The Legume Generation consortium is dedicated to enhancing legume breeding in Europe by fostering collaboration between entrepreneurial breeders and an inventive research community. Our approach involves six breeder-led innovation communities, each focusing on a specific crop species or type: soybean, lupins, pea, lentil, phaseolus beans, and white and red clover. These communities drive innovation by connecting practical breeding with cutting-edge research in a transdisciplinary framework.

Our activities include gathering intelligence on ideotype concepts, beneficial traits, and breeding methods; creating and validating novel resources; screening and testing germplasm and new cultivars in different regions; and providing training to support breeding gains. We also develop governance and financial models, business plans, and facilitate internal and external communication through the European Legume Hub.

With 32 breeding and 43 pre-breeding programmes, we aim to significantly boost these by accelerating the production of novel germplasm. Our goal is to innovate up to the point where newly-bred germplasm and cultivars are proven for use on farms, supporting the expansion of legume production. The innovation communities are open to all relevant actors, ensuring direct dissemination of results to other users and stakeholders. Sustainable practices beyond the project’s life will be facilitated through robust business plans.

The booklet ‘An introduction to Legume Generation’ provides an overview of the project and the work of the innovation communities.