HIB varieties Biofortified Beans for Improved Nutrition

Fueling Health with Iron-Rich Beans

The "Biofortified Beans for Improved Nutrition" technology addresses critical nutritional challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa, primarily iron and zinc deficiencies. Through the process of biofortification, it develops high-iron bean varieties that enhance their nutritional value. These "High-Iron Beans (HIB)" are the result of crossbreeding local elite lines with American bean varieties naturally enriched in iron. HIB varieties are characterized by high productivity, drought and disease tolerance, preferred culinary traits, and rapid cooking. This technology has resulted in the release of 31 high-yielding HIB varieties in key production areas across Sub-Saharan Africa, contributing to enhanced food security and nutrition in the region.

This technology is TAAT1 validated.

8•7

Scaling readiness: idea maturity 8/9; level of use 7/9

Positive or neutral impact

Adults 18 and over: Positive high
The poor: Positive medium
Under 18: Positive high
Women: Positive high

Positive or neutral impact

Climate adaptability: It adapts really well
Adaptability for farmers: It helps a lot
Biodiversity: It helps them grow and thrive
Carbon footprint: It reduces emissions a little
Environment: It makes a big difference
Soil quality: It makes the soil healthier and more fertile
Water usage: It uses the same amount of water

Problem

Poor nutrition, particularly iron and zinc deficiencies, is a significant issue in Sub-Saharan Africa. Iron deficiency leads to anemia, cognitive issues, maternal health risks, and low birth weight, while zinc deficiency weakens the immune system and results in stunting.
Traditional approaches to addressing nutritional deficiencies involve costly supplemental fortification methods.
Common bean varieties often lack sufficient iron and zinc to meet nutritional needs, posing a challenge to improving nutrition.

Solution

The technology involves developing and promoting biofortified bean varieties, which are enriched in dietary iron and zinc, offering a solution to nutritional deficiencies.
Biofortification is used to increase the concentration of iron and zinc in beans through conventional breeding, good agronomic practices, or biotechnological modification, avoiding the high costs associated with traditional fortification methods.
A series of recently released high-iron bean (HIB) varieties have been developed through crossbreeding and participatory breeding strategies. These HIB varieties offer higher iron and zinc content, improved yield potential, drought and disease tolerance, desirable culinary characteristics, and suitability for diverse agro-ecological zones.
The greater productivity, nutritional value, and commercial value of HIB varieties enable small-scale farmers to allocate more resources to bean cultivation, making it a primary agricultural enterprise and source of income.
Consumption of HIB varieties significantly enhances household nutrition, meeting a substantial portion of daily iron requirements and retaining high bioavailable iron after cooking. These beans are ideally suited for improving overall nutrition.
HIB varieties are not only used for home consumption but have the potential to create markets for high-iron precooked beans, pasta, composite flour, and processed foods in some African countries.
HIB varieties also exhibit traits such as high pod-filling, high yields, and adaptation to environmental stresses, making them valuable for agricultural and food security purposes.

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Open source / open access

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

Countries where the technology has been tested and adopted
Country	Tested	Adopted
Burundi	Tested	Adopted
Democratic Republic of the Congo	Tested	Adopted
Ethiopia	Tested	Adopted
Kenya	Tested	Adopted
Malawi	Tested	Adopted
Rwanda	Tested	Adopted
Tanzania	Tested	Adopted
Uganda	Tested	Adopted
Zambia	Tested	Adopted
Zimbabwe	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 2: zero hunger

Goal 3: good health and well-being

HIB (High-Iron Bean) varieties are cultivated using standard management practices.
Beans are self-pollinating, allowing farmers to save the best grains from their harvest for planting the following season, although this practice should be limited to prevent disease and insect pest accumulation.
Planting methods for beans may include flat land cultivation, hill or ridge planting (suitable for heavy soils, slopes, or high water table areas).
Soil preparation involves tillage, inorganic fertilizer incorporation, and seed inoculation with rhizobia.
To maintain productivity, it's advised not to recycle bean seeds more than three times.
Beans are typically grown as monocrops or intercropped with various crops like maize, sweet potatoes, cotton, coffee, bananas, sunflower, and others.
Seed rates are higher for pure stands of bush-type beans, while lower rates are used for intercropping. Inter-row distances are typically 50 to 75 cm, and the distance within rows or between hills is 10 cm for single seeds or 20 cm for two seeds per station.