Accelerating Zambia’s Bean Seed Systems

Zambia’s largely rural population depends heavily on agriculture, with approximately 60% of households involved in farming and more than 50% relying on agriculture for their livelihoods. A notable crop is the common bean, particularly iron-rich beans, which were cultivated by over 287,000 farmers in Zambia in 2023. Iron beans are valued for their role in combating iron deficiency, especially among young women.

Mbereshi beans – often celebrated as a “magical nutritional powerhouse” – are one of Zambia’s most popular biofortified iron-rich bean varieties, alongside Kabulangeti and Lungwebungu varieties. Research indicates that cultivating and consuming Mbereshi beans not only boosts income and enhances food and nutrition security, but also strengthens resilience to climate change.

In addition to these significant benefits, Mbereshi beans are an early-maturing variety, reaching maturity in 80-85 days, thus providing more regular harvest and incomes for farmers. They show high disease tolerance and can yield up to two tons per hectare. This sugar bean variety – developed by the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT through its Pan-Africa Bean Research Alliance (PABRA) in collaboration with the Zambia Agricultural Research Institute (ZARI) – is also rich in protein, phosphorus, zinc, iron, vitamin B1, and fiber.

The impact of common beans on food systems and livelihoods is transformative. Despite facing challenges such as pests, diseases, drought and seed shortages, ZARI reports a notable increase in bean production in Zambia. In 2023, production reached over 88,000 tons – a significant increase from 49,000 tons in 2021. Furthermore, in the past 15 years bean productivity has doubled from 350 kg/ha to 650 kg/ha, with the land under bean production increasing from 65,360 ha to 100,000 ha in the same period following various interventions including the building of more efficient seed systems.