http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11763&page=53

BAMBARA BEAN

In recent centuries the once-obscure peanut has expanded so dramatically as to become one of the world’s top crops. Of particular importance to Africa, the peanut (there mostly known as groundnut) contributes substantial nutrition to roughly three-dozen nations encompassing two vast belts, one stretching from Senegal to the Central African Republic and the other from Sudan to South Africa. Indeed, considered in continental perspective, peanut is among the largest African food providers—probably coming right after maize, cassava, and sorghum.

What is surprising is that peanut is a Brazilian native that reached Africa’s shores only 400 years ago. And what is even more surprising is that Africa possesses its own counterpart. This local version is similar in virtually every aspect—botanical, agronomic, nutritional, and culinary. Yet while the exotic crop soars to ever-greater heights its stay-at-home cousin languishes almost unknown to agricultural science, food science, economic development, and the world at large.

This African species (Vigna subterranea) is a low-growing legume, not unlike its famous relative in appearance. Often called bambara groundnut, it is conventionally classified a bean, but its seeds are actually dug from the ground like peanuts. To outsiders, only the shape seems unusual: the pods are larger and rounder than peanut shells and the seeds inside are shaped more like peas than peanuts. Those spherical legumes are, however, exceptionally tasty and nutritious. They are also attractive—appearing in varying colors and patterns, characterized by pretty local names such as dove eyes, nightjar, and butterfly.

Like peanut, these native ground beans make a versatile food. Most are boiled in their shells and are offered for sale, ready cooked, on roadsides and in markets. Others are pounded into flour and used in making porridge. Some are boiled with maize meal and used in a relish. A few are also roasted or fried. The flour from the roasted version is especially appetizing and is blended into many traditional dishes.

Although overlooked by the world at large, this is an important resource. Burkina Faso provides a picture of the crop in microcosm. All country grow bambara bean, producing around 20,000 tons in total.1 Cultivation is exclusively using traditional methods and traditional landraces. Some farmers intersperse the plant among other crops but most grow it in mini-monoculture. Much of the harvest is consumed by the farm family, for whom it is a major source of protein and a lifesaver during the hungry season—the period before the new crops are ready to harvest and the old have been eaten. Beyond this fundamental subsistence use, however, bambara is also a cash crop. Popular with the general public, the fresh beans sell for a premium. There’s never a problem peddling any surplus, and the local sales can constitute the grower’s overall annual cash income.

The question is why does such a valued resource remain largely unknown to agricultural science, food science, humanitarian programs, and economic development policies?

Clearly, the neglect is no reflection of the user’s views. Despite peanut’s spectacular surge, its African counterpart remains a consumer favorite. Indeed, even without the help of science sales are actually edging upward. Today, probably more than 100 million Africans routinely rely on this age-old resource for at least part of their sustenance during each year. Overall production is around 330,000 tons, about half of which is grown in West Africa; the rest in eastern and southern Africa.2

Clearly, too, the intellectual inattention is not due to any agronomic inferiority. Bambara bean is a dependable food producer, tolerating harsh conditions and growing reliably in challenging locales, including some where other species fail. It is also among the easier legumes to grow: burying its fruits in the soil, it keeps them safe from the myriad flying insects that can devastate or destroy cowpea, common bean, soybean, and other legumes that heedlessly wave their tastiest parts in the air.

Nor is the disregard due to site restrictions. Other than requiring open sunlight and light, loose soil within which to bury its beans, bambara tolerates widely dissimilar substrates, including infertile ones. Indeed, some observers swear it “prefers worn-out soils.”3 Furthermore, this leguminous species fixes nitrogen from the air, thereby insulating itself from Africa’s all-too-common paucity of soil-nitrogen. And beyond all that, the plant thrives in laterite, the reddish acidic soil that is toxic to many crops and is the curse of tropical agriculture.4

Doubts about nutritional performance are not the cause of the neglect either. Ripe or immature, raw or roasted, the seeds pack a load of nutrients. On average, they contain about 60 percent carbohydrate, 20 percent protein, 6 percent oil, and a range of vitamins and minerals. This makes them more like a bean than a peanut. A true quality-protein food, they provide more methionine than other grain legumes, let alone the standard staple cereals.

Despite all these benefits, bambara bean has never been accorded a research program commensurate with its importance or potential. Indeed, it has probably received less than a ten-thousandth the technical support the peanut enjoys worldwide. The neglect is only partly because the plant is stigmatized as a “poor person’s crop”. Rather, it seems largely due to lack of familiarity by those setting the research agenda, especially research donors and agricultural scientists outside Africa.5

Now is the time to open minds and award this native resource a greater chance to catch up with peanut. Given technical support, this resource certainly can contribute vastly more than it does today. Indeed, the plant has the potential to cut to the heart of Africa’s great humanitarian problems. Consider the following:

Rural development In the lives of the rural poor this low-cost crop is especially important. Many desperate farm families grow it for their own subsistence and also for their annual income. Thus any boost in output or reduction in production costs will disproportionately benefit the group most at risk. Also, commercial food processing is likely to open up buoyant new market outlets. In this regard, it is notable that the canned product seems to have high marketing potential, especially in urban areas. A Zimbabwean company already cans bambara bean, and reports that (except for “baked beans”) it sells as well as any other canned bean—nearly 50,000 cans a year, with sales increasing month after month. Across Africa there is room for many such enterprises, and they will create major markets for farmers and boost income opportunities for rural areas.

