Beans could help fill Africa’s fertiliser gap

A recent entry on the SciDevNet web site discusses the contribution of beans to the nitrogen status of African soils and crops: http://www.scidev.net/global/food-security/news/beans-africa-fertiliser-farming.html

Not too surprisingly, the project, called N2Africa, finds that:

1. Sub-Saharan Africa sees low amounts of nitrogen fertiliser use, which results in low yields
2. The N2Africa project backs the cheaper option of growing nitrogen-fixing beans
3. This has helped to raise average maize yields by at least 40 per cent

An excerpt from that article states that “N2Africa began in 2009 and now involves more than 250,000 farmers. Data published last May shows that average legume harvests have increased by 12 per cent to nearly 400 kilograms per farm. On average, the legumes added 28 kilograms of nitrogen to the soil per farm, a rise of 169 per cent from previous levels. The legumes have helped to boost average maize yields by at least 40 per cent.”

400 kg/ha is still very low given that yields of at least 1,000-2,000 kg/ha are possible.

Such projects could also be an avenue for disseminating new varieties developed by East African plant breeders.