Legumes have potential – both ecologically and economically. But how can they evolve from a niche product to a high-value crop? Two experts give their assessments.
Legumes such as soybeans, field beans and peas are seen as promising crops for more sustainable agriculture: they improve soil fertility, fix nitrogen and offer a wide range of uses – from animal feed to plant-based foods. However, they remain niche crops in economic terms. How can cultivation and marketing be made more profitable – so that niche crops can survive on the market without special support programmes or similar measures? Stefan Beuermann, coordinator for producer associations in the LeguNet project, and Klaus Martin Fischer, industry expert at the management consultancy RSM Ebner Stolz Management Consultants, assess the potential of domestic protein crops. They explain what it takes to turn niche crops into real high-value crops.
Legumes are versatile
The term "high-value crops" usually refers to crops with particularly high added value. Until now, this has rarely been the case for domestic protein crops such as peas, lupins or field beans. Stefan Beuermann sums it up: "The term ‘high-value crops‘ actually refers to crops that generate high income. I only see this happening with legumes in very exceptional cases."
Although markets for plant-based proteins are developing rapidly, the economic benefits often remain limited at the operational level. The key point is that added value does not come from cultivation alone, but from integration into functioning value chains.
Why the market is not (yet) working
According to Beuermann, a key obstacle lies in the market structure. Although there is much talk of a “protein revolution”, there is a lack of functioning markets: price quotations for legumes are rarely reliable, and transparency is virtually non-existent. “This is a huge obstacle to development. Without price transparency, farmers lack a basis for planning,” says Beuermann. In practice, calculations are often made “off the cuff” based on limited information from traders – which leads to revenues at feed level or below.
According to Beuermann, contractually secured supply relationships are still the exception. Anyone who starts cultivation without a purchase guarantee or preliminary contracts bears a high economic risk. This is particularly true when only small quantities are grown, which can hardly be transported to a processing site in an economically viable manner.
Crop rotation instead of high yields
Despite all the uncertainties, there are good reasons for growing legumes. In terms of crop cultivation, they are considered ideal preceding crops. Especially when problems such as heavy infestation with black grass arise, they often prove more effective than chemical measures. Due to their summer crop character, they break the weed cycle and improve soil structure – an ecological added value that can also pay off economically in the long term.
“One year of legumes is often more effective than any spraying in classic blackgrass areas,” says Beuermann. In his opinion, legumes will play an even greater role in combating weeds after the upcoming ban on herbicides containing flufenacet.
Under purely market-based conditions, the production of protein crops has so far been hardly profitable for many farms, even though there are already functioning marketing models in the form of cooperatives or contract farming. The Inhouse Farming Feed and Food Convention on 30 September and 1 October 2025 in Hamburg offers a platform for exchange for all stakeholders in the New Feed and Food sector. Find out more and get your ticket now! Home - Inhouse Farming
Soy: the key to scaling up
Soybeans hold a special position among protein crops. They are the most important legume globally, and their importance is also growing in Germany. Around 131,800 tonnes were harvested in 2024. Thanks to advances in breeding, the number of available varieties has grown significantly and cultivation is now economically viable in large parts of Germany.
ADM, one of the leading processors, operates GMO-free oil mills in Straubing and Mainz with sufficient capacity to process significantly more soybeans from German sources. Beuermann sees great growth potential in soybeans – not only for the animal feed market, but increasingly also for human nutrition.
Market development for soybeans
Currently, legumes account for less than 3% of arable land in Germany. The goal is to increase this area to at least 10% in the medium term. This requires economic prospects and functioning value chains.
Soybeans play a special role in this context. Globally, they are by far the most important grain legume. Their importance is also growing in Germany – around 131,800 tonnes were harvested in 2024, despite a decline in acreage. Their share in human nutrition has now reached 10.7%.
Plant-based nutrition as a growth market
New market opportunities are currently emerging, particularly in the area of plant-based foods. Peas stand out in this regard: they are low in allergens, versatile and have a good carbon footprint. Companies such as Endori food GmbH, a manufacturer of plant-based meat and fish alternatives, and Rügenwalder Mühle are investing specifically in domestic raw materials and also offering farmers cultivation contracts.
