Supporting communities to increase bean
productivity through enhanced accessibility
to seed of preferred bean varieties and
other technologies in Malawi, Mozambique
and Tanzania
R.M. Chirwa, J.C. Rubyogo, C. S. Madata, E.D.
Mazuma, M. Amane and R. Magreta
SAf-CoP5 Annual Meeting Held at Ruvuma Hotel, October 3-7, 2011
Maputo, Mozambique

Presentation Outline
 Importance of Beans
 Major Challenges to Production
 The project interventions
 Goal
 Specific objectives
 2010-11 Progress

Importance of Bean
 Good source of plant
protein/minerals/vitamins
 Leaves are valuable
vegetables
 Reduces hunger periods/cash
strap period – due to its early
maturing – takes 3 months
 Sold for cash – leaves and
grain
 Good for rotation and
intercrop with cereals

Limiting Factors to Bean Production
 Limited varieties for specific agro-ecologies and market
niches,
 Limited availability of seed of improved bean varieties (at all
grades: Breeder’s seed, Basic & Certified Seed),
 Inefficiency in existing seed production and supply systems,
 Limited knowledge about the existence or availability of
non-variety bean technologies (IPDM & ISFM),
 Poor linkages between producers and consumers/markets and
service providers.

Project Goal
Support communities to increase bean productivity through
enhanced accessibility to seed of preferred bean varieties
and other technologies.

Project Objectives
• To speed the testing of any new promising varieties so that superior ones can
be recommended for release,
• To mainstream the use of appropriate seed production and dissemination
channels for wider uptake and utilization of released varieties,
• To widely test and fast track use of best non-variety bean-based technologies
to increase production, reduce post-harvest loss and enhance
utilization/market of beans to increase farmers’ well being at farm level and
along the supply chains,
• To develop bean commodity functional platforms,
• Enhance skills and knowledge of partners.

Project Sites
Southern Highlands of Tanzania:
Mbeya, Iringa, Rukwa and
Ruvuma Regions
• Malawi:
Northern, central and southern
regions
• Mozambique:
Tete, Zambezia, Nampula and
Niassa provinces

Project strategy: Partnership
 Partners included:
• Research Institutions,
• Government Extension
Agents,
• NGOs,
• CBOs,
• Private sector,
• Farmer organizations,
• Church organizations,
• Bean traders,
• Individual farmers,
• Seed growers.

Roles of Each Partner
Category Actors Roles
Research NARS (DARS, ARI Germplasm development, breeder seed production,
Uyole and IIAM) and soil science, nutrition, plant pathology, entomology,
CIAT/SABRN socio-economics, M&E, marketing, and research-
extension liaison.
Provision of information on new varieties
Support other partners’ skills and knowledge
enhancement
Seed National seed Seed quality control and certification
Regulators authorities
Extension Public and NGOs/FOs Community mobilization and farmer empowerment
in bean production, nutrition and marketing
Support decentralized testing of varieties and
facilitate feed back to research
Support the decentralized seed production and
diffusion
Skills in agri-business management
Mobilize farmers to produce and supply toward
specific bean market e.g. export market

Roles of Each Partner
Category Actors Roles
Seed producers Seed Companies Variety testing, seed production and marketing
and traders Decentralised seed
enterpreneurs
Traders
Farmers groups
Nutrition MoH, Universities Nutrition extension and food basket development
groups NGOs
Grain Traders, exporters Grain market opportunities and contracting small
marketers Supermarket farmers for grain market
Testing variety marketability

PROGRESS REPORT 2010-11

Output 1: New acceptable client oriented bean varieties
identified across the different agro-ecologies and users
systems
 Research questions:
 What is the trade-off in accepting the drought tolerant or disease
resistant small seeded bean varieties by different actors in the supply
chain considering the clients’: gender, wealth and agro-ecological
characteristics?
 Hypothesis:
 Non-traditional types of varieties are equally acceptable by the actors
in the supply chain if they have attributes like drought or disease
resistance

Characterization of PVS Sites-
 PVS sites characterized in terms of:
 Agro-ecology
 Rainfall
 Altitude
 Pests and diseases
 User systems
 Land holding
 Cropping systems
 Level of technology

