On World Pulses Day, Abdullah Özdemir, President of the National Legume Council and Mersin Commodity Exchange, and Governor Ali Hamza Pehlivan highlighted the nutritional benefits of legumes for both humans and animals. Despite the global increase in pulse production, they expressed concern over the decrease in Turkey's production from 2.5 million tons to 1-1.3 million tons over the past 30-35 years. Pehlivan suggested that using one fifth of the land for pulse cultivation could double the current production. He also noted that Turkey ranks third in chickpea production and fourth in lentil production globally.