Highlights About 29% of households in Rwanda have grown an iron-biofortified bean variety. Formal delivery approaches of iron-biofortified beans increase adoption speed. Diffusion via social networks is a major driver of rapid adoption of iron-biofortified beans. Women farmers disadopt iron-biofortified bean varieties more slowly than do male farmers.

Genebanks play an essential role in a world where agricultural biodiversity has been lost from farming habitats, malnutrition persists as global population continues to rise, and farm productivity is vulnerable to climate change. We demonstrate the importance of the genebank of the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) to the development of seven ironbiofortified varieties of climbing bean and the impact of their adoption on farm households in Rwanda. First, we link ironbiofortified varieties of climbing beans directly to the genebank through pedigree analysis and key informant interviews with the breeders who developed them. Second, we apply various econometric models to test the impact of adoption on yield, consumption, and purchase of beans by farming households in Rwanda, building upon previous research on bush beans. We based the analysis on a dataset of nearly 1400 households, collected in 2015 by HarvestPlus. We found that the scope of the genetic diversity housed in the bean collection at CIAT was fundamental to developing successful iron-biofortified beans. We found significant positive effects of climbing varieties on yields; however, we did not find significant effects on the amounts of beans consumed by households or bean purchases. Our results suggest that it is possible to trace the journey of an accession from its introduction in the genebank to its final use by farmers and consumers. Positive effects on yield generate incentives for adoption of iron-biofortified bean varieties, potentially boosting micronutrient consumption. Further research is needed to understand the factors affecting the adoption and impacts of climbing bean varieties.

Highlights We estimate the impact of adoption of RWR2245, a popular iron-biofortified bean released in Rwanda. Adoption provides a yield gain of 20%-49% over that of local bush bean varieties. Adoption increases household consumption of beans from own production and reduces bean purchases. Adoption increases the probability that households sell beans by 12%. RWR2245 increases iron intake among adopting households and availability of iron-rich food sources in the market.

In the past 20 years, U.S. soybean acreage has grown 18 percent, from 74 million to 87 million acres. Soybean yields have also increased. This study uses nationally representative survey data of U.S. soybean farmers (along with costs and returns data) to examine how production practices, export demand, public policy, and environmental factors have changed over the past 20 years.

No abstract