Characterization of bean seed producers, seed production and marketing in Eastern and Southern Africa

Limited supply, availability, and access to bean seed is probably one of the most containing factors in achieving the crops productivity and thus its role in the food system. Bean breeders have produced several climate smart bean varieties, but the rate of adoption and variety turnover remains low yet crop breeding is perceived as an important pathway for increasing yield potential and adapt small scale farmers to climate change (Marcho et al., 2020). The private sector has not been keen to supply bean seed because of high rates of seed recycling by farmers given the self-pollinating and limited genetic deterioration of the crop (Rubyogo et al., 2019). The challenge of the private sector is creating stable bean seed demand given low profit margins (FAO, 2010). Within the private sector, different categories of seed producers support the bean seed sector. They include individual seed producers, community-based seed producers, seed companies, and farmer cooperatives. The type of seed producer varies by country because of variations in policies that govern seed trade. In Zimbabwe for example, the formal seed system dominates seed production so mostly certified seed is supplied by seed companies or out growers sourced by seed companies. In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Quality declared seed is allowed so there is a mix of quality declared seed and certified seed on the market. Production of Early Generation Seed (EGS): breeder, basic and pre-basic seed, is mostly a preserve of seed national research stations or seed companies that have breeding programmes. Sustaining bean seed supply thus requires a vibrant private sector

Capacity building and co-creation with bean value chain actors on the establishment of a demand led seed systems in Eastern and Southern Africa

The growing demand in domestic and export market for common beans requires high quality seed with better yields. The use of poor seed leads to sorting, costly and yield poor grain quality. High quality seed of new varieties delivers quality grain and higher yields for farmers, both traders and farmers command premium prices. To achieve this the seed production needs to start working from the grain demand

An analysis of off-takers facilitating bean grain trade to pull seed demand and supply response in Eastern and Southern Africa

Conventional model for creating demand for seed of leguminous crops has been through promotional events such as agricultural show, field days, seed fairs, demonstrations, use of print media and mass media campaigns etc. Other emerging approaches to create demand and increase adoption of improved legume crop variety seeds include use of Multi Stakeholder Platforms (MSPs). These have proven efficient in delivering and fostering demand for seeds of leguminous crops (Lorlamen et al., 2021; Ojiewo et al., 2020; Rubyogo et al., 2019). The MSPs bring together various actors to boost their networks, and resources. As such, combining promotional activities of varieties, seed, integrated management with seed and grain trade. However, conventional methods and less targeted MSP interventions may fail to create sustained seed demand hence less seed business could limit quality seed supply to farmers and contribute to slow adoption of new varieties

Improving bean production and consumption in Zimbabwe baseline report

This report presents descriptive information from a baseline study conducted in 2016 to benchmark the indicators of outcomes of the flagship initiative in Zimbabwe, understand the drivers of bean improved technology adoption and potential impacts of the initiative. The primary data from 752 bean growing households that were selected from 15 districts with highest bean area were used. These districts were selected from a list of 60 districts because they allocate the largest area to bean production in 2013-2015. Study findings revealed increased severity of bean production constraints that significantly reduce bean productivity, thus PABRA focus on Zimbabwe as a flagship country for improving bean production and productivity will help poorer households access more bean for consumption. So far, households demonstrate limited awareness of improved technologies including varieties, which calls for enhanced dissemination in terms of geographical scope and capacity of farmers on how to implement it profitably. Interventions should also account for the risk of rainfall failure by putting emphasis on climate smart technologies. Irrigation is one of climate smart technologies that have been promoted in Zimbabwe and is helping farmers make huge profits from bean production. These farms have a potential to produce more surplus for marketing after expanding their area under beans. Simulations under various scenarios revealed that for the new technology to be attractive to farmers, they should generate at least yield increase of 30%. Technologies will be attractive even with 10% yield increase if adoption is accompanied by irrigation. However, use of irrigation is associated with increased demand for hired and family labour, with women likely to bear more burden of extra unpaid labour. All interventions need to be sensitive to gender as women and men contribute unpaid labour and participate in decision making for bean production and marketing but with varying intensities in specific activities or decisions

Bean commodity corridors scaling up production and market expansion for smallholders in Sub-Saharan Africa

