r 
j 
1 ClAT'S AI'I'I\OI\CII TO COLLABORATIVE RESEI\I\CII FOI\ SEAN PROllUCEHS IN 1\I:I\ICI\1 
Roger 1\. K"i rkby2 
Sean Production in Africa .. • 
Annual production of beans (Phaseolus \~ulgaris 1,,) in Afríea amounts to 
approximately 2 million tonnes. Production tonds to be concentl'ated in cooler 
highland areas of Enstern and Central Afrien, particularly in Burundi, Kenya, 
Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zaire, a1though the crop is also important in 
other eountries and in semi-arid cllvironments . 
• 
Beans playa critical role in human nutritioll in the region. About 45·, of 
total dietary protein in Burundi and Rwanda is deriven from the consumption of 
beans tan importanee exceeding that found in any country of l,atin America, the 
crop's centre of diversity) , Uietary complementarity of heans with staple st,It'ch 
crops 15 important in maize/bean and sorghum/belln cropplng systems, anú is 
crucial I~here, as in Uganda, úiets ha sed on cassava or on banana have been 
associated with severe protein deficiency symptoms. 
i;===lsmall farmers are the principal producers of heans, most of which are inter-
. ,'. cropped in maize, sorghum or banana. Most production is rOl' subsistence 
"'.' i"'5 consumption, coupled with sorne production for sale to urhan populations, for Hllem 
..... I~ beans normally constitute a relatively low-cost source of protein. Use of 
'''~ fertilizers and pesticides ir, ocan prodllction is rare in thts region, yields 
O iC fHe' less than one t/hectare ao<\ increase;; in produrtioll are heing achieved 
10 ::l!: primarily through expansion in the arca cropped. 
C> 
O§ Bean Research in National Prognllnmes 
-' 
1'\8 Research on heans has a long history in Afríea and has continuf'd to increase in 
1----- ; mportance duri ng the past few years. Genet i c i mprovément of hcam: general! y 
1S the Tesponsihility of erain le!lume programmes, while the lmprovement of 
cropping systems, bean agronomy and eTOr protecti OB are vari 01l~ I y organi sed as 
separate research programmes 01' integrat'ed into the respon5 i hi 1i t ies of grai n 
legume programmes. 
lhé adequacy of human reSOUTces avai Jable to thC'5e nilt lonal rICscarch prop,rams 
varies great Iy. Ugancla, wi th Rn est i mated 4 SO, lioo hectarcs of beans ¡::rolill in 
severa! distinct agroecological zones, has twelve graduate staff of the mni~try 
of Agrieulture devoting on average 70% of their research time to the hean erop. 
Not a11 countries are so well endowed. In re('ent years agrollomy in g('nernl 
appears to have received leS5 attentioll than hrecdjng ami ('ro!' I'fotectioll. AIl 
COlllltries, however, have placed pl'iority on improving the training of their 
research staff, both graduates and technical assistants. 
1 
Paper presented at St>nior Research/Extensioll I\dministrators Workshop, Lilnng"e, 
Malnwi, 5 - 8 May I~R7. 
2 Coordinator anú Cropping Systems IIgrol1omist, CII\T Hegion,,! Programme on 
Beans in Eastern ilfrica, P.O. Box 67, !leo re Zeit, Ethiopia . 
. . /2 
',:~;"'Tr::¡:¡(". 
¡"';'¡--'''''+~ 
2 
N:1tlonnl lesearch coordi,,<ttors gcucrally hov .. identifled 5e~ll ~Iortlgc, 
·tl":1n~port for QH'~fnrm T'p.:¡.('ot'd" CInc! flC'l{' eqttipmCllt l1nt nvniJ~lhlp rOl· hw:d 
I'nn'I. ." f' '" ¡"f!'''~tI'o,..tnt':l! J llllltntions to the effidcllt ,lcpl"}'lI!ellt of the 
avalln"'e resenrch IIlnllpOl'er, 
O\,portllllj t.les fol' exchnllp'(' ot researe" mcthotlologlcs, h"nn ~f'n"I',;1~m, 
liter"ttlr .. ",,,1 other Tesults nlllo!lg ""tlonnl henn 1'1'ogrn"lIl1c~ havp h('('1I ",,'I,I,,!' 
