Nairobi: Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) is piloting an inclusive seed demand strategy by leveraging champion farmers to reach the ‘last mile’ in seed distribution. Collaborating with the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) to develop and promote climate-resilient bean varieties, the champion farmers facilitate the distribution of seed to other farmers, assess specific seed varieties needed in their area, and communicate this demand to seed companies and distributors.
According to Kenya News Agency, the farmers are also involved in the aggregation process, where they bring in their harvests at one point to create larger volumes that are more attractive to buyers. This facilitates the collection point, sorting, weighing, and storage of beans. Farmers from Narumoru, Kieni East, in Nyeri County have been involved in aggregating their high-yielding beans, which they have been producing in huge volumes thanks to the training by KALRO on the best variety to plant in the area.
Dr. David Karanja, the National Coordinator, Grain Legume from KALRO, said the model includes negotiating favourable prices for the seeds and potentially bundling them with other services. He gave an example of the Nyota bean variety that was introduced in 2021 and which is a market-demanded variety that has seen most of the farmers increase their yields. ‘They are known for their ability to produce 6-10 90 kg bags per acre, making them a popular choice for farmers. Nyota beans also mature early (60-70 days), are drought-tolerant, and are relatively resistant to common bean diseases,’ he said.
Dr. Karanja said the success of the Nyota bean and its life-changing streak for the farmers has seen KALRO develop another new variety, the ‘Waithera bean.’ The bean is now the talk of the town in Kieni after the pilot and has demonstrated the potential for significantly increasing yields sixfold compared to the local varieties such as Wairimu and twice the production compared to the Nyota bean. ‘From 1 kg of Nyota beans, a farmer gets 26 kg, while for the Waithera bean, a farmer will get twice that and harvest 55 kg,’ Dr. Karanja said.
Rebecca Waruguru, a farmer from Gatuanyaga who is among the few farmers who managed to plant the Waithera variety on her farm, says she was able to harvest over 20 kgs from half a kilo of Waithera bean seed. Waruguru, who is from the ‘focus farmers group,’ said they even went ahead and cooked to compare the taste with the local Wairimu and found the taste was even better, as it had no gas. Another farmer, Agnes Nyaguthii, who planted 4 kilogrammes and produced 150 kgs of the Waithera bean, said she cannot wait to distribute it to her neighbours so that they can benefit and embrace the bean.
Dr. Karanja explained that the Narumoru area, where they have been piloting the Waithera bean variety, has very cold nights and also experiences drought occasionally, and the bean, which has done well, will now further complement the Nyota bean that is equally doing well and was bred for improved nutritional value, specifically higher iron and zinc content, as well as increased yield and drought tolerance. ‘We needed to introduce a bean variety that has the same quality for cooking but doesn’t have gas, and that is how Waithera came about, and so we gave samples to farmers in this locality to be able to grow,’ he said.
Dr. Karanja explained that although the productivity of Nyota and Waithera is huge, the plant structure of the two is different since Nyota is a type 1 bean, meaning it reaches maximum height and does not grow anymore, while Waithera is a type II bean that, if given more nutrients and water, can continue to produce until it reaches maximum, thus the higher yield. He noted the biggest challenge with farmers is they tend to mix various varieties of seed, and this, he explained, sees most of them not get yields as expected. ‘We are using the extension officers who are carrying out capacity building for the farmers and also demonstrations in order to produce quality.’
For Waithera, Dr. Karanja said that they have already done the first breeder seed, then going to basic seeds, and by October this year they will be buying from the farmers, and by next year there should be adequate seed of the Waithera variety that farmers across the Country will be able to access. Apart from Kieni East, the Waithera variety, whose production takes around 70 to 90 days, is also doing well in some parts of Nakuru, Bomet, and Elgeyo Marakwet.
Agnes Mwangi, an Agriculture Officer in Kieni sub-location, said most farmers in the area have been planting beans as an intercrop or a rotational crop, and after the introduction of the Nyota bean and its performing well, most have embraced production. ‘After the Nyota bean harvest, through the support of County which had distributed seeds to farmers for free, more farmers have come out sourcing for the nyota bean seeds through KALRO,’ she said. Bean farming in Kenya is a significant agricultural activity, ranking as the second most important food crop after maize, and the new, high-yielding, and nutritious bean varieties being produced by KALRO, especially the Nyota and Waithera beans, are transforming bean farming in Kenya, boosting both farmer incomes and household nutrition.
