Market situation and breeding input in faba beans and field peas in the EU

Abstract

The growing area for faba beans in the EU has remained relatively stable over the last ten years. This reflects mainly the acreage in the main faba bean growing country UK plus an increase in France. In the UK rotations faba beans are a well established crop partly due to heavy soils and a well established know how for growing them which leads to reliable yields. A premium market for exports for human consumption is also existing. However as the overall level in the EU is not high there are only a few breeding programmes left. For the peas there is a constant decline during the last years in the main country France due to phytosanitary problems and insufficient price levels. This decline has led to a significant reduction in breeding inputs in the EU. The low levels of input in breeding for both crops cannot guarantee a sufficient breeding progress to improve the performance level substantially. Political support is necessary to keep these crops competitive for rotations in the EU.