PVS sites and characterizations
Number of Participating farmers
Major
genotypes
Country agro- Sites (No)
per sites
ecologies
(range) Female Male
Malawi x 20
Mozambique 3 29 20
Tanzania 20 6-10

Output 1: New acceptable client oriented bean varieties
identified across the different agro-ecologies and users
systems
Characteristics
Users systems Trade-offs
Varieties
Country (market, agro- Clients
preferred
ecology and stress) Negative
Positive traits
traits
High yielding
High stress
Highly palatability
environment (high
Mozambique Drought tolerant
rainfall/acid soils Women and Small
Tanzania, Carioca Multi disease and pest
and root rot schools seeded
Malawi (nematodes)
diseases or lower
Stable yield
rain
House hold food security
High yielding
Small seed
Pest and diseases
Mozambique Niche market Urban Black (A222) Black
Drought tolerant
High micro-dense
High yield
High and medium Women and Fast cooking
Tanzania Roba -1
altitude- poor soil men –school Highly palatable leaves
Highly micro-dense

Output 1: New acceptable client oriented bean varieties
identified across the different agro-ecologies and users systems
Users systems Characteristics
(market, agro- Varieties Trade-offs
Country Clients
ecology and preferred
stress) Negative
Positive traits
traits
Multiple disease resistance
Unusual High yielding
Wider adaptation NRI cross 05
Tanzania Women and men color ‘ Highly palatability
range E27
pink’ Stable yield
House hold food security
High yielding
Small seed
Mozambique Pest and diseases
Niche market Urban Black (A222) Black
Tanzania Drought tolerant
High micro-dense
High yield
High and medium Women and men – Fast cooking
Tanzania Roba -1
altitude- poor soil school Highly palatable leaves
Highly micro-dense

Output 2: Appropriate (cost effective, healthy seed, socially acceptable)
seed production and dissemination models/channels selected and
mainstreamed for wider uptake of client-oriented released bean varieties
 Research questions:
 What is the quality of each seed grade (breeder, foundation, certified and
non-certified)?
 Hypothesis:
 Quality of certified and non-certified seeds are the same
Research questions
 How efficient is each of the models of seed production and supply
channels operates?
 Hypothesis:
 The efficiency of seed production and supply channels are the same.

Establishment of varied seed systems 2010-2011
seed grade Number of seed Variety
Country Amount (ton)
producers composition
0.620
Malawi Breeder 8
Basic
Commercial 740 3
Farmers seeds
Mozambique Breeder
Basic
Commercial
Farmers’ seeds
Tanzania Breeder 6.3 11
Basic 90.0 6
Farmers’ seeds (released varieties) 397.7
Farmers seed from PVS Varieties and
2.5
start up seeds

Information and demand creation targeting
farmers and other value chain actors
Information tools
Country Target Information access
Malawi
Mozambique
Malawi

Parameters to evaluate

Output 3.1: Appropriate ISFM or IPDM bean production or
protection management options identified and fast tracked
for increased bean seed and food production.
 Research question:
 What ICM bean based technologies can effectively improve bean seed
or grain productivity or storability, and at what costs?
 Hypothesis:
 Use of a combination of improved varieties and ICM is more
productive that varieties alone.

Output 3.1: Appropriate ISFM or IPDM bean production or
protection management options identified and fast tracked
for increased bean seed and food production
Pre – Number of
Constraints Options
harvest/field seed producers
Suitable crop varieties + healthy seed
Farm Yard Manure (> 5 tons/ha) with spot
application
Low soil fertility/acid
ISFM 30 N-20 P/ha
soils
100 kg of DAP
100 kg TSP+ 80 kg of CAN
Minjingu R.phosphate
Chemical control and timely application (4-5
IPDM – BSM (Bean seed Maggot) days after emergency)
Seed dressing -endosulfan
Pod borers
Chemical and scouting
Aphids (BCMV) Timely planting
Pos harvest Integrated pest control (Cleaness/sanitation
Bruchids
Insects Chemical-seed dressing)

