Kenya Seed signs pact with UoN to improve bean crop

Kenya Seed Company has entered into a partnership with the University of Nairobi in a bid to step up innovative ways of producing different bean varieties.

The private-public deal will see the university conduct research which will aid in developing high yield breeder seeds for the seed company.

Kenya Seed Company managing director Willy Bett said that such partnerships held the key to unlocking the country’s potential in food production.

“This initiative has enabled us to come up with bean varieties that have high yielding, good cooking qualities and easily adaptable to various farming zones,” a personal assistant of the managing director told the Business Daily.

Last year, the University of Nairobi produced 800 kilogrammes of two bean varieties namely Kenya red kidney and miezi mbili which were given to Kenya seed for commercialisation.

The university has so far licensed nine new bean varieties with Kenya Seed including the climbing bean which has become popular with farmers, according to the company. The latest variety, Kenya sugar breed, was launched on April 3 at the University of Nairobi.

The principal college of Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences Agnes Mwang’ombe earlier said that the university was keen on developing more public-private partnerships that address food production needs.

“The major challenge in seed production is ensuring high quality breeder seed. This informs our decision to partner with other organisations for support,” said Prof Mwang’ombe.

The Kenya Sugar bean, the university said, has a high yield of about 1080 to 1818 kilogrammes per hectare and matures early. The breed is also resistant to diseases such as mosaic virus, halo blight and common bacterial wilt.

Kenya Seed Company said it will support willing University of Nairobi students to become seed producers.

The two institutions have also collaborated on capacity building of seed developers in the Seed Enterprise Management Institute (SEMIs) programme.