{"id":3510,"date":"2026-09-03T12:38:22","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T12:38:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/?p=3510"},"modified":"2026-09-03T12:38:22","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T12:38:22","slug":"africas-bean-sector-looks-beyond-higher-yields-to-nutrition-and-markets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/03\/africas-bean-sector-looks-beyond-higher-yields-to-nutrition-and-markets\/politics\/regional\/","title":{"rendered":"Africa\u2019s bean sector looks beyond higher yields to nutrition and markets"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Beans are becoming more than a staple food in Africa as researchers, governments and businesses develop varieties aimed at improving nutrition, coping with climate change, cutting cooking time and opening better markets for farmers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The changing role of the crop was highlighted in Kigali this week as the Pan-Africa Bean Research Alliance (PABRA) marked 30 years of coordinating bean research and innovation across the continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About 150 million people in Africa regularly eat beans, making the crop central to food and nutrition while creating growing opportunities for farmers, seed companies, traders and processors, said Jean Claude Rubyogo, PABRA director and Global Bean Program leader at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since PABRA was established in 1996, its network has helped release 624 improved bean varieties and reached more than 46 million farmers, 58% of them women, Rubyogo said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The shift reflects a broader change in how beans are being developed. Breeders are no longer looking only at yields but also at traits that matter to consumers and businesses, including nutritional value, cooking time, climate resilience and market demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Rwanda, the change is particularly visible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Florence Uwamahoro, director general of the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board, said Rwanda has contributed varieties to regional research networks while adopting improved beans from across Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She cited RWR 2245, RWR 3194, RWR 2154 and RWR 1129 among varieties bred in Rwanda and shared through PABRA\u2019s regional networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rwandans consume more than 100 grams of beans per person each day, making improvements in the crop important for food security, nutrition and household incomes, Uwamahoro said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rubyogo said climbing beans accounted for about 5% of Rwanda\u2019s bean-growing area in 1985 but now cover about 45%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several varieties bred in Rwanda are also grown in Tanzania, Uganda, Cameroon and Burundi, showing how research developed in one country can spread through regional networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The benefits are also reaching businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emma Uwera, founder of I&JJ Harvest Seed Company, said PABRA and Rwanda\u2019s bean research program influenced her career from university and helped her company expand from supplying seed in eastern Rwanda to markets across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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She said demonstration plots remain important in convincing farmers to adopt new varieties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFarmers believe what they see,\u201d Uwera said, describing demonstrations where farmers can follow a variety from planting to maturity before deciding whether to buy the seed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For traders, consumer preferences are also changing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rose Kabuye, a grain trader and off-taker who has worked in bean exports since 2020, said buyers increasingly favor beans that cook quickly and provide better returns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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New varieties developed through the research network can reduce cooking time by about 30%, Rubyogo said, potentially lowering household energy use and the amount of time spent preparing meals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nutrition is another major focus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jean Damasc\u00e8ne Nsengiyumva, director general of School Health and Wellness at the Ministry of Education, said the Scaling Sustainable School Feeding Innovation Project is being implemented in 509 schools in Karongi, Nyamasheke and Rusizi districts, with an ambition to reach more than 445,000 schoolchildren.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project promotes high-iron beans, vegetables, school gardens and improved farming practices, linking agricultural production with the food served in schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA nutritious school meal begins long before it reaches the plate,\u201d Nsengiyumva said. \u201cIt begins with the soil, the seed, the farmer, the school garden, the knowledge of the teachers and the communities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than 1,000 school staff and 1,000 teachers, including agronomists and community health workers, have been trained in bean and vegetable production, nutrition, fertilizer application and post-harvest management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Olivier Kamana, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources, said continued investment in biofortified crops and climate-smart agriculture would be important to Rwanda\u2019s agricultural transformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The commercial potential of beans is also expanding beyond national borders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eliud Birachi, project leader for markets and business development at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, said PABRA\u2019s commodity corridor approach covers about 10 corridors across Eastern, Southern, Central and West Africa, involving around 200 enterprises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rubyogo said Ethiopia\u2019s bean exports had grown from about $8 million to more than $100 million a year, while some nationally developed varieties have nearly tripled yields compared with older varieties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The time between releasing a new variety and widespread farmer adoption has also fallen from 10 to 15 years in the network\u2019s early years to about three years today, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mobile threshers introduced through PABRA partnerships with local artisans have reached 152,000 smallholders since 2018 and created nearly 6,500 jobs, Rubyogo said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But researchers say gains will have to keep pace with a changing climate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rising temperatures, shifting rainfall patterns, pests and diseases are putting additional pressure on farmers, while rapid urbanization is changing demand for food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uwamahoro said future bean varieties would need to combine higher productivity with better nutrition, climate resilience, affordability and consumer appeal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She called for greater investment in modern breeding, quality systems, private-sector seed production, value addition and regional trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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PABRA\u2019s anniversary event, themed \u201cPABRA Beyond #30, and Beyond Beans,\u201d<\/strong> brought together researchers, government officials and businesses to discuss the next phase of the alliance\u2019s work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The network now brings together more than 934 partners across 31 countries. Participants also discussed applying its demand-led, corridor-based approach to other crops, including groundnuts and sorghum, as PABRA prepares its 2027-2037 strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Africa\u2019s bean sector, the next challenge is therefore not simply to grow more beans. It is to develop crops that farmers can grow profitably, consumers want to eat and communities can rely on as climate and nutritional pressures increase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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