The common bean feeds more than 400 million people in sub-Saharan Africa as part of a regular diet and is a good source of protein, iron, and zinc. In addition to their health benefits, beans provide a unique opportunity for smallholder farmers to tap into more ucrative markets and improve their incomes.

Yet, the production, trade, and consumption of beans are still plagued by fundamental challenges along the pipeline from farmer to consumer. And beans suffer a plethora of other challenges – from pest and disease infestations to more intense periods of drought, thwarting harvests and threatening food security.

But what if beans could be bred to resist pests and diseases, survive in periods of drought, thrive in poor soils, provide bumper yields, contain more zinc and iron, fetch a good price on the market, cook faster, and taste good.

For 20 years, this has been the mission of PABRA, which is coordinated by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and currently unites 30 member countries. PABRA has released more than 450 new beans – all of them bred to be more resilient, productive, nutritious, or marketable than previous varieties.

This year, PABRA celebrates 20 years of better beans for Africa. Stay tuned by following this hashtag #PABRA20 and find out more about our work below.

More on the PABRA website: https://www.pabra-africa.org/