIQUE CROPS
THAT CAN GROW IN HARSH ENVIRONMENTS AND
PROVIDE UNIQUE NUTRITIONAL VALUE.
Some of the potentially useful crop species, how-
ever, are underutilised and have not been scientifi-
cally evaluated and bred as food crops (Padulosi
et
al
., 2002). Among these crops is pigeon pea (
Cajanus
cajan
), which ranks the sixth worldwide in comparison
to other grain legumes such as dry beans (
Phaseo-
lus vulgaris
L.), peas (
Pisum sativum
L.), groundnuts
(
Arachis hypogaea
L.), soybeans (
Glycine max
L.) and
chickpeas (
Cicer arietinum
L.).
PRODUCTION
The crop originated in India with the major produc-
tion occurring in India and Myanmar (83%) ahead of
Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda as major pro-
ducers in Africa (14%). In West Africa, pigeon pea
is a minor crop, but it plays a key role in the sub-
sistence of smallholders in other countries such as
Benin, Nigeria and Ghana. In South Africa, pigeon
pea is produced in Limpopo, Mpumalamga, and
KwaZulu-Natal in backyards. Moreover, pigeon pea
has a huge untapped potential for improvement both
in quantity and in quality of production in Africa.
Pigeon pea is rich in protein, tolerates harsh conditions and is able to withstand drought, making it an ideal crop for smallholder farming.
Dr Alina Mofokeng, ARC-Grain Crops,
Potchefstroom. Send an email to
MofokengA@arc.agric.za
FAO/WHO (1991); What and Merril, 1975 (μg/mg)
1
Constituent
Pigeon pea
Cowpea
Chickpea
Carbohydrates (%)
64,2
74,8
60,7
Protein (%)
20,5
26,1
22
Fat (%)
3,8
1,05
6,4
Fibre (%)
5,0
2,60
22
Ash (%)
4,2
3,93
40,5
Lysine
6,8
6,8
6,7
Threonine
3,8
4,0
5,1
Methionine
1,0
0,8
2,1
Cystine
1,2
0,3
2,0
Calcium
296
34,7
210
Iron
6,7
5,8
4,60
Thiamine
0,6
1,05
0,4
Riboflavin
0,2
0,21
0,26
Niacin
3,1
2,2
1,22
Nutritional content of some of the legume crops.