Cultivating prosperity in Rwanda: the impact of high-yield biofortified bean seeds on farmers’ yield and income

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate the agronomic and economic impact of cultivating seeds of improved bean varieties by smallholder farming households in Rwanda. The improved bean varieties under investigation are conventionally-bred, iron biofortified bush and climbing bean varieties, developed for high yield, climate resilience, and increased bioavailable iron content compared to commonly consumed varieties. Seeds of these varieties were delivered to 383,000 farmers across Rwanda by the time we implemented nationally representative survey of bean farmers in 2015 season B. Our findings indicate that growing the seeds of these improved bean varieties, compared to the bean planting materials used by farmers at the time, significantly enhances farmers’ yield and income. The yield increases amount to 153 kg/ha (23%) for growers of improved bush bean seeds and 182 kg/ha (20%) for growers of improved climbing bean seed, while the income increases amounts to $84/ha (27%) for improved bush bean seed growers and $110/ha (23%) for improved iron climbing bean growers, on average. These results bolster public policies and private sector efforts that aim to expand access to improved seeds in Rwanda and other African countries.