“Chickpeas are the most expensive legume in the world,” Umai Bankole, founder of Quest for Food, tells Fast Company. Although their protein is greater than beef, their price for shipping alone can be as much as $125,000 a kilo. “That’s why the climate has changed because we haven’t gotten used to growing chickpeas in Central Africa.”
Wallop says the tech behind The Chickpea Hack is about “cracking the code,” and “harnessing the innovations that a lot of universities and research labs are bringing to the table.” In the clip below, we’re told we should make using chickpeas a reality “with a smartphone app, if you are good at programming and you can do something about it.” Then the movie magic begins.
When I went back in April for another round of questioning, Umai said that a large part of the science is still being unlocked, and that is the true promise of The Chickpea Hack. The hacking only goes so far, he says. Now he’s got to get the data for the project, which he is doing by connecting with interested researchers throughout Africa.