Annual Meeting of the Rapid Cooking Bean Project (RCBP) in Kampala, Uganda

The RCBP is funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) under the leadership of the University of Western Australia (UWA) and the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT under the Pan Africa Bean Research Alliance (PABRA). The focus is on the East and Central Africa Bean Research Network (ECABREN) majorly in Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, where beans are a major staple in the diet and an important income-generating crop.

During the week of May 5th-9th, 2025 – at the Skyz Hotel, Protea in Kampala Uganda – the Alliance hosted the fifth annual meeting to review the progress and learnings made after six years (2019-2025) of project implementation. The meeting brought together participants from the Alliance, six East African national agricultural research common bean programs (Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), Institut des Sciences Agronomiques du Burundi (ISABU), Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KARLO), Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB), Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI),  National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO) and from Australia (UWA and ACIAR) to reflect on the RCBP’s remarkable six-year journey, and its potential future (Fig. 1).