jn p'p.nel'nl \lntll rec~ntlr. fI '1"E'<;tloullnlre SlITVCy of nll henil H'.('"r('h('f'~ 
kilo"" to ClflT in I\fden in 1',):15 ¡,¡',ntlf,icd n crltlen! 11('1'<1 f,'r imp"ovo'" nr,,"'·' 
to infonnatinn "ud dorllmentntiC',.. One brlght sl'0t wns tIlO emclTCllcC t.hl'f''' \ ":1 
allo óf the I'hllseulus !lean Newsletter for Eastern Aftica, compile.! und l'"h' 1 c.h • 
by /{enya t s i~1 t ioi;¡¡ rprogram¡ííeiiniilka. 
lIof'pOon f'f ·rf.'~f'orch ".,sults has been ln~<le"u3tely doctlllI"nt<:d, l>IIt "PI""!!" ,,, 
¡'nve bee" mo.dcrntelr ~"cce5sf,,1 In cprtatn eaS'?5 of "e\' VOt"1"t¡ .. s. rOl' 
ex:!"'ple, !l' recent sur"ey sUP-p'!'stf''¡ that up lo ~!J'l: nf hf'!lu l','nolurt!~'n in "he 
K"hn' .. l1istrtct nf S.I1. Ur.onda conoes frolll the v!lrleties 1<20 "nd !{nhullIm", 
relensed between 19G8 !lltd 1972. 
Objectivus lI1I<1 Orga!.!.iz:ttÍoll uf Cll\T Beall I'rogrdiriilié I\ctiVities in Mrie:l 
e"ided by "" 'nlth! ",,,,ctin!! or maiono! heon res"nrchers hrlrl in H"l;¡,,j il! 
1980, Cll\T's 1lf.'!1n rrogrlllllllle ninos to sUPl'ort niltlollol efforts portlcn!,,! lI' jn 
the arell$ of p.eneti.c illlprovement, the develoflment of mote productive el0I'I'I"" 
systems lInd the trainlng of stoff. 
'Ihrre sep"l'ntcl)" funtlr,1 H:r,I OllnI bp:11l proRl'nll!mes aTe ¡"'plrll1rnt,,'\ J,I' r:1AI in 
a IImnl1r>r tlt~t Is Inll'lId('d to comhinc ntlvnntnges of dC~!'lltl'"1 I~ntl('n 1,1,11 11' 
~nnta{'t Idth :1 Inrge !l!llIIher of natlon:11 I'tof)rmounes aTHI ngl'o€'co!opical 'OJl<'". 
!'IlItl ~mnl1('r rroU[lS of E'xpatrlatt>$ l"ss li.kell' to domín::rtf' !lntionn! 1'1'<'r."""I"''' 
dr>ci"ions) ,dth thor,e of rcntrnlisntion (cnsler illtenliscll'linflry t{'nlm,ork ",,,1 
a cri.tical ma~s). 'Ihe tlistrlblltlon of reglonnl staff is shown ,In 'l:lltl!' 1: in 
e"eh case, CIIIT stnrf are n5sip,nnl hy nr.r!,(,'''l'l1t to wnrk .. ith 11 hnst ""ti O",,, 
pro!!!'""",,!' while T",t''¡ni.np. !'q:loll" 1 r('sl'0l1s1blli,ties '<hJch, In 5('11'" en",p" ,,~,I,' 
bcyolld the borders of n siugle subreglon. --'-
Table 1. 
Sub-Regio!! lUollor} 1'05 ill 011 Loe II ti VII 
Great Lakes Ill'eede r /Coord i nn t o r rSI\H-HuhOlra lhmllf'" 
l ~.d s s 1). c. J Cr0l'plllg S)'st"ms Spccialistl 
I\llthrnl'"logi~t ! SAl! -1'III"'mo P",,,,,.:! 
I'athologi,t. I Si\ H. . Hrrholl" HU:!1l tI:! 
CT0l'l'illp, Systcms Agrollomist ISi\Il .. l'rrhnn:r I!lmn"" 
Nlltritionist IS I\H - Hllbl'l111 n,,,,,,,h. 
