In Ethiopia, chickpeas (AKA garbanzo beans) are a huge deal. They provide a significant amount of protein, making up 17%–30% of their dry weight, and as legumes, they contain root nodules harboring bacteria that fixate atmospheric nitrogen into the soil. This property is extremely valuable, as other crops planted in the region will perform better as a result of this natural enrichment process. Ethiopia produces the most chickpeas out of any African country and the sixth most worldwide, but chickpea production in the country faces a diverse range of issues, from disease to pests to systemic insufficiencies. 

In 2016, a report on the Chickpea Improvement Program of Ethiopia revealed that despite a potential yield of six tons per hectare, average harvests in the country were less than two tons per hectare. As a result, the program worked to improve 24 varieties, consisting of the two most popular chickpea types: kabuli and desi. The new varieties have improvements in tolerance to drought, disease, heat, and machine harvest, along with increased size, with a total average yield gain of 2-3 times more than local varieties.

At UC Davis, Chickpea Innovation Lab director Doug Cook started by working to improve drought resistance through the Feed the Future initiative, launched by the US government. However, his discussions with Ethiopian chickpea farmers showed him that drought resistance is only one of many issues. Dr. Cook has broadened his gaze to target multiple issues at once, aiming to “improve the yield, climate resilience, nutritional value, and nitrogen-fixing properties of chickpea varieties selected in consultation with local farmers,” as he remarked in 2014. Using biotechnology, Dr. Cook and his team have been analyzing wild chickpea varieties for advantageous genes to be integrated into Ethiopian breeding programs.

Dr. Cook also founded NuCicer with his daughter Kathryn Cook, a chickpea biotech company focused on offering a variety of chickpeas and making genetic improvements. NuCicer has developed a cultivar with a 75% increase in protein compared to conventional species, along with reductions in water usage. Although this extreme gain in protein might compromise yields, this advancement is a stark indication of the potential of chickpea progress. 

In addition to nourishing more people, chickpea improvement has the potential to lower the environmental footprint of American consumers. With the rising popularity of protein products, chickpeas and their derivatives could become a more sustainable alternative. Whey-based protein powders have been rising in popularity, but they come from cows, which require lots of feed and release a great deal of methane. By improving chickpeas, a new plant-based protein powder might be able to enter the market, and in fact, that is one of many products showcased on the NuCicer website! Advancements in this outstanding crop might be able to feed more people, offer new products, and contribute to a more sustainable world.

It was upsetting for multiple reasons to see that the website for the Feed the Future initiative, which funded UC Davis’ contributions to this project, is no longer available. The same thing goes for the Davis chickpea lab website itself. Feed the Future, launched in 2010, was dedicated to addressing global food insecurity, especially in women. Thanks to this project, an estimated 23.4 million more people were brought above the poverty line by 2024, but now you can’t even read about it. I was able to access a web archive, but the fact that not only has funding been ceased, but the public record of this work has been wiped, is shameful. It just makes you think.

It’s important to note, that as a result of these closures, it’s hard to say where the research at UC Davis is right now. The most recent post I was able to find was written in 2019, so the current situation is a little unclear. However, I only know about Dr Cook from speaking to Ross Johnson, a researcher in the IICI lab, this week. We were discussing chickpea research, as it’s what I will be researching at Berkeley, along with a crop the IICI is interested in. He recommended that I check out Dr. Cook’s work, as they have been in conversation about their related research, so I’m optimistic about his continued involvement.

Also, a cool thing about NuCicer is that they visited IFT FIRST, a convention held by the Institute of Food Technologists, who gave me a scholarship this year for students interested in addressing food security. It seems like NuCicer is more targeted towards the US market, but I hope their work will benefit global food security as well. As a precision-breeding company, I am a little disappointed to see that they advertise their non-GMOness on their website, further perpetuating the notion that being a GMO is undesirable. Oh well. It’s a complicated world.

Next week, I will be interviewing the Danforth Center’s Dr. Nusinow about his projects with a biofuel cover crop, pennycress! Hopefully it will make it into next week’s article, so stay tuned to learn with me!

Chickpea nutrition facts – https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5188421/

Chickpea Improvement Program of Ethiopia – https://tropicallegumeshub.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/An-overview-of-Chickpea-improvement-program-of-Ethiopia-2.pdf

UC Davis chickpea project – https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/4-million-chickpea-project-aims-boost-nutrition-and-environmental-sustainability

https://basis.ucdavis.edu/news/challenge-taking-chickpea-innovations-lab-field

Dr. Cook’s role in NuCicer – https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/five-genius-inventions-grew-out-uc-research