Abstract:

This paper investigates the impact of two modern bush bean varieties, K132 and K131, on
income, food security and consumption patterns and gender relations through a longitudinal
study of a rural Uganda community. The discussion provides a cross-sectional and historical
perspective of change and assesses impact by household wealth status. In just 4 years, the
new varieties accounted for 74% of bean area among a sample of 100 adopters. Though
adopters did not show significant income gains in the first season of 1998, per capita bean
consumption increased significantly over figures recorded before the introduction of the
varieties. Some, if not most, of this increased consumption can be attributed to the higher
productivity of both varieties. While impact was wealth and gender neutral, the greatest
benefits went to households of average wealth who have the necessary resources (land, labor)
to take advantage of yield increases. The paper concludes that modern bean varieties can
contribute importantly to poverty alleviation, although gains in quantitative measures of
welfare such as income and per capita food consumption may be modest in the case of bush
types (climbing beans were not used in the study area). The paper also explores the general
issue of mechanisms for enhancing the research-poverty linkage.