Next steps
 Test the best bet ICM technologies with seed
producers in 2011-12

Output 3.1: Appropriate ISFM or IPDM bean production
or protection management options identified and fast
tracked for increased bean seed and food production
 Expected Results  Key Findings

Output 3.1: Appropriate ISFM or IPDM bean production or
protection management options identified and fast tracked
for increased bean seed and food production

Output 3.2: Appropriate bean-based food baskets
identified for improved nutrition
 Research questions:
 Will improved food security through increased bean for food and
income result into improved nutrition security?
 Hypothesis:
 Increased food security through beans result into improved nutrition
security

Stimulating demands
 Information on micronutrient rich bean varieties

Output 3.2: Appropriate bean-based food baskets
identified for improved nutrition
 Expected Results  Released varieties with
• vulnerable groups are micro-nutrient rich are
nutrition secure with available
increased bean
 Demand creation
components in their food
established
baskets
 Seed multiplication by
communities with
partners in place

Seed multiplication for micro-nutrient rich
varieties
 Amount of seeds  Photos for released
produced per varieties varieties
in Tanzania (Roba 1
(pre-released): 0.9
tons sold to partners)
and Malawi (NUAs
varieties released in
2009-1 ton),
Mozambique ( under
multiplication) –

Output 4: Vibrant/functional bean value chain platforms
established in each country, bringing together various actors to
support bean commodity development.
 Research questions:
 What are the key factors which motivate the actors to
come together to develop a vibrant bean supply
chain?
 Hypothesis
 There are no known key factors that motivate bean
actors to come together and develop a functional
supply chain

Output 4: Vibrant/functional bean value chain platforms
established in each country, bringing together various actors
to support bean commodity development.
 Expected Results  Key Findings
 Deep understanding of
factors contribution to  Interest in bean for both
vibrant bean platform market and food
security
 Specific niche export
market
 Nutrition e.g. micro-
nutrient rich varieties

Output 4: Vibrant/functional bean value chain platforms
established in each country, bringing together various actors
to support bean commodity development- established platform
Country Value chain Specifications Platform members Operation areas
Farmers’ World
Farmers
organizations/producers
DARS
Malawi Sugar beans Export market Countrywide
NGOs
Traders
Extensions
Demeter Seed
SA trading Hub
Farmers organizations
World Vision
Sugar beans
Mozambique Export to SA Public extension Zambezia and Tete
and cream
Traders
MSU project
IIAM

Output 4: Vibrant/functional bean value chain platforms
established in each country, bringing together various actors
to support bean commodity development- established platform
Country Value Specifications Platform members Operation
chain areas
Mozambique Black Maputo IIAM Zambezia
beans market Traders and supermarket
Farmers organizations
Public extension and NGOs
Tanzania Beans Production for ARI Uyole Iringa region
households Tumaini University
food security INCOMET (NGO
and sales extension)
SACOs
District Extension
Farmers organizations and
farmers (seed and grain
production)
Traders

Output 5.1: Skills and knowledge (PVS, seed systems and
bean management options) of NARS scientists and partner
organizations including farmers enhanced
 Key Findings:
• Training of trainers speeds up the knowledge
dissemination and sustainaibility

Output 5.1: Skills and knowledge (PVS, seed systems and bean
management options) of NARS scientists and partner organizations
including farmers enhanced
Country Participants
Training areas Target groups
Female Male
Seed production Seed producers,
Malawi ? ?
/quality control extension staff
Extension staff 19
Mozambique PVS 3
(ToTs)
Mozambique PVS Farmers 2 14
Entrepreneurship Farmer seed
Tanzania linked to seed and and grain 618 419
grain business producers

Output 5.2: Project experiences in PVS, crop
management, nutrition and seed systems documented for
wider use and replication.
 Project Inception Meeting
Institution Total
IIAM 3
UYOLE 2
MCKNIGHT
2
FOUNDATION
DARS 4
CIAT 5
Participants at the inception meeting

Acknowledgement
 The McKnight Foundation CCRP for funding.
 Governments of Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania
for support and hosting the project
 PABRA-CIAT for technical support
 Partner organizations in 3 Countries: NGOs, CBOs,
Traders (Private Sector) and Farmer Associations etc
for collaboration

Thank You, For
Listening