Celebrating 25 years of bean research in Africa

Kigali, 5 September 2022 – For 25 years, the Pan Africa Bean Research Alliance (PABRA) has seen impactful transformation in Africa. Over 37,000 bean types, with high iron, resistance to diseases such as root rots, heat tolerance, drought tolerance, and insect resilience, have been bred in and made available to 31 countries in Africa through international scientific collaboration deployed through the network. On average, farmers now earn US$1,000 more and US$500-800 more per hectare, per season with new beans in irrigated and rain-fed conditions respectively.

PABRA is celebrating 25 years of successful bean breeding across 31 countries with a side event at the Africa Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) 2022 Summit, which convenes stakeholders in the agricultural landscape to share lessons on successful approaches that enable smallholder farmers and other agricultural value chain actors earn decent livelihoods. The celebrations themed Beans Is How: Championing and transforming beans in Africa through science and partnerships in an ever-changing climate are taking place on 5 September in Kigali.

The PABRA side event will be in partnership with the UN SDG 2 advocacy hub and will be graced by Hon. Dr. Gerardine Mukeshimana, Minister of Agriculture, Rwanda, Dr. Patrick Karangwa – Director General, Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB) and other distinguished speakers from different sectors.