Nutrient dense pulses should be a significant part of a planetary plate for the North of England yet appropriate sourcing opportunities and knowledge of how to work with them from farm to fork is limited. Most pulses currently grown in the UK are used for livestock fodder.
Could pulses grown in the North of England become a celebrated source of local menus?
In Spring 2024 a collaborative group emerged from the Northern Food and Farming strategy work, around the concept of localised production in the North, enhancing connectivity as appropriate by reducing distances, shortening supply chains, fostering engagement, and promoting increased pulse production and consumption.
We wanted to explore the potential to develop secure and diversified income streams for agro-ecological producers, especially those producing lower volumes of certain crops including pulses. We were interested in whether infrastructure (or lack thereof) is a significant barrier, whether Hodmedod’s are in a position to service more Northern farms, and whether public procurement contracts may facilitate this process.
Furthermore, we wanted to consider the traditional role of pulses in the Northern food and farming system and how to revive them as a key component of culturally appropriate food systems.
The collaboration group sought a better understanding of the current landscape and what might be the best ways to support movement towards increased pulse production and consumption. Ultimately, they aimed to determine how group members could collaborate to support improved relationships in networks of supply in the North of England, and foster the necessary environment for food and farming businesses to viably increase the volume of agroecological pulses that they produce and process.
A summary of the collaborative journey and next steps is here and a blog post here.
Over the last 4 years, Northern Food and Farming (NFF) – formerly the Northern Real Farming Conference (NRFC) – has evolved from its origins as an agroecology conference and networking events (2020-21) to a dynamic facilitated collaboration of organisations working to catalyse transformative change towards a fair, sustainable and resilient food and farming system in the North of England.