Eastern I\fri ca Cl"~I'!,i n!! Sr'" ""1, I\grol1omi st/ Ii\H,Nnl'rt/llrhrf" 7, il 
Coonli l11ltnr Etl!' "1' i" 
t lISI1 111 :HI" e 11111 J 'llerdcr/l'nll,olC'~,qt (IJ HI\F· 1~:aJtl!fd~1. "1~:HJrlft 
",;f'nnp1l1i~t (1) ~I(\F· K:Hvtlot1a. IIII:lllt':t 
I:,olloml r, t {I J '1/\IHJ-I\I'''';(I'I, '1""~:!!li'l 
Sotlthcrn I\fdco 1':1 t hn' Pp. i ~ t /Conrd 1. H:l t nr '1/\ lHl- 1\ nr<~ 11!1, I :lIt:- ~Hd '1 
n, f'f'11"t <'!\IHJ J\l'tf'~11l1. J:llti:"d· t 
IC IIJIIJ C,ol'l'lng ~)·".t"lII~ IIgt'olHl!nlstllJ "i\llO-I\,n,,1w. 1:",7'''' l" 
F" t "m!} I n HI  '; I (1 ) '11\11(1 .. /\ '''',1",. '¡ "11' "" ¡ " 
l!r""drr (11 nlltld~1. H;il:lhd 
3 
In order to encourage the strengthening of national programmcs that are more 
likely to remain effective after tha withdrawal of externa! support, CrATls 
regional programmes usually do not run separate fieid trials. Instead, every 
effort is made to support natíonal teams in conceptualíslng, planning ami 
carrying out field research. 
Organisation of Collaborati ve llesearch 
As neighhouring countries often share simil ar agroecologica 1 zone~ nnd product i on 
constraÍnts at the farm level, CIA'f eonsiders purposefuJ col! ahorati on amonp, 
national programmes towards solving cornmon research problems to be a further 
potential of.a regional programme. Not only are limited resources used more 
efficiently through concentration of effort by different national programmes 
upon complementnry aspects of " prohlem shared by them, hut also the planninp. nnó 
8nnlytical ahilities of nation"l program scientists are enhanced through collabo­
rative planning sessions and peer group revlew of research progress. 
The role of the regional pl'ogratnllle in tllese "network" activities 15 t .. ofol<l. 
Firstly. the programme can catalyse collaboration among countrÍes SO that their 
understanding of shared problems 3ml their rate of progress in eX[lloi ting res('"rch 
opportunities are greater tllan wou]d be likely through national rcse"rch ('ollrlllct{',l 
in 1s01ation. Secondly, a regional programme should have the teehnieal hackup 
to be ubIe to feed into natíona] progl'nmmes the new germplasm, researeh methods 
and scientific documentation that is l'equired and l'equested. 
P.ach regional progl'amme 15 monitored hy a steeríng committee, which compris('s 
the nattonal hean reseal'ch cooróinators, the regional coordin"tor ¡¡nd a donor 
representative. Annua! meetings of the stcering committees select rescnrch 
prioritíes having regional importance, guide the implementation of rer.ional 
activities in researeh, training nnd information exchange. nn" authorise the 
alloeatíon of discretionary line items within regional budgets. 
TE'chnical meeting!> focu.sed on I'riority prohlcmsare provil1R their vnl\l[, in 
collating research resul ts aCTOS s cOtlutri cs and regions, in idcnti frinR the ji mJt ~ 
of present knowledge and in plnnninr, collahorative rcsearch.· A meeting of 
entomologists and he,m hreeders, focussed on th~ beanfly (OphiQ!!1Yi! SI'P.), \.a5 
hcld in 1986. This year's sJledalist meeting will focus oñ strat€'v,ies for hrt'edillf 
for.disease resistance in beans, and next year's meeting will discuss strategies 
for agronomic researeh. -
Three kinds of co11 aborati ve research have be",n recognised by the regi on~ 1 stecr; nI' 
committees, and are hei.ng supported technically and (ín part) fimmcinlly 
through the regional programmes: 
1. Across-countries evaluatíon, c.g. the Afriean !lean Yield and Adapt"tion 
Nl1rsery (AFBYAN). This regional varü·ty tria! not only perroi ts (,!lch 
national programmc to ('val\l:tte promisinr. ol' r('leascd vnrit:'ties from oth('r 
nntional programmes, hut also ('nahl!:'s the identificatíon of homologous 
locations or agroE'eologicnl zones for possible future transfer of varletles 
and researeh informati on. 
2. llivision of effort on " <'Oll1lnOI1 res€'arch topie, e.g. r€'p,íollal stratq~y fn,. 
heanfly researeh. Natio""l l'rogrnmm€'s vary in thei r I'rC'sf'nt ahí liti€'s to 
tadle the íntegrated control strntegies of host-pl'1l\t resistol\l'e hn.'['di"p-. 
ecologie,,1 research lending to a degre<' of cultural "n<l/or hioJogica¡ COlitrol, 
!Inri tls€' of illsectiride. Some ,,,eclalísati,,n of effort ami poo11ng of 
results has been agre .. d alllong national programmes. 
