"Bean Breeding for Adaptation to a Changing Climate and Post-Conflict Colombia (BBACO)"

In Colombia, about 3.4 million people are employed in primary agricultural production in rural areas with typical wages of less than four dollars per day. Beans are a major source of protein and mineral nutrition in the diets of the rural and urban poor. The development of improved, locally adapted bean varieties and extension of the current bean growing area is indispensable for the improvement of health and nutrition of the population, which is a prerequisite for social stability and economic growth in Colombia. This is also particularly important for regions where ex-combatants are settling and the post-conflict transition from illicit to food and cash crops.
In many areas where beans are grown, or will be grown in the future, high temperatures in combination with water stress severely reduce crop yield. Stress tolerant beans are therefore urgently needed to prevent food insecurity and secure farm incomes today, and even more so in the future, when heat events will be more frequent and severe due to climate change.

Applying a holistic, multidisciplinary approach and building on CIAT's previous breeding efforts and data generated in Stage I, this project will develop novel methods for the breeding, screening and adoption of heat-tolerant beans, therefore reducing breeding, delivery and adoption time. This will enable the development of climate resilient beans, as well as models and decision tools to identify suitable areas for bean cultivation and socio-economic factors relevant for adoption by farmers and consumers. This will contribute to climate resilience, poverty reduction, and nutritional outcomes in current and new (post-conflict) growing areas).

This will be achieved by (i) providing a mechanistic understanding of high temperature tolerance in beans grown in current climates and simulated future climates (heat, high CO2), (ii) translating mechanistic understanding into state-of-the-art crop-climate models to identify target environments and stresses for breeding, (iii) linking mechanistic understanding of stress with genomic tools for breeding (GWAS, GS), and (iv) guide seed breeding and delivery efforts to enhance adoption of heat tolerant beans through fundamental understanding of the socio-economic dynamics of farming and non-farming (ex-combatant) communities.

For this project, two pump-priming (Stage I) projects on beans have been merged to bring together cutting-edge expertise and experimental facilities and approaches in breeding and genetics, as well as in crop and molecular physiology, paired with crop-climate modelling and socio-economics. This multi-disciplinary team with complementary expertise will work closely together to ensure that the outcomes of this project are relevant and directly applicable to the targeted areas and that there is engagement for ensuring impact in the affected communities.

This project thereby contributes to food security, improved nutrition for the rural and urban poor in Colombia and will help improve livelihood and perspective of poor Colombians and ex-combatants.

The BBACO project builds on two ongoing pump priming projects, specifically HEAT and BACO funded under the same RCUK-CIAT Newton Fund programme on Sustainable Tropical Agricultural Systems. Both these projects consider adoption of climate-smart bean varieties as the focal end point, unpacking questions towards this goal along complimentary scientific investigations into crop physiology, bean breeding, bean growth and climate modelling and wider socio-economic investigations of barriers for uptake. Engagement for capacity building and relevance to Colombian needs has occurred over the last 6 months with collaborations between UK and CIAT scientists. BBACO aims to develop novel methods for the breeding, screening and adoption of heat-tolerant beans so as to create a more effective and efficient heat-tolerance breeding pipeline. Ultimately, In Colombia, BBACO will contribute to poverty reduction, enhanced resilience and nutritional outcomes through the delivery and adoption of heat-tolerant bean genotypes.
As a result of preliminary and ongoing work, a number of project beneficiaries have been identified while others are new. At the academic level, these include: (i) scientists from Colombia, who are engaged in strategic bean biological sciences, systems agronomy, climatic and crop-growth modelling and economic analysis, (ii) CGIAR scientists with similar interests in other regions, in particular Sub-Saharan Africa who prioritise uptake of beans for resilience in low income economies, (iii) UK scientists who are leading research programs on beans and uptake of these within smallholder farming systems, and (iv) early-career scientists who are developing their scientific skill sets in the priority research areas of the project.
These various beneficiaries will benefit directly from the BBACO project through (i) access to state-of-the-art tools and approaches, including analytical equipment and modelling approaches to quantify the impact of heat stress on beans at various scales, (ii) improved understanding of the biophysical, social and economic characteristics of Colombian smallholder farming systems and the needs of ex-combatants within value chains and the potential impact of climate resilient beans, (iii) access to analytical tools and data which allow the development of new and more nuanced recommendations for information and engagement for decision making, and (iv) promising genetic material for heat-stress adaptation.
At the societal level, direct beneficiaries include: (i) HarvestPlus and other engaged organizations and initiatives that are working directly with vulnerable communities, (ii) ex-combatant farming households that are facilitated by these initiatives, (iii) bean breeders, policy makers and stakeholders, specifically the ARN and UNDP who have instigated agricultural projects for ex-combatants that are yet to engage with HEAT and BACO.
The potential impacts on the HarvestPlus staff include: (i) access to tools and information that will assist in conveying more relevant information to smallholder farmers, (ii) improved understanding of the preferences for legumes, and (iii) support for framing messages to increase engagement within ex-combatant communities. The potential impacts on ex-combatant farming families include: (i) improved understanding of climate stress issues and management of these stressors for yields for home consumption or income generation, (ii) increased access to high quality, nutritious varieties which are adapted to abiotic stress, and (iii) better soil conservation and reduction in input costs from growing legumes within their mixed farming systems. Bean breeders will benefit from tools to reduce breeding time, and hence will be able to develop better adapted and more varieties, in less time. Policy stakeholders will benefit from support for these programmes and understanding of the cost-effectiveness of a range of potential interventions.