Hunger For most of the drier regions bambara bean could contribute to a solid foundation diet. Resilient and reliable, it commonly yields food from sites too hot and too dry for peanuts, maize, or even sorghum. And it produces a food of exceptional nutritional quality, so a little of it goes a long way toward maintaining health.

Malnutrition Compared with peanut, bambara may have a lot less oil and a little less protein, but more carbohydrate and the overall combination nicely balances the food groups. People can live on bambara bean alone, a doubtful proposition even with other legumes. A rare example of a complete food, it could prove a tool for attacking Africa’s chronic malnutrition.

Gender Inequality This bean is mostly produced by women, sold by women, and cooked and served by women. It therefore offers a convenient lever for lifting women up to a better existence. Improve this resource and you improve the lives of millions of mothers, not to mention babies born and unborn. In a related vein, bambara bean offers good opportunities for gender-oriented innovation and commercial development. In the Bida region in central Nigeria, for instance, women make pancakes from the flour and reportedly enjoy a good living selling them. Also in Mali women sell salted bambara nuts, a premium product similar to macadamia nuts and suitable for urban areas and possibly for export as well.

Food Security For much of Africa unpredictable drought is the biggest fear, and this crop might prove an ideal insulator against this periodic shock. Wherever rainfall is unreliable it tends to shine. Bambaras—the people for whom it is named—live in parched, blisteringly hot districts along the Sahara’s southern fringe, and their namesake plant lives up to its etymological heritage.

Sustainable Agriculture Bambara bean epitomizes the current ideal of a “sustainable crop.” Every plot is a mixture of genetic diversity and no plant is fertilized or sprayed. In addition, the species’ nitrogen-fixing capacity helps boost soil fertility, naturally. It can even be used as a soil conditioner. Programs aiming at achieving sustainable farming in Africa could find no better foundation upon which to build their efforts.

Trade Deficits Countries along the southern Sahara have long shipped bambara beans to markets on the Gulf of Guinea coast. Niger is the principal exporter, followed by Chad, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Senegal. Those happen to be among the nations most needful of foreign exchange, and enhancing this particular trade could be part of the answer. Reportedly, the coastal areas have a still unmet demand.6 A similar situation apparently exists in southern Africa as well. Although Zimbabwe has exported thousands of tons of the dried beans to its neighbors, there is believed to be openings for more.

In sum, bambara bean promises sweeping benefits to the people most in need and hardest to reach through conventional development programs. And despite the almost total scientific neglect, nothing fundamental is stopping this crop from moving on to greater heights.

Of course, technical difficulties deserve attention (as they do with corn and soybean and all crops). These are treated later in the chapter, but it is worth highlighting one example: low yield. Average farm production is now around 400 kg per hectare, yet under improved conditions the crop produces over 4,000 kg per hectare. Farmers today, therefore, achieve merely a tenth of what they could. Clearly, the opportunities for improvement are huge. And the results would be staggering indeed if, in rural areas of hard-pressed countries such as Burkina Faso, ten times more bambara beans could be produced. The effects would in fact be revolutionary.
PROSPECTS

Empirical evidence and preliminary investigations suggest that with attention, bambara could rise to prominence within just the next 20 years. From today’s perspective, that might seem farfetched, but peanut’s stellar performance shows how quickly a newly appreciated resource can ascend.7
Within Africa

Due to its relative resistance to diseases and pests, bambara bean has the potential to improve food security in many rural areas as well as become a stable, low-cost and profitable food crop for Africa’s small-scale farmers. Given the support of good science, conducive government policy, bold investment by food processors, and dedicated local initiative, it could soon be reducing malnutrition and raising both economic levels and human well being.

Humid areas Good. Although details remain sketchy, the plant is capable of growing in rainy areas. However, dampness brings out fungal diseases and means that the plant needs careful handling. Also, the harvest must be made promptly—before the tops have signaled their readiness by turning yellow. And special provisions are needed to dry the seeds and store them safely.

Dry Areas Excellent. Bambara bean is one of Africa’s most drought-tolerant native legume food crops.

Upland Areas Good. The crop does well in the highlands of Zambia and Zimbabwe. At Gwebi in Zimbabwe, for example, yields of 4,000 kg per hectare have been realized.8
Beyond Africa

Bambara bean is cultivated in Brazil (under the name mandubi d’Angola) as well as in at least two parts of Asia: West Java and southern Thailand. In principle other tropical locations could grow it too. It is said that the crop could produce in the Middle East. FAO studies claim that both Syria and Greece are suitable. Small-scale cultivation trials have been successful in United States, notably in Florida, but no one has yet tried moving it into general production.

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CANADIAN RESEARCH

http://www.plant.uoguelph.ca/faculty/mraizada/

Second, we are collaborating with the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and Crop Research Institute in Ghana (West Africa) to study Bambara Groundnut, a very nutritious, drought-tolerant legume that associates with bacteria (Rhizobia) that in turn can fix atmospheric nitrogen gas. Bambara is indigenous to Sub-Saharan Africa, and though some traditional knowledge remains, it has become underutilized following European colonization. Bambara can be used an inter-crop or rotation crop with corn, reducing the fertilizer requirements for corn, while supplying a highly nutritious food for local peoples facing water shortages. Along these lines, the Lab has also launched a website to educate growers about underutilized nitrogen-fixing legumes and other crops, located at http://www.AlternativeCropsCanada.org. Lab Researchers: David Johnston Monje (PhD student), Sameh Mahmoud (PhD student), Joseph Nketiah Berchie (Visiting PhD student from Ghana), Jonathan Polanski (undergraduate).