3. Re~iol!al leadership role, on selected priority topies. ('.g. berll! breeding 
4 
for di ~ea~e res i stances. Nat j 011;,1 I'rogram1l1C's are hanl-l'rC'ssc,1 to ,!"vote 
"d('(pwte attention toail the importffilt bean disea~es, and id",,1 condi tions 
for specific screening of germplas," are fouml only in certaill locatiollS. 
WHhin Rastern Africa, Ugnnda is taking a IC'adcrsllip rol" 011 asrochyta 
bl i ght, whi le Ethiopi a \Vi I I do the ~am(' for hean rllst. K"y rt>search 
techni'1"es are be.illg developcd hy the lending p1'ogr'lmme, wldeh will proceed 
to condl1ct initial scrcC'ning of germplasm to identify effectivl' sources of 
resistance, and 3ssist informally with traildng for other progrannnes. 
110wever, other interested national programmes are encouraged 01' assisted to 
condoct yield loss assessments and to use resistance sources in their o\Vn 
brecding programmes • 
. 
On-Farm Research 
The past three years have been marked by a considerable improvement in Imder­
standing of farmers J constraints in bean production and of the types of innovnt i "n 
that show promise at the farOl leve 1. While the encouragement of on- faTln res,," reh 
has recei ved considerab 1 e attenti on from re¡!iona I hean progra,,""(,~ nnd frorn r:! 1\1' 
sclentists of al! disciplines, the methods u~ed have varied. lhe 5t:tffjng [ll1d 
organisational strllcture of national re5earch institutions, as \~el I as the 
re lati ve i mportance and comp I exity of hean prodllction withi n loca 1 farming systl'ms. 
have inflllenced the nature of e lAT' s invol vement in different coulltries. 
For example, where farming systems research (FSR) teams have be~n devrlor~d i" 
bean-producing areas, 5upl'0rt has I,,'('n offered as needed hoth to thl' rSIl temll 011,1 
to i ts linkage with loca 1 cOl11modi ty research programmes. Commodity resparclH're, 
based 011 an experiment stntion generally need some personal experience of on-fa1'1O 
research if they are to ap(Jreciate and make me of information gath('red by an 
FSIl team. In the absence of a sped fi c programme for FSR, commodity teams need 
to be able to diagnose farmers' requirements and to test their teehnology. 
Diagnostic work in the (:rC'nt 1a kC's reglon has made extensi ve t1~t> of faetoria 1 
trials eonoucted on farms to identify amI rank specific constraints amI 
interactions among them. Bean diseas('s have proven to be espE'ciall)' important, 
and breeding for resistance 15 recejving particular emphasis in national amI 
collaborative research activities. Com(Jlementing the initinl dial~110~t icresearch, 
inten~ive sllrvey~ of f:trl11C'r~' I'raetil'f'~ and decision-making on variC'tal 
mixtures (often coml'ri s in,'~ lOto 20 grai n types) have shown tha t the pr0l'0rt i ons 
of different cOl11ponento, of n 111h:lnr(', arE' adiusted hy tliE' farmer 
according to expectatiOl\s 01' growing conditions in the coming seao,on "1ll1 
knowledge of varietal dift"rcncp~. Varieties that cook '1t1ickly :Ir" also I'rC'fE'rr~,1 
in are a, where the fi rc.morl prob lem i ~ acute. Further exper i ment, are eva lun t illg 
the yield-stahi Lising pot('ntial of traditinnal mixtures and are as,istin1~ the 
development of breeding strategies. Infonllation that farmers in thi;; ;egion 
traditionally test nCNly aC'1uired vnrieties in (Jure culture hE'forE' mlxlnr, accel'tahlf' 
aOluio,itions will also affect extension tccllniqucs for varictics released hy 
breeders. 
