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Section II

From Canada to Nepal:

Faba Beans

Introduction to Nepal

Nepal is located in South Central Asia in between China and India (CBS, 2014b). It encompasses approximately 147 000 km2 of land and is composed of 3 main ecological zones; Mountains, Hills, and Terai with temperatures ranging from arctic to tropical. (CBS, 2014b). When a country has such a diverse landscape it will most likely have a range in climates as well. The Mountain land in Nepal is home to the tallest mountain in the world, Mount Everest, and houses very cool temperatures and thin air (CBS, 2014b). The Hills or Mid-Lands have lots of rivers throughout them, pleasant temperatures for warm or cool season crops, and remains relatively the same year-round. The Terai landscape is the warmest part of the country, the most irrigated, and most suitable for growing crops (CBS, 2014b). Figure Four outlines all of the different land bases within Nepal along with major rivers, which becomes importnat when discussing irrigation for suitable crops.

Figure Four: Range of Land Bases within Nepal (CBS, 2014b)

Nepal is composed of 5 major soil types, Alluvial, Sandy, Gravelly, Residual, and Glacial (Pariyar, 2008). Alluvial soil is found mainly in Terai and Mid-Hills, it has a relatively good amount of nutrients and takes the form of silt or clay. Sandy soil if found mainly in the Mid-Hills region and is fairly fertile when it comes to growing crops. Gravelly soil is found at the base of Nepal’s mountains and the tops of select hills. Being very coarse and poor at retaining moisture, it is not used for agriculture purposes. Residual soil is found mainly on the slope of most mountains, this particular soil is dry most of the year and quite low in nutrients. Glacial soil is found at the peaks of the major mountains in the area, composed mainly of gravel, and covered in snow (Pariyar, 2008).

 

The population in Nepal is approximately 31,327,341, out of that number, around 50% populate the Terai land base, 43% in the Hills, and 7% in the Mountain areas (CBS, 2014a). These population statistics follow the pattern of crop suitable land within Nepal. Since the Terai has the most abundant land, it makes sense for majority of the population to live there. This becomes an important factor when considering where to directly export the faba beans. Since the crop would be relatively new to farmers within Nepal it would make sense to export to the Terai lands where majority of the people are located, this way the crop has a good chance of getting adapted by the local farmers.

 

The nutrition levels in Nepal are struggling due to the fact they are suffering from poverty and some level of food insecurity. In 2011 it was reported that out of the children, 29.1% were underweight, and 40.5% were living with stunted growth (WHO, 2016), see Figure Five for a graphical representation. When it comes to their ability to maintain their population, taking care of the children and making sure they get enough nutrients to carry on becomes one of the number one concerns as a community. This issue will be discussed further when talking about the benefits to exporting faba beans to Nepal.

Figure Five: Malnutrition in Nepal (WHO, 2016)

Transportation Company: STEP

The company that will be used to transport the faba beans to Nepal is a company known as Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership (STEP). STEP was established in 1996 and is geared  towards increasing their exports to current markets along with developing new ones along the way (Moen, 2006). They are partnered with a number of companies and growers throughout Saskatchewan and offer a huge list of services when it comes to connecting their business with the rest of the world. These services include Export Readiness Programs, Education and Networking events, International Finance and Logistics, International Projects, Market Access Programs, Market Intelligence, and Trade Development (STEP, 2013). They are composed of 15 board members and are mainly funded through the provincial government (Moen, 2006). In 2006 it was reported that they had 42 members, 91% of which would recommend STEP to other exporters, and 80% claiming they provided excellent intelligence with chosen markets (Moen, 2006). STEP is known for providing services to their members in an exceptional way, and incorporating lots of knowledge in the market and other developing areas (J. Redekop, personal communication, November 22, 2016). When a company becomes a member of STEP and goes through all of the services they have to offer the process of transporting then begins

Figure Six: Company Logo (STEP, 2013)

Saskatchewan currently already has a market with Bangladesh and India when it comes to exporting pulses in general (SASKPULSE, 2016b). The faba beans can be added to the same transportation path resulting in a just a few extra steps once the ships dock in Asia so the beans can get to Nepal. Justin Redekop, a representative from the Government of Saskatchewan was contacted over the phone and had some key information to note about the transportation path to Asia.

