"The demand for plant-based diets has increased enormously, in just a few years we have increased our production of legumes by about 25 percent," says Håkan Eriksson, CEO of Kalmar Öland's garden products.
After six years of test cultivation, a seed from Greece has been found that can withstand the Swedish climate. At the turn of the month April-May, the chickpeas are sown and they will be grown in six places around Sweden. Three farms on Öland, one on Gotland, two on the mainland.
At the harvest at the end of the summer, Håkan Eriksson expects around 75-80 tons of chickpeas.
"I think it will go well and I think we can get the most chickpeas here on Öland, up to 80 percent.
Warm climate and calcareous fertile soil
Håkan Eriksson believes that Öland's warm climate combined with the calcareous and fertile soil found on the island is optimal for growing poop plants. This means that he sees a bright future for the Swedish chickpea.
"Thanks to the six years we've been testing the pea, I don't see too many risks. Rather, I see that we can scale up the cultivation ten times fairly quickly.