MORE RESEARCH FOR THE PERFECT BEAN!

By SEBASTIAN CHIPAKO

IMAGINE the idea of having the perfect bean! A bean is able to resist diseases, one that is drought resistant, high yielding and is extremely nutritious and tasty!

This could be actualized with heightened investment in research and development of bean varieties that appeals to desires and needs of various markets.

New varieties of beans have continued gaining prominence the world over with many appealing to an array of players on the market according to their specific needs.

The needs are particularly peculiar, depending largely on the sole purpose for cultivating a particular variety or the main business of the client.

In the recent past, various markets have emerged for the swelling production levels of many bean varieties and have continued growing in size.

Some of these eye the nutritious sensitive varieties that have been tailored to meet specific nutritional needs of consumers, while others gravitate towards the tasty, high yielding varieties that give excellent returns for the farmers.

While others have been engineered to resist diseases, tolerate droughts and still return the tastiness thus appealing massively to the consumers.

The bean breeders explained at a field day held at Malashi milking center that research into these is cardinal to producing a variety that not only responds to climate change but also is high yielding for income generation.

Chief Agriculture Research Officer for regions 1 and 2, Kennedy MuiMui revealed that20 varieties have so far been released on the market through research and have gained prominence within the country and region.

Mr. Muimui added that because of their specially engineered qualities and demand on the market, they have the potential to spin the lives of many, especially small-scale farmers positively.

He disclosed that market for these varieties has boomed locally, with local seed companies, chain stores and canning companies among the major buyers.

“The region has also opened up market for beans, with South Africa providing a huge market, and many other Southern Africa development Countries (SADC) providing insatiable market for these varieties we are producing,”Mr. Muimuisaid.

Some of the highlighted, exceptionally impressive varieties, which are also highly demanded within the country and outside are the renowned iron and Zinc rich Mbereshi and Luibeans, Lungwebungu, the famously tasty sugar bean.

Others are Lufubu bean, which stands out with its peculiar black color, also known as Zorro is said to be very nutritious and tasty, Lwangeni which is small and white in color is specifically for canning and has attracted buyers from within and outside the country.

There is also the Sadzu, Kalambo, Lwangeni, Lunga, Lusemfwa, Kalungu and many other varieties that are specially bred to resist some diseases that are usually amenace to beans such as Angular leaf spot, common bacteria blight, Anthracnose, bean common mosaic virus and rust.

Mr. Muimui stressed the need for small-scale farmers to embrace the bean technology which are tailored to thwart some diseases, are high yielding and drought resistant as well as could increase their incomes.

Researchers in Zambia have continued breeding bean varieties with an objective of coming up with varieties that will not only address issues of nutrition, diseases and yielding but also the climate change issue.

Are searcher and lecturer at the University of Zambia, who is also a bean breeder, Kelvin Kamfwa disclosed that there has not been a lot of local investment in research and development to hasten the development of bean varieties that would increase incomes of farmers.  

He explained that support has been trickling in from outside the country with organizations such as the Kirk house Trust from the United Kingdom and USAID.

Dr. Kamfwa stressed the overriding need to pump more resources in research so that more varieties are developed to meet different conditions and farmer’s expectations.

With the resources the university is receiving for breeding varieties, over two thousand varieties have been bred and are undergoing trials at a site in the out skirts of Mpika district in Malashi area.

“We are currently conducting trials for a number of varieties we have developed, they seek to address many challenges the ordinary varieties encounter. With the new varieties diseases are resisted, some are drought resistant. They all have different characteristics,” he explained.

Dr. Kamfwa echoed the potential these varieties have of uplifting the living standards of many especially the small-scale farmers.

He is optimistic that after successful trials, more exciting new varieties could be hitting the market in the next two to three years.

Dr. Kamfwa explained that market for new bean varieties is very enormous owing to high demand for these within the country and outside.

“There is need for these varieties to get in the hands of farmers as soon as there lease process is done so that they start benefiting from the science being applied.”

Dr. Kamfwaalso reiterates the need for farmers to be involved in the variety selection at a very early stage and on farm trials.

He explained that farmers are usually plugged in from inception therefore this would ease adoption process unlike where researchers work in isolation from the farmers.

Despite the optimism, these experts have generally agreed that the biggest challenge faced when trying to establish a new product on the market, especially in the agriculture sector is low adoption rate.

The bean breeders from ZARI and the University of Zambia seem to be on the right track in tackling this challenge.

Chief Agricultural Research Officer from ZARI Region III, Crisanty Chama disclosed that the participatory variety selection being applied in the development of new varieties is the way to go.

He explains that this enables farmers help in the selection of bean varieties following different market preferences including color, size and many others.

“This enables farmers be part and parcel of the bean agenda, from trials all the way up to when a variety is being released. It improves adoption levels of these technologies and helps new varieties concretize their position on the market, ”he explained.

Mr. Chama emphasized that participatory variety selection as a methodology gives an opportunity to merge the indigenous knowledge and insight with the new technology to come up with varieties which will be easily acceptable on the market.

There is need for farmers to diversify their agriculture especially in Muchinga province to cultivating crops such as hybrid bean varieties. Not just the low yielding, disease plagued old varieties, but the newly developed varieties that have huge markets.

These have the potential to propel the lives of many small scale farmers to higher heights and out of the impoverishment of earning less from agriculture.

Thetheme for the field day which attracted over 300 farmers was“Embracing beantechnologies for sustainable economic empowerment in the new normal”and sends atimely message to small scale farmers in the province.

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