Pulses in 21st-century Europe: what role do they play in current and future agricultural and food systems? What new challenges do they pose for research?

The intensification of agriculture that began in the 1950s has, overall, led to a decline in legume crops, which now account for less than 3 per cent of major French and European crops. Yet legumes offer several advantages: (i) as a source of plant-based protein for human or animal consumption; (ii) as plants that fix atmospheric nitrogen and are efficient in their use of nitrogen inputs; and (iii) as crops that promote diversification within cropping systems. An analysis of production systems for grain and forage legumes in France shows that the various factors hindering the uptake of these crops stem from a process of ‘lock-in’ within the dominant socio-technical agricultural system. Yet legumes could play a major role in the agroecological transition towards more sustainable agricultural, food and energy systems. An economic approach utilising the multi-level framework of transition theory has identified pathways to unlock legume production. In light of this analysis, four main groups of research questions have been identified, concerning (i) the analysis of lock-ins and the identification of levers for transition towards systems incorporating more pulses; (ii) the identification of new and diversified outlets for pulses within a sustainable food chain; (iii) the assessment and improvement of ecosystem services provided by pulses at the level of cropping systems and regions, and (iv) the optimisation of pulse crop management as part of a comprehensive approach to ecological intensification.