Project to boost legume production in Africa and Asia launched
By Aghan Daniel

A research and development initiative which seeks to boost production of legumes in Africa and Asia has been unveiled.

Launched simultaneously last month in Arusha, Tanzania, and Rustenburg Kloof, South Africa, the project known as Tropical Legumes Project will develop improved varieties of selected legumes, more resilient against drought, pests and disease through marker assisted selection (MAS).

The legumes in focus include groundnut, cowpea, bean and chickpea which are essential staples in the diets of millions of Africans, and increasing their yields could greatly improve health and wealth creation in sub-Saharan Africa.

According to Ms Antonia Okono, the Communication Manager at The Generation Challenge Programme (GCP), said the project will reproduce and distribute improved seeds to farmers, in close collaboration with national research programmes. Kenya, alongside 13 other African countries will benefit from the initiative. The country’s legume of choice in the undertaking is beans.

The other countries in the project which will also build capacities of young breeders at both Msc and PhD levels include Tanzania, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia, India and Malawi. Others include Mozambique, Mali, Myanmar, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Zimbabwe.

The project which is expected to spend U$30 million under the Belinda and Gates Foundation’s funding could not have at a better time given that that most legume crops lack genomic resources due to their relative neglect by the research community, presenting a major bottleneck in the application of enabling biotechnologies for legume improvement.

The three year undertaking aims to build on the advances currently being made in ongoing initiatives in developing genomic resources in some key legumes. It will also conduct genetic studies to develop markers for target traits directly relevant for sub-Saharan Africa. So far , most of the genetic studies conducted have been in environments in the North. Relatively little is known about the genetic basis of target legume traits in developing countries, and in sub-Saharan Africa in particular.

According to Professor Paul Kimani of the University of Nairobi’s Department of Crop Science, Kenya will participate in the project on bean production. Prof Kimani who is the project’s chief scientist Kenya chose to work on the legume because, among other factors the country has continually suffered a shortfall of 200,000 tonnes in production for the last ten years.

“The consumption of bean has clearly outstripped production, leading to this huge deficit in dry beans”, he told MESHA Features. The country currently produces 400 000 tonnes per year against a demand of 600 000 tonnes per hectare. The deficit is usually sourced from Uganda and Tanzania pushing the price of a 90kg bag to nearly Ksh 3000, which is almost twice the real cost of dry beans.

Prof Kimani added that the current shortfall has been caused by pests and diseases, especially attack from nematodes. “Kenya’s current average bean yield stands at 300kg/ha when the crop is inter-cropped against a potential of 1000 tonnes/ha,” he said. Grown alone, beans in Kenya can give an average yield of even 2000kg/ha against the current 500kg/ha. Experts say that 98 per cent of the total acreage under beans are inter-cropped making it the most preferred method of growing beans.

A study carried out in Kisii early this year found out that the high market prices of the legume, had driven farmers into selling dry beans rather than consume it for dietary reasons.

“Unless something is dramatically done, we fear that the average yield may continue to tumble down hence causing a serious crisis,” he said. He decried the fact that drought, lack of soil fertility and socio-economic factors have continued to deny the country of its potential to import more dry beans. This has led to poor quality seeds as farmers have continued to rely on old varieties whose seed potential is poor and are very susceptible to drought and pests.

The Generation Challenge Program was established partly to address this disparity, and several other recent initiatives ]are working to develop a broad base of genetic and genomic resources for legumes but resources across legumes are still unbalanced, and the research is admittedly still in its early stages.

Project partners and perspectives range from advanced genomic researchers to the views and needs of farmers, thanks to collaboration between advanced research institutes that will bring in cutting-edge science, and national research programmes that, in addition to providing reality checks and farmer perspectives, ensure effectiveness, continuity and relevance. Dr Jean-Marcel Ribaut, the GCP Director, notes, “Involving scientists from national research programmes all along the research pathway ensures new tools and germplasm from the project will be relevant to local needs.”

For many of the world’s poorest people, legumes are the major—and sometimes only—sources of protein and fat. Grain and forage legumes are grown on some 180 million ha, or 12 to 15 percent of the earth's arable surface, says a source at FAO.

Grain legumes are also a rich source of essential vitamins, minerals, and important amino acids like lysine in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where hunger and malnutrition threaten the lives of an estimated 11 million people, consumption of legumes is higher than anywhere else in the world, with the exception of the Americas.

Grain legumes are key components in the diets of resource-poor people in the developing world, especially those that cannot afford to supplement their diets with meat. Legumes also generally attract higher market prices than other staple crops, Another attractive feature is their ability to fix nitrogen thus reducing the need for fertilizers. Legumes can also help replenish nutrient-depleted soil.

Despite their numerous benefits in health, income creation and soil rehabilitation, relatively little research attention has been focused on legume crops in comparison with cereals. In SSA, legume productivity is lower than anywhere else in the world.
MESHA Features Service