KolFACI initiative representatives present advances in bean research

The meeting allowed participants to exchange knowledge and present advances in research on bean research in each of these countries. The agenda included key topics such as the target product profile workshop, selection index, trial design and the use of the Breeding Management System (BMS): a tool that optimizes data collection and analysis to streamline the development of new bean varieties.

Ana Mateo – Researcher at the Dominican Institute of Agricultural and Forestry Research (IDIAF) – underscored the importance of these meetings:

“It is a space for training and mutual learning, where we can see what other countries are doing and how to improve our own strategies.”

One of the greatest achievements in these five years of the initiative has been the release of new bean varieties. In Costa Rica, for example, the Quiribrí variety was introduced, which not only maintains high productivity, but also reduces the need to apply pesticides, in turn improving profitability for producers.

In Colombia, the Quiribrí variety was introduced in 2024, with three new bean varieties released up until 2023 (BIO 103-SGA, BIO105-SGA and BIO109-SGA), directly benefitting farmers. The KolFACI initiative has been key to expanding the availability of resilient beans in regions with increasing temperatures and soils unsuitable for their cultivation:

“Before, beans were grown from 600-700 meters above sea level, which limited their access in the vulnerable areas of the piedmont, the valleys and the Caribbean savannas, where there are high levels of malnutrition. Now, thanks to this new research and crop development, we have been able to identify genotypes that respond well to these challenging conditions, allowing us to improve the quality of life of these communities by offering them a source of protein and minerals with greater bioavailability,” added Adriana Tofiño, Agrosavia’s Ph.D Senior Researcher at the Motilonia Research Center.

These types of advances reflect the positive impact of the project in Latin America and the Caribbean, not only in terms of improving food security, but also in improving the quality of life of farmers and their families.

“Ahead of the next meeting to be held in October, project partners expressed great interest in addressing the following topics: biofortification, abiotic stress, data management, the application of BMS and its use to improve breeding work in their respective countries”, said Héctor Fabio Buendía, Senior Coordinator of the Alliance’s Bean Breeding Program.

This meeting reinforces regional collaboration with partners in Latin America and the Caribbean and invites research on bean challenges to address production challenges and the impact of climate change in the region.