KABALE: For a 32-year-old widowed mother of three who lives in Murambo-Kabale district, Gloria Kobukindo has used her small 50×50 garden of sugar beans also known as ‘misingiriro’ in Rukiga, as her main source of food.
Climbing beans have become the most treasured crop variety for the hills of Kigezi and Kisoro. Farmers have prioritized growing these fresh pods of beans, to fight food insecurity and malnutrition amidst the rising food prices in Uganda.
Kobukindo’s sugar bean garden has been her sole source of dependency, complimented with the little income after selling surplus, and her braiding skills to afford basics like sugar, salt, body oil, and partly school fees for her children.
“From my small garden I can harvest 100kg in a good season, without calculating the ones occasionally harvested to make meals while in the garden,” Kobukindo said, adding that usually after drying, she sells to the local traders in Mwanjari market or the village mates who buy while in the garden.
“With the money, I can buy daily basic needs and other food like maize flour and matooke,” she revealed.
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The Kabale District Principal Agriculture Officer, Deus Baguma Bagambana said over 75% of the households in Kabale survive on climbing beans.
“Majority of the farmers in the district grow the crop for both subsistence and commercial reasons. This particular variety NARO BEAN 12C locally known as sugar 31 is common and preferred because it is high yielding, quick to cook, and tastes better compared to the normal bush beans,” he said.
Climbing beans in Uganda were brought in from Columbia, promoted, and introduced to highland areas (Kabale, Kisoro, Mbale) in 2006 by NARO, although farmers were reluctant to take them on until the late 2000s.
Apart from the black and white coated NABE 12C, the red-coated NABE 5C has also become very common in Kabale originally borrowed from Rwanda. There are also others like Nabe 26C, Nabe 28C, and Nabe 29 C red in color.
The bean variety is not only a main source of dietary protein, they can survive in limited space, are resistant to root–rot disease, quick growing, consume less cooking fuel, and have higher yields.
In Uganda, climbing beans are mainly grown in cooler areas of Kabale, Kisoro, and Mbale which receive at least 1200c of rainfall. The beans are very productive in loamy, well-drained soils.
After harvest, most of the product is mainly transported and sold in cities like Kampala, Mukono, and Jinja. Currently, market prices for fresh pod beans stand at Ush.5000 per mug.
The business is flourishing as traders from as far as the capital city (Kampala), Owino, and Nakasero markets purchase over 50 -150 bags of beans a daily to supply individual customers and local food hotels.
To get more harvest, Kobukindo also emphasized that, the beans are planted in lines, dropping one by one and spacing them, this makes it easy for them to grow faster.
“I planted 3kg, for the March to July season and I have so far harvested 50kg which have been a rescue during the times when I couldn’t afford to buy other foods.
The children prefer them to the dry beans since they are tastier and fresh, so it is easy to eat them without complaining or getting tired,” she further commented.
According to a report by Relief International, staple food prices have continued to increase in recent months and are higher than prices recorded last year and five-year average levels across Uganda. Prices of staple foods like sorghum and maize are now significantly above average in several key reference markets across the country.
Food prices are expected to rise even more due to the impacts of the current Ukraine-Russia war and the recent COVID-19 pandemic on global supply chains and prices that have threatened food security in Uganda.
Enid a trader at Quality Produce Investment who operates in Kabale market ‘Omukikoregi’ said that the prices of basic commodities have really gone up including dry foods like rice and maize but customers still flock to her shop to purchase the ‘misingiriro’ beans. “The sugar beans cost as much as the usual dry beans but my customers prefer them since they are tastier and consume less firewood to boil. July being their season of harvest, farmers make more money than traders,” Enid said.
Dr. Stanley Nkalubo, the head of the Department and Legume, National Agricultural Research Organization said that this particular variety of beans mainly known as sugar beans developed by NARO, and launched in 2006 has proved to be very productive and also good for canning.
“The sugar bean has very good canning qualities because it absorbs water and doesn’t split, this means it can be canned in tins and made available to the population in case of a famine outbreak,” he noted.
The bean is very productive and one can harvest 3500kg per hectare. Also, the way it grows is special, not all pods ripen at the same time, so it’s possible to start having piece meals after 78 days of planting,” he added. He further advised that the beans are as well loved by crockets, and should be stored in airtight bags, harvested early to prevent weevils, and kept in a good aerated, clean environment.
Furugensi Byabagambi, a smallholder farmer and trader who lives in Bubare sub-county, Kabale district revealed that climbing beans which is a major grown crop, apart from being a source of food has also helped him afford education for his children.
“I mainly grow beans for sale, recently some company came looking for sugar 31 beans in bulk and I was lucky to have what they wanted. I had stored 3000kg of beans from my acre of land and I sold each bag of 20kg at Ush. 60,000. These beans are highly profitable and I have been to pay school fees for my children,” Furugensi said, adding that another group of people come to Kabale to buy, saying they use them, to make alcohol. “However I have not seen much evidence to confirm of the allegations,” he added.
The climbing beans being the favorite crop of every smallholder farmer in Kabale currently, also comes with disadvantages. The most constraint that comes with climbing beans is the lack of staking materials.
Kobukindo highlighted this as her biggest challenge and sometimes she is forced to buy the staking sticks from her neighbor who has acres of eucalyptus trees.
“Before I would use maize stakes but since it doesn’t flourish here anymore, I have no stakes and I just have to buy or borrow from other farmers,” she said.
It has been proven that staking materials don’t necessarily have to be wooden sticks; farmers can use ropes, hung vertically for beans to hold a grip on. Other staking materials include sorghum stakes and metals although this is not commonly recommended unless it is done indoors.
Dr. Stanley pointed out that the beans when harvested take 4-6 months and after start to –bronze-brown due to oxidation, which is a big setback for the bean variety; however, research is ongoing at NARO to find a solution.
A study by the African Journal of Agricultural Research found that in terms of consumption, results show that climbing bean is an important component in the diet in both districts. 91.3% of households in Kisoro and 68.6% in Kabale consume these beans for both lunch and supper on a daily.
Byarugaba, however, warns that there is a nutrition imbalance in the districts which may be a big problem in the coming years.
“Because people mainly depend on plant farm produce like eat sweet potatoes, beans and sorghum, most people lack other nutrients from dairy and produced foods which are necessary for good health,” he noted.
He advised that farmers engage in mixed cropping, for example, a garden of climbing beans can be mixed with maize, vegetables, and other crops, to ensure that households have many food options and maintain a balanced diet.
Please Note: This report was written and produced as part of a media skills development programme delivered by the Thomson Reuters Foundation. The content is the sole responsibility of the author and the publisher.
By Hedwig Arinaitwe
