Final version of Tropical Legumes II Project Report for Phase 1 - icrisat

Phase I Social Sciences research in Objective 1 and Objective 8 focused on two countries: Kenya
and Ethiopia. In Kenya, the project was spearheaded by the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute
(KARI) and was implemented in the drought prone areas of Western Kenya along the Lake Basins
(Nyanza and Western Provinces), Central and South Rift Valley (Rift Valley Province), dry land of Central
Kenya (Central Kenya Province ) and Lower Eastern Province (dry land of Ukambani). In Ethiopia, the
project was led by the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research-Melkassa, allied with the Southern
Agricultural Research Institute (SARI) and implemented in southern Ethiopia, the Central Rift Valley, and
drylands of the eastern and north eastern parts of the country.
During the course of Phase I, these areas were characterized by a series of stresses. In Kenya, this
included political unrest (at the beginning of the project) followed by continuous severe droughts
every season. In Ethiopia, the drought was mainly been severe in 2009. Also, both countries routinely
receive substantial amounts of food and seed aid.
Socio-economic/Targeting
In Phase 1, baseline studies were carried out to inform the breeding and seed delivery components
of the project for better targeting of impact and efficient allocation of resources, as well as provide a
baseline against which project impacts would be measured. The analysis focused on understanding the
current situation of common bean production and productivity, the constraints that hinder increased
productivity, and the socio-cultural and economic environments that facilitate or constrain adoption of
new technologies. Secondary time series data obtained from FAOSTAT and published reports were used
to analyze the common bean production and yield trends in Eastern and Southern Africa. Primary data
was gathered through a survey of randomly selected samples of farmers and traders along the value chains
in two countries (Ethiopia and Kenya). The sampling frame was designed to support an impact evaluation
that accounts for conditions “with” and “without” as well as “before” and “after” the project as part of an
overall monitoring and evaluation framework. In each country, the population domain covers areas where
common bean production is important but constrained by adverse climatic conditions, including domains
that are purely commercial, semi-subsistence and largely subsistence. These three domains correspond
to the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia, the Southern Nations Nationality Peoples Regional State (SNNPR) of
Ethiopia and the semi arid Eastern province of Kenya, respectively. A multi-stage sampling procedure was
used to select the actual villages and households included in the survey.
Production and productivity trends
Common bean production in eastern and southern Africa is mostly extensive rather than intensive. FAO
data shows that area under the crop has grown by 20% in the last two decades while yield growth rates
have been largely negative (FAO, 2008). It was largely declining in most of the top producing countries
throughout 1990s. Although yield growth rate remained negative in many parts of ESA, it has also
been recovering in the last decade (Figure 1). During the 2000s, the growth rate experienced recovery,
reversing the negative trend to positive growth in Rwanda and Malawi, though it is still negative in
Uganda, Kenya, Burundi, DRC and Tanzania (Figure 6-1). This recovery is partly a result of the effort
of genetic improvement as well as innovations in the seed delivery and crop management systems to
address the production constraints (especially declining soil fertility, drought, pests and diseases) by
NARS and CIAT-PABRA research.
Common bean production constraints
Both secondary and primary data confirmed drought, pests and diseases, long standing soil fertility
decline and seed accessibility problems as key constraints currently limiting common bean productivity
growth.
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Engaging Smallholder Farmers | Tropical Legumes II Project