BEANS Meta-Network Executive Committee Meeting: Strengthening Mediterranean Cooperation on Legumes
(CIHEAM Bari, 6 November 2025)
The Executive Committee of the BEANS Meta-Network met today at CIHEAM Bari to consolidate the outcomes of the June General Assembly and to define the next phase of regional cooperation on legumes.
Chaired by Teodoro Miano, Secretary General of the CIHEAM, and Mouin Hamze, BEANS Meta-Network Coordinator, and hosted by Biagio Di Terlizzi, Director of CIHEAM Bari, the meeting gathered representatives from research institutions, international organizations, and national authorities, including ICARDA, the Alliance Bioversity International & CIAT, IRESA, INRAT, and ENEA.
The discussions reaffirmed the shared vision of the BEANS Meta-Network as a regional catalyst for innovation on legumes, fostering scientific, technical, and policy cooperation across the Mediterranean.
Across the Mediterranean and beyond, legumes are re-emerging as a vital solution to some of the world’s most pressing challenges. Despite their remarkable agronomic, nutritional, and environmental value, they remain underutilized and undervalued in modern agricultural systems. Research shows that legume cultivation emits significantly fewer greenhouse gases per hectare than most crops, improves soil fertility through biological nitrogen fixation, and enhances land resilience against drought and degradation.
Legumes are also a healthy and affordable source of protein, whose regular consumption is encouraged by international nutritional guidelines. Rich in fiber, minerals, and essential amino acids, they represent a sustainable alternative to meat, helping reduce protein imbalances, emissions linked to intensive livestock production, and chronic diseases associated with the overconsumption of animal products.
In this context, the Mediterranean - with its diversity of climates, crops, and food cultures - holds a unique potential to become a hub for sustainable legume excellence, bridging traditional knowledge with advances in genomic and agronomic research.
The BEANS Meta-Network (Boosting Euro-Mediterranean Agri-food through Networked Systems), launched on 5 June 2025, builds on the MEDIET Project, which highlighted the underutilization of legumes despite their high agronomic and nutritional value. Supported by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) and CIHEAM, this initiative aims to bridge research, policy, and practice around three core priorities: cultivar improvement, nutritional promotion, and climate-smart agriculture.
During the meeting, participants endorsed the 2026–2027 Strategic Plan, which focuses on governance consolidation, collaborative research, capacity building, and evidence-based policy engagement.
By linking science with innovation, BEANS aims to make legumes a regional public good, driving sustainability, rural prosperity, and a healthy, resilient Mediterranean diet one that remains faithful to its roots while looking toward the future.
