Managing uncertainties and development of grain legumes in Sweden

Sammanfattning: Grain legumes have proven in many studies to have beneficial effects on both the agricultural system and for human health. Agronomic and environmental benefits with the lower use of synthetic nitrogen, improvement of soil health, and contribution towards a more diverse agricultural system has alongside with the high nutritional value proven the grain legumes importance of presence. Inspite of all these benefits, the presence of grain legumes for human consumption in the cropping systems in Sweden is relatively small. The purpose of this study was therefore to get a better understanding of why grain legumes are not more commonly cultivated and consumed in Sweden, and identify ways to overcome the challenges. Through semi-structured interviews with actors working in the cultivation and trading of pea and lentil for human consumption in Sweden, the experiences for managing grain legume yield variability and factors causing uncertainty was explored, as well as the future vision for developing and increasing yellow dry pea and lentil cultivation and consumption. The main factors causing variability and uncertainty among the farmers and traders in this study were: consumer demand, economic incentives and subsidies, variable weather conditions, few available varieties suitable for human consumption and cultivation in Sweden, difficulty in post-harvest processing and limited areas of use. With further research of pea and lentil varieties suitable for human consumption in Sweden, public subsidies for domestic cultivation of grain legumes, and more actors working with processing and creating new products with grain legumes, the factors causing uncertainty and variability would decline and cultivation area and consumption of peas and lentils for human consumption in Sweden could increase.