Kumasi, Jan 15, – A four-day
conference to find radical ways of doing things to substantially increase bean
production in sub-Saharan Africa has opened in Kumasi.
It is being organized by the West
and Central Africa Bean Network Steering Committee of the Pan-African Bean
Research Alliance (PABRA) and the goal is to engage key stakeholders to help
address the production constraints.
Dr. Robin Buruchara, Director of
the Alliance, mentioned some of them as cross-border trade restrictions, low
tradable volumes, high transaction costs and poor nutritional value.
These, he said, were threatening
the sustainable production of the legume and could not be allowed to continue.
He added that more should be done
to increase farmer access to highly nutritious and quality seeds.
The meeting organized jointly
with the Crop Research Institute (CRI) of the Council for Scientific and
Industrial Research (CSIR), has brought together agricultural researchers and
scientists from Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Mali, Congo, Cameroun,
Central African Republic, Senegal and Guinea.
Dr. Buruchara said they would
discuss ways to deepen the understanding of the ‘Bean Market Corridor
Approach’, a concept developed out of the assessment of the bean trade in
Africa.
The approach, he said, presented
a promising new development framework of market-driven transformational
agriculture, focused on intensifying production, linking farmers and
businesses, and mainstreaming nutrition in the value chain.
The PABRA Director explained that
the approach was expected to link all stakeholders along the value chain,
stimulate financial opportunities and improve access to market information to
enable farmers to make informed decisions about when and where to sell and
compare the prices on offer.
“It is an avenue for turning bean
production in small quantities into large quantities that can influence
economic development in Africa.”
Dr. Stella Ama Ennin, Director of
CRI, said beans had the potential to reduce poverty, improve food security and
nutrition.
She pointed out that in countries
where the incidence of anaemia remained high the legume should be given the
needed attention.
She announced that the CRI had
recently developed and released to farmers four varieties of beans to boost
production.
Ms. Marie-Claude Harvey, an
Official of the Canadian High Commission in Ghana, pledged her country’s
determination to assist Ghana to achieve food security and bring wealth to the
people.
GNA
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