Consultant Klaus Martin Fischer sees this as a key growth driver: “The market for plant-based proteins is growing rapidly – especially in the food sector.”
Demand currently exceeds supply. However, the bottleneck is not in the availability and reliability of regional raw materials, but in insufficient producer prices. The establishment of professional supply chains and transparent prices is therefore essential.
Feed market: substitution instead of import
Legumes also offer potential in animal feed. Field beans, lupins and peas are increasingly being used in ruminant and pig feed – especially as an alternative to imported soy meal. Internal utilisation plays a central role in economic efficiency. Fischer emphasises: “The substitution value – i.e. the savings achieved through self-produced protein sources – is a key to profitability.”
Marketing: Successful models show the way forward
Individual examples show what effective supply chains can look like:
- Südzucker subsidiary Beneo offers contract farming with guaranteed prices for field beans.
- Rügenwalder works with soy partners from northern Germany.
- The Alb-Leisa producer association markets lentils directly to retailers via a regional cooperative.
“Such structures stabilise the market and give businesses planning security,” says Fischer. However, in many places, the conventional sector still lacks comprehensive marketing chains and visible brands.
The greatest opportunity lies in combining traditional cash crops with legumes. Mixed cropping systems and strategically planned crop rotation help to mitigate risks and save on inputs. “Legumes reduce input costs, improve soil health and increase yields of subsequent crops. This reduces risks, even in years when weather conditions are difficult,” emphasises Fischer.
Recommendations for farmers
For farms that want to start growing legumes, Fischer recommends a step-by-step approach: start small and test locally, make agreements with buyers in advance, plan crop rotation strategically and join forces with others in terms of infrastructure. "The trend towards GMO-free, regional produce is clear. And if you succeed in penetrating the conventional market – for example with mixed crops such as rye and silage maize – there is real growth potential."
A key obstacle to the cultivation of many legumes is the yield risk. The crops are sensitive to extreme weather conditions and yield stability is lower than that of traditional market crops. This is due to the low level of breeding work carried out on legumes to date.
Fischer explains: “An economic assessment only makes sense if the crop rotation value is taken into account. Viewed in isolation, legumes can hardly compete with barley or wheat when yields fluctuate.” Added to this is the problem of so-called legume fatigue, a disease complex that has not yet been sufficiently researched. Only soybeans remain largely unaffected by this.
Beuermann therefore recommends a location-based decision. “Anyone who grows legumes that are not really suited to the location will be disappointed.”
Added value begins with cooperation
The profitability of legumes increases when farmers actively participate in the value chain. Drying, cleaning, sorting or packaging on their own can significantly increase the value per tonne. However, this is usually only possible through cooperation. Beuermann therefore advocates for cooperatively organised producer associations: “Only those who join forces can bundle sufficient quantities, make investments and make targeted use of subsidies from EU programmes, for example.”
The processing of legumes for human consumption requires strict standards – such as gluten-free processing. This also requires specialised infrastructure and cooperation. In addition, farmer associations could more easily reduce their shipping costs: transporting goods by truck is much more expensive than by train or ship, but the latter modes of transport require quantities of several thousand tonnes.
Examples from organic farming prove that such models can work. Lentil producer associations or partnerships with food retailers show how value creation can be organised cooperatively. In the conventional sector, however, there is room for improvement. In many places, there is a lack of closed marketing chains that secure production, purchasing and further processing.
Conclusion
System relevance instead of classic high-value crops
Even though legumes have not yet achieved top prices, they have a firm place in the agriculture of the future – for both ecological and economic reasons. Beuermann sums it up: “Legumes are not classic high-value crops, but they are systemically relevant.” And Fischer adds: “Legumes offer opportunities – if we think of them as part of a larger, regionally oriented and integrated system.”
In the long term, it is not only the plant that determines economic success, but also the organisation around it: market transparency, reliable partnerships and an infrastructure that turns regional raw materials into high-quality goods.
By Agnes Michel-Berger, freelance author DLG Newsroom
