Recognizing Kabuli chickpea's ability to grow in poor, rainfed soils, ICARDA's breeding program improves the crop by breeding-in heat and disease resistance traits while introducing the crop into rotation with conventional cereal crops and other pulses. ICARDA has also developed integrated mechanized chickpea planting and harvesting packages to improve its production.
ICARDA promotes Kabuli chickpea as an essential protein and micro-nutrient source that also improves soil fertility and health through nitrogen fixation. It has a low carbon footprint which aids climate change mitigation, and when incorporated into crop rotations, often with wheat and teff, it can improve the sustainability of farming systems. ICARDA research also indicates that the crop can be a significant contributor to incomes at household level, and can secure reserves of foreign currency at international market level.
New Kabuli chickpea lines aligned to product lines can also be found in the ICARDA's International Nurseries.