Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute

Author(s) : Edith Kadege

nd nutrition security crop and a source of income for producers. It is the leading leguminous crop, accounting for 78% of cultivated legumes, while over 75% of rural households in Tanzania depend on beans for daily subsistence. Per capita bean consumption is estimated at 19.3 kg per person per year. With its estimated 1.2 million MT produced per year (2018), Tanzania is the top bean producer in Africa and seventh globally. More than a quarter of Tanzania’s beans are exported to neighboring countries and beyond. One of the most traded bean types is the yellow and its variants. However, there is limited information on its production and trade with potential implications on seed systems and other possible investments. Using the bean corridor framework of the Pan-Africa Bean Research Alliance (PABRA), the Alliance of Bioversity International and International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (the Alliance) in collaboration with Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI) and Catholic Relief Services (CRS), conducted a survey of the yellow bean value chain in Tanzania from July-August 2019 under the Feed the Future Global Supporting Seed Systems Development activity (S34D). CRS leads a consortium implementing S34D, a five-year Leader with Associates (LWA) Cooperative Agreement award, funded by the Feed the Future Initiative through the Bureau of Resilience and Food Security (RFS) and by USAID through the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA). The objective of the survey was to characterize and explore trade of yellow bean grain and potential seed. The survey collected data and grain samples from 298 grain traders (including wholesalers, exporters, aggregators, and retailers) and 64 potential seed traders (large and retail traders) from 12 regions across four administrative zones in Tanzania (Figure 1). The grain samples collected were for DNA analyses. Results show existence of an established yellow bean corridor across Tanzania and the region at large (Burundi, DRC, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia) and demonstrated a huge market pull in the Eastern and Southern Africa regions. There are also strong perceptions on the organoleptic quality of various yellow bean grains and varieties that are traced to their sources. Yellow bean varieties are diverse and vary across the production hubs in the country, and this diversity is highest in the West (Kigoma) of the country. Moreover, the differentiated prices of these various grain qualities linked to varieties and sources further reflected differentiated products and responsive market demand. The Dar es Salaam and other markets preferred a yellow bean variety that is relatively large and round (referred to as ‘Gololi,’ meaning round in shape). This is one of the released varieties that is known as Selian 13. Yellow beans from the Northern Zone and Tanga region are considered superior quality while those from Kagera are considered as low quality beans by market standards in Dar es Salaam. For that reason, no trader preferred selling mixed beans; rather, single varieties were mostly preferred as they fetched higher prices. Sustaining supply of high-quality planting material is critical for the success of the yellow bean corridor. The seed supply system for the yellow bean corridor is largely informal, managed by grain traders, and is quite vibrant. These traders also double as seed suppliers and use numerous seed management techniques to improve the seed supply in the corridor. DNA analysis/fingerprinting of the sub-sample of the traded yellow bean varieties show that traders were engaged in various yellow bean varieties that include landraces and improved varieties. A key result from the DNA analysis shows that about 50% of the traded varieties had been officially released in Tanzania (Selian 13, Uyole 16, and Uyole 98). The rest were either derived from neighboring countries or could not be clustered. In addition, the most traded varieties were also of the released types. Despite the diversity in yellow beans, there are clear preferences for particular varieties by traders and consumers. According to traders, the peak selling periods (September to December) coincide with planting periods for beans when prices are also highest. The increased demand stems from use of the grains as planting materials. More than 50% of the traders reported being actively involved in selling grain used by farmers for planting. Women dominate the retail trade in the yellow bean, while men dominate export and aggregation businesses. Women sold closer to home within the district and mainly sourced grain close to their localities, while men tended to source and sell in distant regions or regional markets.