By David Karanja, Patricia Onyango, Owen Kimani, Eileen Nchanji, and Jean Claude Rubyogo

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Kenya, it exacerbated the already struggling food system. Cognizant of multiple uses of beans, the Pan-Africa Bean Research Alliance (PABRA) embarked on the promotion of wider use of beans to increase food and nutrition security even before COVID-19 to improve resilience of communities. Through PABRA, the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) and the Alliance engaged with Lucy Wairimu, the Secretary, Gituamba Ushirikiano Women Group with 56 women members. The group shared their challenges in securing nutritious food and limited capacity to secure job opportunities combined with loss of incomes. The group were using two bean varieties that are late maturing and released in 1972 –Mwetamania, and Kifarm– and urgently needed new climate- resilient varieties.

With support from PABRA, KALRO initiated a seed revolving scheme, where group members could share bean seeds with one another every season. A transformation journey started in March 2019 when the Group received 72 kilograms of Nyota, a newly released, climate-resilient, High Iron and Zinc bean variety which is also early maturing and highly demanded by consumers. Despite erratic weather, the group harvested 1,872 kilograms where they would normally harvest 500 kilograms.

Wairimu said: “With the pandemic, the group shifted from physical meeting and shared our agronomic concerns through short messages on WhatsApp with the extension officer and KALRO officers. This helped us diagnose issues on the farm, we took pictures of the ailing plant and sent on our phone.” The group also acquired trained on right bean planting, spacing, and fertilizer application from the technical team at KALRO and the Alliance.

Between October and December 2019, 34 members bought 10 kilograms each of Nyota bean certified seed, totaling 340 kilograms to plant 28 acres in total. The estimated harvest was 10 tons and through structured marketing facilitated by PABRA the group sold 2.4 tons to Smart Logistics Ltd (bean processor), earning around US$ 1,662. The rest of the grain was used as food and replanting. The group membership increased to 76 women and planted 100 acres in March 2020. This crop was harvested in July 2020 where the group sold 19.8tons of Nyota grain to Smart Logistics earning US$ 13,400.

To replenish their seed stock and initiate local seed production, the women’s group was issued with 72 kilograms of certified Nyota bean in March 2021. More women from the community joined the group after seeing the group members selling the Nyota bean, making group membership 96. Some of the benefits from the sale of beans included 15 members were able to pay school fees for their children, or secondary, college or university fees. Twenty members were also able to pay medical bills, land titles, and some built permanent houses.   “As result of using this climate and consumer demanded variety, supported by improved knowledge and skills and access to profitable market, we have transformed our livelihood for the better,” said Wairimu. The increased production and incomes from production and marketing of Nyota bean was noticed by the Nakuru County Government officials and as a result the County officials prioritized beans as key value chain to alleviate poverty and increase women’s incomes. The County Government encouraged its programs such as KCEP-KRAL and NGOs to invest in the bean value chain under the county homegrown agricultural policy ‘okoa maharagwe’ operation.