Beans a major source of protein are grown all over Uganda. They were traditionally grown for home consumption but are now increasingly being grown for income generation. Uganda is a surplus producer of beans and is currently exporting the surplus beans to neighbouring countries. Uganda produces about 370,000 metric tonnes of beans annually.
The world leader in production of dry bean is India, followed by Brazil and Myanmar. In Africa, the most important producer is Tanzania.
Importance of beans
The beans are important for the following reasons:
Beans are sold to generate cash
They used as food in the form of leaves, fresh and grain for most families in Uganda.
The Bean production is important for the food security of Uganda
Bean Varieties
The improved bean varieties available on the market include NABE 1 up to NABE 6; NABE 11 to NABE 14, K20, K132, K131, all of which are bush varieties, and NABE 7C to NABE 10C.
• The Bush varieties are grown in most of the bean growing areas of Uganda, either as a mono crop or intercropped with various crops like cassava, maize, bananas, cotton and sorghum, depending on the area.
• Climbers are mainly grown in the highly populated highlands of Kabale, Kisoro and Mbale. In comparison, they yield two to three times higher
Areas of Bean Growing In Uganda
The districts with the highest production of beans in Uganda are:
• Mubende (78,027 tonnes)
• Mbale (23,637 tonnes)
• Amuru (74,671 tonnes)
• Ntungamo (137,899 tonnes)
Other districts that produce reasonable quantities of beans include:
• Kabale
• Kisoro
• Arua
• Nebbi
• Lira
• Apac
• Masindi
• Hoima
• Kibaale
• Bushenyi
• Kamwenge
• Kasese
• Fort Portal
• Mbale
• Sironko
• Kapchorwa
Beans are grown both in the first and the second rain season with the main growing season being the first rains.
Storage for Beans
Beans are harvested and transported to the farmer’s homes for primary processing. The primary processing involves using traditional methods (sticks) to remove beans from the pods. This is followed by winnowing to remove the chuff from the Beans. The clean beans are then stored in the farmers’ house since majority of the farmers cannot afford to construct stores.
Challenges facing the bean farmer
• Lack of capital necessary to improve quality and supply of beans
• The high cost of inputs and improved Technologies
• Extension Services are limited in their outreach due to the shortage of qualified professionals to train and guide farmers in improved production methods
• Soils in many parts of Uganda especially in the South West have undergone
• Degradation due to over use. Farmers do not have capacity to use fertilizers
• Lack of market information on prices, markets, and input supply stockist has
• Constrained farmers from achieving market oriented production.
• Lack of credit to agriculture production owing to the perceived high risk by banks.
• Price fluctuations caused by seasonal gluts and scarcity create additional difficulties for preparation of realistic business plans for commercial production.
• Lack of harvest handling and storage facilities force farmers to sell their produce quickly irrespective of the price.
• Incidences of pest and diseases and the lack of prevention and control measures have in some cases caused devastation of crops making the food security situation worse.
• Changing weather patterns have made planting seasons unpredictable.
• High cost of production as exhibited by expensive farm inputs