We are experimenting with several new irrigation techniques that will help expand the seasons that chickpeas can be grown in Ethiopia as a way to increase yields by planting more times during the year. Read more

Throughout Ethiopia, approximately three million small-scale farmers without access to many modern production methods account for more than 80 percent of total production of oilseeds and pulses crops. Read more

Chickpeas are a major pulse crop in Ethiopia, and are important for both the domestic and export market. Read more

See the difference here between a chickpea that come for the local seed, and a larger chickpea that comes from a new seed introduced by the Ethiopian Institute for Agricultural Research. Read more

We are in pilot phase now and are testing a variety of methods – irrigation, fertilizer, seed spacing, seed variety – to see what combination provides best yield for farmers. Later in 2012, another crop will be planted, based on these new learnings. Read more

These chickpeas, in pod and on stem, are being grown on a farm in Shoa, Ethiopia about an hour from the capital city, Addis Ababa. The chickpea was originally found in what is now Turkey about 7,500 years ago. Read more

PepsiCo’s Derek Yach recently spoke with USAID about our unique, trilateral partnership with USAID and the United Nations World Food Program that was announced at the Clinton Global Initiative’s 2011 annual meeting in New York in September. A key achievement of the U.S. Government’s Feed the Future initiative, this partnership will help build long-term economic stability for smallholder chickpea farmers in Ethiopia by involving them directly in PepsiCo’s product supply chain. In the interview, Derek explains Enterprise EthioPEA, “PepsiCo hopes to use chickpeas to address famine and malnourishment in the Horn of Africa, stimulate economic development in Ethiopia, and support PepsiCo’s business strategy for Africa more generally. Today, PepsiCo is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of chickpea-based hummus, a product that is experiencing rapid growth in demand. Chickpeas will play an important role in growing PepsiCo’s nutrition business to $30 billion in revenue by 2020. This is... Read more

Derek Yach recently moderated several sessions at the 2011 World Forum On Enterprise and Environment in Oxford, England. He noted a main agreement by attendees was a critical need for health professionals and food companies to consider how we build better links to biodiversity through promoting more diverse diets and the use of ingredients drawn from diverse eco-zones. To learn more about the event, please see this video of Derek from the forum. Read more

The Chicago Tribune recently profiled Mehmood Khan. In the article Mehmood said, among other things, that a healthy lifestyle, “is all about balance.” That means there are no “bad” foods, but some of them you just shouldn’t eat all of the time. Go to the article for the full story. Read more

Earlier this month, Mehmood Khan spoke with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about research into new salt, beverage sweeteners, bottles made from orange peels, compostable chip bags and “drinkable oats.” Mehmood ended the interview by saying, “You learn, you continue
 to improve, you stay ahead.” Read the whole interview to find out more. Read more