[2] In 2013, Nepal imported approximately US$10.1 million in dried shelled chickpeas, mostly from Australia and also from Canada, creating a need to increase production for its own people and to balance bilateral trade.
[2] This devastation has given chickpeas a very negative reputation of being a risky crop and has likely delayed the spread of new technologies and cultivars to increase production.
[7] In the dry western parts of the country, seeds have been formulated with short durations to escape potential long droughts.
In the eastern and central part of the Terai, seeds have been formulated with increased disease resistance and earlier maturity to escape the potential fungal threats in these moist and humid environments.
[7] Thus although these crops can mainly be grown only in the Terai region, it is not segregated to one geographical area and can thus improve distribution of this quality protein to a large portion of the population.
[2] Nepal imports a huge amount of rice from India,[3] therefore intercropping with chickpeas could be a more economical option for a subsistence farmer, rather than purchasing these products from overseas.
[8] Due to chickpeas high water efficiency, it can be planted after rice in the dry season, using the residual moisture to grow.