 

Once the faba beans are harvested on the farm they will be placed onto Super B Trucks and get brought to one out of the twenty grain/pulse elevators within the province (J. Redekop, personal communication, November 22, 2016). Figure Seven is a picture of a typical grain elevator you would see, however there a many different forms of elevators and not all will look that same. From there the Canadian Pacific Railway will pick up the beans in regular 20-foot metal shipping containers that hold up to 20 tones in weight (Figure Eight). The trains will then bring the beans to a large shipping port in Vancouver BC known as the ‘Port of Vancouver’ where the crates will get transported onto a ship to go overseas. The ship will then arrive at any number of receiving ports ranging from China, Bangladesh, or India. Once the ships dock, the crates are moved onto more trucks and brought to various distributors, or in this case, a large list of well-known grocery store chains in Nepal. Depending on how far the distributor is located, a train may be needed to go farther distances within Nepal. Once the faba beans reach the supermarkets and grocery stores, the farmers and other consumers are able to purchase them for consumption or further planting. In terms of how long this expenditure will take, that ranges anywhere from 30-40 days. This number varies based on the season and is expected to take longer in the winter oppose to the summer. The cost to transport the beans varies on amount of crop, oil prices, and many other smaller factors. If there were to be one 20-foot shipping crate filled with faba beans (20 tones) it would cost around $1500 for transportation alone. The current price for faba beans in Saskatchewan is $333.62 per ton meaning it would cost $6672.40 for Nepal to receive 20 tones of beans in total. After adding both of these costs together the total cost adds up to $8172.40 in Canadian dollars. In Nepal it would convert to $415,702.49 Rupees. This price does come across quite high however, Canada will not ship any raw pulses overseas unless the entire shipping crate is full. Therefore, if a smaller, more affordable amount was to be imported there would have to be further research into other ways of transport. This is something that can 100% be done, however a large scale is required when dealing with big ways of transportation (J. Redekop, personal communication, November 22, 2016).

Marketing in Nepal

Once the faba beans arrive in Nepal, they will get trucked to major grocery stores mainly in Kathmandu and surrounding cities. The following major grocery stores in Nepal are Bhat Bhateni Super Market (Kathmandu), Saleways Department Store (Lalitpur), Tmart (Kathmandu), Bageshwari Department Store (Nepalgunj), Dillibazar Super Market (Kathmandu), and  Gosuli Department Store (Pokhara) (NepalTourism, 2016). The current cost for one bushel of faba beans is anywhere from $6-$8 Canadian dollars, or 300-400 Rupees (Pearson, 2015). The Nepalese people will be able to buy the faba beans from the grocery store, in bulk or in bushels. They can proceed to eat a portion of what they buy and save some of the seeds to plant, or use everything they bought to plant. As the demand grows farmers will be able to create large fields for production, but first the distribution will start in low quantities. Once farmers develop a decent size harvest, they can proceed to sell the beans to neighbors, or participate in small town markets to gain potential profit.

Competition in the Market

When it comes to competition in the market, many countries worldwide are growing pulses (Figure Nine). The two countries that are most important to look at are India and China since they are surrounding Nepal. As an overall international broad bean market in 2013, China was the number one producer worldwide (Figure Ten), however the production of faba beans specifically is not statistically recorded due to the fact it is a secondary legume that most countries overlook (GOVSASK, 2016). Since pulses fall under a secondary crop status worldwide, many countries are decreasing in consumer preference and production is falling behind as population growth increases (FAO, 2013). Nepal could very well import any other type of broad bean from their neighbors around the globe, however the production of pulses in China and India has been decreasing and they have started to import pulses rather than produce them (FAO, 2016). This is good news for Canada because our production of pulses has done nothing but increase, and the exports numbers and values from Saskatchewan Pulse Growers are showing that there is still room for improvement. 

