NRU :: Browsing by Author "Beebe, S."

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Common bean in Eastern and Southern Africa: a situation and outlook analysis
(International Centre for Tropical Agriculture, 2009) Katungi, E.; Farrow, A.; Chianu, J.; Beebe, S.
Common bean is an important component of the production systems and a major source of protein for the poor in Eastern and southern Africa. Although largely grown for subsistence, mainly by women, approximately 40 percent of production is marketed at a market value of UDS 452 million (Wortmann et al., 1999 in David et al., 2000). In recent years, the crop production trend has not kept pace with the annual growth rate (estimated above 2 percent) in population in some countries due to a number of biotic, abiotic and socio-economic constraints (Kambewa 1997; Chirwa et al., Forthcoming and Xavery et al., 2006). Among the abiotic constraints, drought is the major and common across the Eastern and Southern Africa. Drought can be caused by inadequate total rainfall, erratic rainfall distribution, long dry spells and delayed onset and/or early cessation of rains. With global climatic change threatening to exacerbate the drought problem in some parts, rapid population growth and the increasing cost of livestock products, the food and nutritional insecurity in SubSaharan Africa is feared to increase.