More structured production, distribution, and trade are important in upgrading bean value chains for higher trade volumes, farmer incomes, and national revenue. A strategic intervention to achieve these goals efficiently and effectively involves the use of a commodity corridor approach. Commodity corridors are areas of bean intensification characterized by flows of products from production to consumption points. These intensification zones are characterized by significant bean activities that include production, distribution, and consumption, and are supported by vast networks of actors. Sub-Saharan African has a low and declining share in the global trade of agricultural products; hence, the continent is trying to incorporate geographic and regional trading blocs to align them with private- sector partnership programs. The aim of this policy direction is to use territorial comparative advantages to increase market power and share, and promote regional development, which ultimately can lead to country- specific economic development and poverty reduction. In this document, we draw on data, lessons, and experiences curated over the six years when the Pan-Africa Bean Research Alliance (PABRA) implemented the bean corridor model (under the Improving Bean Production and Marketing in Africa project funded by Global Affairs Canada) to inform how a bean corridor can be conceptualized and operationalized. The conceptualization is based on economic growth approaches in the literature and inclusive business models and tools using beans as a case. We supply evidence of bean corridors that have emerged over time, benefits that arise from a functional bean corridor, and the roles of lead firms and facilitators. Here, the bean corridor is taken as a boundary-spanning tool that can bring spatially focused, and commodity-focused development approaches together to solve persistent market failures along the bean value chain. Evidence shows that a bean corridor can emerge when there is a marketable product, for example, a preferred bean variety, and lead firm(s) and facilitator(s) to smoothen the trading process. The bean corridor then facilitates trade in large volumes of beans, stimulates public- and private- sector investments into the development of novel bean products, and increases value chain coordination efficiency. By bringing together the actors, through multi-stakeholder platforms, and harnessing information and communication technologies and digital tools, the bean corridor leads to improved market efficiency. By using the bean corridor to improve the business environment, to strengthen linkages between research and research product users (traders, processors, seed producers, farmers, etc.); and between bean farmers and buyers, and engagement with policy makers, its potential to enhance value chain efficiency (e.g., inputs and output aggregations) and ultimately to transform the largely informal ad hoc bean market to a structured bean trade has been demonstrated. This approach can find applicability in other commodities amenable to intensification driven by markets

The informal seed business: Focus on yellow bean in Tanzania

This article explores the informal seed business, focusing on the yellow bean in Tanzania. The yellow bean is a major bean type traded, yet little is known about the seed supply that fuels it. The survey research in 2019 encompassed larger grain traders, informal seed traders, and retailers, covered major production, distribution and sale hubs, and was complemented by GIS mapping of seed and grain flows and DNA fingerprinting of yellow bean samples. Results showed that traders buy and sell grain and informal seed: it is not one business or the other, but both. Informal seed is an important moneymaker, representing between 15 and 40% of trader business in non-sowing and sowing periods, respectively. In the year monitored, 100% of the yellow bean seed was drawn from the informal sector, amounting to $US 4.35 million just among those sampled. Nevertheless, the informal and formal sectors are clearly linked, as over 60% of the beans sampled derived from modern varieties. Informal traders prove key for: sustaining the grain business, serving the core of the seed business, and moving varieties at scale. More explicit efforts are needed to link the informal sector to formal research and development partners in order to achieve even broader impacts

Accelerated variety turnover for open-pollinated crops in Tanzania - Phase 1 Key Findings

Open-pollinated varieties (OPVs), such as beans, sorghum, and groundnuts, are important for increased income, job creation, food security, and nutrition of both urban and rural households in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). However, the main constraint is underdeveloped seed systems, which contribute substantially to dwindling productivity among small-scale farmers due to limited access to reliable and quality planting materials. ACCELERATE is expected to accelerate varietal adoption and turnover in Tanzania by tapping into the power of large/small-scale or marketplace traders, and institutional seed buyers

Analysis of the Yellow Bean Corridor in Tanzania

The yellow bean value chain in Tanzania was necessary to understand value chain. The objective of the survey was to characterize and explore trade of yellow bean grain and potential seed. The survey collected data and grain samples from 298 grain traders (including wholesalers, exporters, aggregators, and retailers) and 64 potential seed traders (large and retail traders) from 12 regions across four administrative zones in Tanzania. The grain samples collected were for DNA analyses. Results show existence of an established yellow bean corridor across Tanzania and the region at large (Burundi, DRC, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia) and demonstrated a huge market pull in the Eastern and Southern Africa regions. There are also strong perceptions on the organoleptic quality of various yellow bean grains and varieties that are traced to their sources