Figure Nine: World Pulse Production (FAO, 2013)

Figure Ten:  Worldwide Production of Broad Beans (GOVSASK, 2016)

Other Pulses

The production of pulses in Canada is a very popular and broad industry. Saskatchewan Pulse Growers as mentioned before also focuses production on peas, lentils, chickpeas, and soybeans (SASKPULSE, 2016a). Many export companies or importers might be wondering why not just use another pulse crop instead that might be less expensive and already exists in a transportation arrangement? The answer to that question is simple, the other pulses all have distinct growing conditions and requirements making it harder for Nepalese farmers to reproduce this crop. Peas are a cool season legume with a shallow root system, a specific growing temperature and soil level , which are all required for production (SASKPULSE, 2016a). Lentils demand prime soil conditions as a large portion of them remain underground for the first few steps of their production cycle. They are a cool season crop, also have a shallow root system, and have a very indeterminate growing pattern. Chickpeas require dry soils, a neutral pH, and are easily placed under stress in a number of other conditions making them vulnerable to many diseases. Soybeans are the number one competitor on the market because they can grow in various soil conditions, much like faba beans. However they are more sensitive to drought, and are only supposed to be planted in the warmer seasons (SASKPULSE, 2016a). These other primary pulses are grown in Canada and on an international level making them competitive products and a factor in both importing and exporting. However, when considering the growing conditions in Nepal the faba beans are no question the best fit.

Benefits to Nepal

Nepal’s agriculture system generates 33% of their national production, 70% of their jobs, and 33% of their general exports (Devkota & Upadhyay, 2013). Their agriculture system is very important to their society and must be maintained. Nepal is ranked as one of the poorest countries worldwide and has been struggling with prolonged food shortages, and high percentages of malnutrition primarily affecting the women and children (USAID, 2016). With a current population of around 30 million people, 41% of children under 5 years of age live with stunted growth, and 29% are underweight (USAID, 2016). The children are being hit the hardest with malnutrition and if it is not looked after the population of Nepal will slowly start to decrease. It was reported in 2006 that 47% of the farmers in Nepal were only able to harvest up to 50% of their crop (Sharma, 2006). If the farmers are only harvesting half of their crops, they have to leave all the hope in the nutritional content to be enough to recover for the loss in yield to feed themselves. It was discussed earlier in this report that the soil contents and farming land within Nepal are not the strongest, which means they are in need of crops that have high adaptability, don’t require lots of fertilizer, are able to grow in various conditions, and provide nutrients.

 

Faba beans were given a brief introduction at the beginning of the report, but just to emphasis it, they can grow in various climates and contain very high amounts of protein, starch, fiber, and energy (Crépon et al., 2010). Table Five outlines in detail the distribution of various nutrient contents in both tannin and low tannin faba beans.

Table Five: Chemical Composition of Faba Beans (Crepon et al., 2010)

With the ability to be planted in various climates and the fact that it is not a picky crop, as well as its level of nutrients provided, it is a perfect fit for Nepalese citizens. Another major benefit is the density of the nutrients, each seed pod contains a large number of seeds leading to much more than one serving per bushel, meaning a lot can be obtained from a small amount planted. This is particularly important considering 75% of households within Nepal contain less than one hectare of land (Devkota & Upadhyay, 2013).

 

This crop can also serve as economic value to Nepalese people once it expands to individual farmers. They can grow and sell to people around them, or even start to export as a nation, gaining higher international status and economic value. It can help recover their agriculture industry as it is currently suffering a fall in production and productivity (Devkota & Upadhyay, 2013). Another good thing about faba beans is that once they are planted and harvested for a few years, they can easily be replenished the following year, as seeds from the previous harvest can be planted to produce the future harvest. This avoids having to spend too much money in the long run that way it can be seen more as an investment for the future of their agriculture sector.

