Legume Breeding

Problem Statement

Why this research matters

Kenya continues to grapple with chronic food and nutrition insecurity particularly in the rural areas. Over the years, agricultural research has been conducted in the country by the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) and various universities. Most of the research has been donor-funded and has concentrated on the cereals (maize, wheat, sorghum) with very little attention devoted to research on pulses which are nutritionally superior. The little research that has been conducted on pulses has concentrated on increasing yield and improving resistance to insect pests and diseases using conventional plant breeding approaches, which take a long time before a new variety is developed and released. Moreover, the plant breeders have not addressed quality aspects of the pulses such as cooking time, flatulence and anti-nutritional content. In addition, the plant breeders have utilized limited biotechnological approaches in their research. Consequently, only a few improved pulse varieties have been released in the country, and those few, have been developed without consideration of enhancement of quality traits. At university level, The Horticulture department and the Institute of Biotechnology Research (IBR) are faced with human and infrastructural constraints that make them unable to effectively carry out their research and training activities. Postgraduate training is low leading to low staff/student ratio. On the other hand, physical infrastructures are over stretched due to the high student numbers and most of the equipment is old.

Resources & Capacity

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Mary Esther Muyoka Toili

PhD Candidate

Mary Esther Muyoka Toili is a part-time lecturer at JKUAT. She holds an MSc in Biotechnology from IBR, JKUAT and a BSc in Biotechnology from Kenyatta University. Her research interests revolve around the use of molecular biology tools in the dynamic agricultural world to promote sustainable development, with a strong bias in achieving food security in sub-Saharan Africa.

Samuel Wahome

PhD Candidate

Samuel Wahome is a plant breeder with an MSc in plant breeding and a BSc in agriculture (Crop science) both from the University of Nairobi. His research interest is in breeding common bean for cookability, nutrition and yield.

Nelson Ndumba Maitima

MSc Candidate

Ndumba Nelson holds a BSc in Biomedical Science and Technology from Egerton University. He is currently working on 'Molecular Characterization of Common Bean Cooking Defects with Focus on Improving Breeding Beans with Desirable Traits'.

Laureen Gatwiri Muriki

MSc Candidate

Muriki Laureen graduated from JKUAT with a Bachelor's degree in Biotechnology. Her research study is on 'Effects of Environment and Planting Time on The Cooking Time of selected Common Beans in Kenya'.

Lloyd Otieno

MSc Candidate

Lloyd Otieno is pursuing plant breeding and is working on 'Genetic Analysis of the Raffinose Family Oligosaccharides Which Cause Low Flatulence in Common Bean'.