Diagnosis of bean researeh nceds i 11 Fthiopia, by contrast, has reliC'd heavi 1)' 
llJlon the results of genf'r:l' ~urveys of fnrming systems in sel"ctE'd arcns, folloNed 
immediately hy verificntion trials "f I'l"omising ne\V varieti('o, TI\(' l'llt"r t\'fIC. 
of tri:1] prov.idf'd :1ddilinI1¡il opportl1nit}' to llI1dcrstnnd f:1TIII('r~' m:lIH1J!PTllf'l1t I'ratt 1f"{H; 
r<'lated to the I'riority I'rohlcm of w~('d control. Nhile (1 shortagc 01' 1~lbot1r at 
.. , .S/ .. 
s 
the aunual peak of farm acti vit i es l'revent s "oc1 ng of pulse crops, hroadcast 
planting at a density 111gller than the recommended density appears to reduce 
ero!, 1055 to weeds. With this knowledge, extension recommendations for ro .. 
planting have hecn modified amI the possihility is being invest;gated for 
gaining sorne control of weeds through selection ora variety having a more 
vigorous growth habito 
The desl gn of teehnology to resol ve priori ty prob1ems in hcan producti.oll i 5 
demonstrating increasingly the value of collaborative researeh and informatirm 
E'xchange. A case in point 1.S the development of control of Beanfly, the principal 
insect pest of bean! in Africn. A wide-ranglng programme for insecticidal 
control in Zambia, eonducted over tite last few years, identi fi ed secd treMment 
witlt endosulfan as an effective and inexpensive means of control. On tite basls 
of these experimental 1'esult5, Rwanda has moved st1'aight to on-farm testing of 
this seed treament, inclutliug an assessment of farmers' abi) it les ano extension 
requirements related to the safe application of an insecticida! slurry. 
Tlle development of novel cropping systems also requires on-farm testing 3t a 
fairly earIy stage if the risk of rejection by farmers follOldng a long develop~ 
ment period i5 to be minimised. Within the Grent lakes region tha introductioll 
of an agroforestI'y 5ystem' that incorporl'ltes a change from bush benns to elimb;n!: 
beans is showing considerable promise. The increase in bean yiel,I l'otclIt1al 
concollmlitant upon th15 varietal change is made possible only hy the cOllvenient 
l'I'oduction of stakes ft'om associ ateo shrub al' tree species. while the erosi Ol! 
problem is expected to be 10wer il! the new system. 
Collaboration amollg 1I1terllational Centres 
InsofAr as activities of an)' international centre strengthen a particular lUltionnl 
programme, associated programmes (e.g. on another eral' at tite saine stationl 
generalIy recei ve some indirect benefi t. In this respect, act hit íes supported 
by the vartous centres are eomplementary. CUff.fYT's sustained support for 
regional training in on-farm re5carch ha5 inflltcl1ccd many progrnmmt's, IInd otht'l' 
centres are often ahle to provide followup support when tt comes to the 
application of ,tite concepts and metho.ds learned in workshops. 
However, the increasing mlmbcr of rE'gional programmes poses tite rlsk of compet I,,~ 
demands on national programme time and of duplicatioll of effort in certain fi('ld·;. 
CoUaboratioll amollg regional programmes is probably !in effeciE'nt !lid to stTE'llgthcn~ 
ing naUonal prograrnmes in the areas of agronomy, on-farm research in general. amI 
in extensioll. In the area of erop varieta! improvement man)' ol'portuni tie~ appear 
to exist for takillg lnto aceoant croppin¡! system interactiolls, al1 approAch 
exempl í fied b), the llurtJmli ~Ia i ze Prop:ramme 1 s cOllc('rn for varietal requJ.remcnts 
imposed by douiJle crol'ping with lcgumes (Zeigler, 1986). 
Recent collaboraUon among centres in th;s region has included training for 01\­
farOl rescareh (Rwandn/ClAT/CnlMnJ, tTl1ining of agronomisB (l'thinp; n/CH~IYTI 
CIAT/lLCAJ and training of grain legome researeh technicians lS/\t¡CC/CI¡\T/T !Till . 
. . . /6 .. 
6 
AcI<I1ow ledgernents 
For disn".ions and exalllple" tlt.,,! have assistf"d the d .. velopment 01 Ihis 
paper, I am especially gralelul lo: Amare Abebe, Kidene Giorgis, Tilahurn 
Mulalu, Teshorllf" Regassa Bf,d Ihe Inslitut!" of Agricultural Researeh, 
r fhiopia; P. N,abyenda and the Instilu! df"s Scienn~5 Agronorníques du 
I~W¡)flda; and M. Des$er! and J. Vos, of Ihe CIAT Grea! Lakes I\(>¡m 
Pro~rarnrne. ~~owever f the opinions expressed are my Qwn and I remain 
responsible for any errors of faet of interpretation 
Re[crence 
ZC'i¡::ler, R.S. 1986. Applicatíon 01 a systf"rns approarh in a rommodity 
researeh programme: evaluati!1g Burundi highla!1d maíze. Expl. Agric. 
22: 319-328