News
Beans for better nutrition and attainment of the global goals
By Gerardine Mukeshimana, Minister for Agriculture and Animal Resources in Rwanda,and Juan Lucas Restrepo, Global Director for partnerships & advocacy at CGIAR,and Director General of the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT Rwanda takes nutrition...
Beans Is How – PABRA Celebrating 25 years – Agenda
Beans are a staple food and source of livelihood in Africa. Recognizing this, PABRA members comprising the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, NARS, and value chain actors aim to improve bean production and consumption. This innovative partnership brings...
Much Achieved – But Still a Long Way To Go
Research can play a vital role in reducing poverty and environmental degradation, as has been clearly illustrated in the case of food security. Researchers have helped to achieve remarkable breakthroughs – but they face huge challenges. Lucy Gituamba never imagined...
Farmer Cooperatives transforming smallholder livelihood in Kenya
By Owen Kimani, Boaz Waswa, Eileen Nchanji, Patricia Onyango, Noel Templer Agriculture cooperatives play a key role in enhancing productivity and access to markets for smallholder farmers. Most farmers’ cooperatives in Kenya have attempted to establish...
World Leaders Must Look at the Big Picture to Solve Food Crisis
by Marco Ferroni - Chair, CGIAR System Board From the worst drought in four decades threatening famine across the Horn of Africa to extreme heat in South Asia, the war in Ukraine and the unequal pace of pandemic recovery, global food systems are under...
Soil testing platform, a gamechanger in maximizing bean yield for farmers in Uganda
Soil analysis is important in agriculture because it determines the inputs required for efficient use of soil for crop production. A proper soil test, therefore, ensures that the right fertilizer will be applied to the soil to meet the optimum nutrient requirements of...
Canada’s partnership contributes to improved food security and inclusive entrepreneurship in Africa
As part of his recent visit to Kenya, Rwanda and South Sudan, the Pan-Africa Bean Research Alliance (PABRA) and International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) Nairobi offices were greatly honored to host Honorable Harjit S. Sajjan...
Delivering Safe Beans for Better Health
By Dr. Boaz Waswa, Senior Scientist - Pan Africa Bean Research Alliance According to FAO, foodborne diseases affect 1 in 10 people worldwide each year. Over 600 million people fall sick due to various foodborne illnesses. In addition, foodborne illness is responsible...
Making the Bean Corridor work: Lessons from Tanzania
by Radegunda Kessy, Sylvia Kalemera, Nestory Shida Fadhili Kasubiri, Agness Ndunguru, Mary Ndimbo, Mary Mdachi, Julius Mbiu, Jean Claude Rubyogo and Patricia Onyango Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) plays a key role in the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in...
The Impact Partnerships on Smallholder Farmers: Case of Gendro community in Kenya
The long-standing partnership between PABRA and the Canadian government spans over two decades. This partnership has been through initiatives towards food, income, and nutrition security in sub-Saharan Africa ensuring rural women are the biggest beneficiaries across...
Local Farmers to Benefit from Bean value chain projects in Malawi
About 100,000 smallholder farmers in Malawi will benefit from two projects recently launched in Malawi, seeking to improve the common bean value chain through increased production, processing and value addition and access to readily available markets. The Alliance of...
WOMEN EMPOWERMENT THROUGH BEAN FLOURS
For reduced market barriers, diversified enterprise and livelihood opportunities, and increased availability of diverse nutrient-rich foods How are bean flours empowering women in the African region? When the country plunged into a crisis as a result of the political...
Empowering Zinduka Women’s Group in Tanzania to Produce Quality Bean Seed and Better Their Community
This post is by Fadhili Kasubiri, Michael Kilango, Agnes Ndunguru, Mary Ndimbo, Kessy Radegunda, Sylvia Kalemera, Patricia Onyango, Noel Templer, Teshale Mamo, Eileen Nchanji and Jean Claude Rubyogo. In 2010, a Zinduka women’s group based in the Mshewe village in...
Can Informal Traders Drive Seed Security? A Case of Eastern DRC’s Bean and Cassava Business
This post is by Noel Templer, Mercy Mutua, Eliud Birachi, Sylvia Kalemera, Kijana Ruhebuza, Benjamin Wimba, Radegunda Kessy, Eileen Nchanji, Patricia Onyango and Jean-Claude Rubyogo. Figure 1. Bean and Cassava Production Zones in DRC. The eastern Democratic...
Participatory Approaches and Demand-Led Research Making Bean Seed Accessible to Millions of Smallholders in Burundi
by Sylvia Kalemera, Eric Nduwarugira, Nepomuscene Ntukamazina, Blaise Ndabashize, Noel Templer, Kessy Radegunda, Fadhili Kasubiri, Patricia Onyango and Jean Claude Rubyogo. Burundi is a landlocked country. Its economy depends mainly on agriculture, which contributes...
Empowering women entrepreneurs to deliver quality bean seed in Burundi
Eric Nduwarugira, Nepomuscene Ntukamazina, Blaise Ndabashize, Patricia Onyango, Eileen Nchanji and Jean Claude Rubyogo Common beans are a major food and cash crop for more than 90% of smallholder farmers in Burundi. However, access to quality seed of improved...
Banking on beans: Improving nutrition and addressing gender inequality in Africa’s bean value chains
CultiAF precooked beans project is working to improve nutrition and address gender inequality in Kenya and Uganda. Beans enrich Ugandan households On the slope of a small hill in Kambugu village in Kiboga, Uganda, Jennifer Nakaye’s green, leafy...
Building resilience for women bean farmers in Kenya in the wake of COVID 19 pandemic
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)...
New digital Atlas flags higher temperatures as key threat to bean production in Africa
By Rachel Muthoni Andriatsitohaina, Sean Mattson, Patricia Onyango, Owen Kimani, Elliot Gee, Andrew Farrow, Robin Buruchara and Jean Claude Rubyogo The digital atlas models changes in suitability for bean production in Africa over the next ten to twenty years and...
Grain Market: A Pull for Seed Businesses across Bean Corridors in Tanzania Webinar
The Feed the Future Global Supporting Seed Systems for Development (S34D) activity is implemented by Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and its consortium of partners. The analysis of the yellow bean corridor in Tanzania was conducted under S34D by a team of researchers...