RCUK-CIAT Newton Fund: Bean breeding and Adoption in changing climates in post-conflict COlombia (BACO)

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Beans provide a staple food source and economic commodity for farmers across Colombia. They are a major source of protein and mineral nutrition in the diets of the rural poor. However, bean production is at risk from increasing heat and drought stress associated with climate change. Our project examines how climate information can be better used in CIAT's bean breeding program. The result will be improved resilience of beans to climate, and improved access to these improved varieties, thus in turn supporting farm income and the promotion of stability of production. This would protect these fragile communities from fluctuations and shocks within the farming systems. The project is about opportunities as well as challenges. We will focus in part on post-conflict regions, thus having direct impacts on a number of actors within Colombia. We we look at the potential to breed and cultivate beans where coca once stood. Since all beans are not created equal - it is the small, red varieties that are generally cultivated and sold at market in this part of Latin America - we will be sure to take account of local preferences throughout the project. In this way we will deliver improvements where they are needed, rather than using only those varieties that are easiest to breed for stress tolerance.