 

As one final major benefit to Nepal that has not been discussed much throughout this report, is towards their livestock. As a country suffering from large amounts of poverty, each family depends heavily on self-sufficiency with their livestock (i.e. production of milk, ploughing fields for other crops etc). A large amount of their livestock sector is populated with different types of ruminants, putting a large amount of pressure on land resources (Devkota & Upadhyay, 2013). Table Six outlines the population of ruminant livestock within Nepal; a large numbers of livestock means they require large amounts of feed.

Table Six: 2004 Ruminant Livestock Population in Nepal (Devkota & Upadhyay, 2013)

As mentioned earlier with the introduction to faba beans, the zero-tannin beans can be consumed and provide large amounts of nutrition for the livestock including beef, hogs, dairy, lambs, and buffalo (Pearson, 2015). Unlike the soybean, it involves much less processing due to the low oil content (Pearson, 2015) therefore as a whole, the Nepalese people and their livestock can benefit from the local production of these beans.

References: Section II

CBS. (2014a). Central Bureau of Staistics. Population profile of Nepal. Retrieved from http://cbs.gov.np/image/data/Population/Population%20Profile%20of%20Nepal/Population%20Profile%20of%20Nepal.pdf

 

CBS. (2014b). Cenral Bureau of Statistics. Geography of Nepal. Retrieved from http://cbs.gov.np/atlas/general.html?page=geography_of_nepal

 

Crépon, K., Marget, P., Peyronnet, C., Carrouée, B., Arese, P., & Duc, G. (2010). Nutritional value of faba bean (Vicia faba L.) seeds for feed and food. Field Crops Research, 115(3), 329–339. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2009.09.016

 

Devkota, S., & Upadhyay, M. (2013). Agricultural productivity and poverty reduction in Nepal. Review of Development Economics, 17(4), 732–746. http://doi.org/10.1111/rode.12062

 

FAO. (2013). FAO Statistical Yearbook 2013. Food and Agriculture Organization (Vol. 1). http://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107415324.004

 

FAO. (2016). Trends in worldwide production, consumption and trade of pulses. Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/pulses-2016/news/news-detail/en/c/381491/

 

GOVSASK. (2016). Government of Saskatchewan. Faba bean market. Retrieved from https://www.saskatchewan.ca/business/agriculture-natural-resources-and-industry/agribusiness-farmers-and-ranchers/crops-and-irrigation/pulse-crop-bean-chickpea-faba-bean-lentils/faba-bean/markets

 

Moen, K. (2006). A giant step forward. Saskbuisness, 27(4), 11–16.

 

NepalTourism. (2016). List of department stores in Nepal. Retrieved from http://www.imnepal.com/list-departmental-stores-nepal-kathmandu/

 

Pariyar, D. (2008). Country pasture/forage resource profiles: Nepal. Food and Agriculture Organization, 1-42. Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/ag/agp/agpc/doc/counprof/PDF%20files/Nepal.pdf

 

Pearson, C. (2015). Alberta agriculture and foresty. Uses of faba bean. Retrieved from http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/sis15415

 

SASKPULSE. (2016a). Saskatchewan Pulse Growers. Growing pulse crops. Retrieved from http://saskpulse.com/growing/

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SASKPULSE. (2016b). Saskatchewan Pulse Growers. About. Retrieved from http://saskpulse.com/about/

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Sharma, S. P. (2006). Chronic malnutrition grips western Nepal. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 174(13), 1828-1829. http://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.060630

 

STEP. (2013). Saskatchewan Trade & Export Partnership. STEP services. Retrieved from https://www.sasktrade.com/services.html

 

USAID. (2016). United states agency for international development. Nepal: Nutrition profile. Retrieved from https://www.usaid.gov/what-we-do/global-health/nutrition/countries/nepal-nutrition-profile

 

WHO. (2016). World Health Organization. Nutrition landscape information system (NLiS). Retrieved from http://apps.who.int/nutrition/landscape/report.aspx?iso=eth

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