Mention the advantages of the cultivation of pulses because of which the year 2016 was declared as the International Year of Pulses by the United Nations.

The UN declared 2016 the International Year of Pulses to highlight their role in sustainable food systems. India is the world’s largest producer and consumer of pulses, accounting for roughly a quarter of global output.

Advantages of pulse cultivation

• Soil fertility: rhizobia in pulse root nodules fix atmospheric nitrogen (roughly 30–140 kg N per hectare), cutting fertilizer needs for the next crop; deep roots and leaf litter improve soil structure and organic matter.
• Resource efficiency: pulses have a low water footprint and are suited to rainfed drylands, where most Indian pulse area lies; short-duration varieties fit intercropping and rice-fallow rotations, breaking pest and disease cycles.
• Nutrition: with 20–25% protein plus iron, zinc and folate, pulses are the cheapest protein for vegetarian diets — critical against protein-energy malnutrition and anaemia; they also have a low glycaemic index.
• Climate: pulses have a far lower carbon footprint than animal protein and tolerate heat and moisture stress, making them a climate-smart crop.
• Farm economics: as low-input crops with assured MSP procurement, they raise and stabilise smallholder incomes; NFSM-Pulses and buffer stocking pushed production from about 16 million tonnes in 2015–16 to around 25 million tonnes now.

Pulses thus link soil health, nutrition security and climate resilience — precisely why the UN spotlighted them.