Low-Cost Staking for Climbing Beans

Empowering Beans, Sustaining Growth!

The Low-Cost Staking practice offers innovative and affordable methods to address challenges in climbing bean cultivation, particularly the need for plant support. It focuses on reducing the use of wooden stakes by employing alternative materials and techniques such as tripod staking, wooden string trellises, and live plant support. These approaches aim to enhance yield while minimizing environmental damage caused by deforestation from excessive stake harvesting.

This technology is TAAT1 validated.

8•8

Scaling readiness: idea maturity 8/9; level of use 8/9

Project adoption1

Technology integrated in the ENSURE project.

See project details ›

300 %

Increase in yields compared to bush beans

20,000—50,000 stakes per hectare

Staking density for highest yields

2 meters

Height of stakes for highest yields

⁓200,000 plants

Plant population per hectare

IP

Open source / open access

Problem

High staking costs: The cost of wooden stakes increases bean production expenses and limits the profitability of climbing bean production.
Limited availability of wooden stakes: Limited access to suitable wooden stakes makes it difficult to achieve the recommended staking density of 20,000–50,000 stakes per hectare.
Inadequate plant support: Poor staking limits climbing bean growth and results in yield losses of 50–90%.
Limited access to staking knowledge: Effective staking requires knowledge of plant density, stake length and durability, which is not always available to producers.
High labor and material requirements: Staking requires significant labor and suitable materials, creating additional barriers to adoption.

Solution

Low-cost staking methods: Tripod staking, wooden string trellises and live plant support reduce dependence on expensive wooden stakes.
Use of local materials: Acacia, bamboo, tall grasses and intercrop stems provide locally available alternatives for plant support.
Improved plant support: Appropriate staking provides adequate support for climbing beans and improves yield potential.
Practical staking guidance: The technology provides guidance on plant density, stake length, materials and staking methods.
Reduced production costs: Low-cost materials and alternative staking methods reduce the expenses associated with bean production.

Key points to design your business plan

Using the Low-Cost Staking for Climbing Beans introduces innovative and affordable techniques, resulting in reduced cultivation expenses for beans. This leads to increased bean yields, thereby enhancing farmers' productivity and income. Moreover, it stimulates job creation, particularly in rural areas, by encouraging bean cultivation. Additionally, it advocates for environmentally friendly practices, reducing the reliance on deforestation for stake production and promoting environmental conservation and sustainability.

To determine the quantity of staking required for your business, consider that the optimal staking density for maximum yields is 20,000 stakes per hectare, each at least 2 meters tall. Estimate the profitability gained from implementing this technology.

Recommended species for staking include Acacia angustissima, Alnus acuminata, Bamboo, Calliandra calothyrsus, Gliricidia sepium, Sesbania sesban, Vernonia amygdalina, and Elephant grass (Pennisetum atropurpeum). Access to this technology is likely through agricultural extension services, research institutions, local farming communities, and organizations dedicated to sustainable agriculture and rural development.

Furthermore, consider integrating complementary technologies like Climbing Bean with High Yield and N Fixation to enhance operational efficiency.

Adults 18 and over: Positive medium

The poor: Positive medium

Under 18: Positive low

Women: Positive medium

Climate adaptability: Highly adaptable

Farmer climate change readiness: Moderate improvement

Biodiversity: No impact on biodiversity

Carbon footprint: Much less carbon released

Environmental health: Greatly improves environmental health

Soil quality: Does not affect soil health and fertility

Water use: A bit less water used

Scaling Readiness describes how complete a technology's development is and its ability to be scaled. It produces a score that measures a technology's readiness along two axes: the level of maturity of the idea itself, and the level to which the technology has been used so far.

Each axis goes from 0 to 9 where 9 is the “ready-to-scale” status. For each technology profile in the e-catalogs we have documented the scaling readiness status from evidence given by the technology providers. The e-catalogs only showcase technologies for which the scaling readiness score is at least 8 for maturity of the idea and 7 for the level of use.

The graph below represents visually the scaling readiness status for this technology, you can see the label of each level by hovering your mouse cursor on the number.

Scaling readiness score of this technology

Maturity of the idea 8 out of 9

Uncontrolled environment: tested

Level of use 8 out of 9

Used by some intended users, in the real world

Maturity of the idea										Level of use
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9

Project	Countries	Beneficiaries	Budget (USD) & duration	Key figures
ENSURE Enabling Environments for Sustainable Regional Agriculture Extension	Kenya Rwanda Burundi Democratic Republic of the Congo South Sudan Uganda Tanzania	Direct: 3,000,000	13.14 million 2024–2027	149,940 farmers trained 9,996 Training 2→3.5 tons/ha cereals production expected 350 agent trained

Project

Countries

Beneficiaries

Budget (USD) & duration

Key figures

ENSURE
Enabling Environments for Sustainable Regional Agriculture Extension

Kenya
Rwanda
Burundi
Democratic Republic of the Congo
South Sudan
Uganda
Tanzania

Direct: 3,000,000

13.14 million

2024–2027

149,940 farmers trained
9,996 Training
2→3.5 tons/ha cereals production expected
350 agent trained

Figures in italic are from project plans and may change during implementation.

Countries with a green colour: Tested & adopted
Countries with a bright green colour: Adopted
Countries with a yellow colour: Tested
Countries with a blue colour: Testing ongoing

Countries where the technology is being tested or has been tested and adopted
Country	Testing ongoing	Tested	Adopted
Benin	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Burundi	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Cameroon	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Central African Republic	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Côte d’Ivoire	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Democratic Republic of the Congo	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Ethiopia	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Ghana	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Kenya	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Malawi	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Mozambique	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Nigeria	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Rwanda	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
South Sudan	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Tanzania	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Uganda	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Zambia	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted

This technology can be used in the colored agro-ecological zones. Any zones shown in white are not suitable for this technology.

Agro-ecological zones where this technology can be used
AEZ	Subtropic - warm	Subtropic - cool	Tropic - warm	Tropic - cool
Arid	–	–	–	–
Semiarid
Subhumid
Humid

Source: HarvestChoice/IFPRI 2009

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that are applicable to this technology.

Goal 1: no poverty

Goal 2: zero hunger

Goal 8: decent work and economic growth

Goal 12: responsible production and consumption

Best yields come from 2-meter-tall stakes.
Ideal stake density: 20,000 to 50,000 per hectare.
Recommended stake materials: Acacia, bamboo, or grasses like elephant grass.
Plant climbing beans in rows or hills with specific seed spacing.
Stakes should be at least 2 meters tall and have a rough surface for plant grip.
Single stakes can support 1 to 4 plants.
Tripod stakes can support 1 to 3 plants and can be connected for added strength.
Various materials like reeds, tree bark strips, or creeping plant stems can provide vertical support.