Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is an important legume crop worldwide. The International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and its national partners in Africa aim to overcome production constraints of common bean and address the food, nutrition needs and market demands through development of multitrait bean varieties. Breeding is guided by principles of market‐driven approaches to develop client‐demanded varieties. Germplasm accessions from especially two sister species, P. coccineus and P. acutifolius, have been utilized as sources of resistance to major production constraints and interspecific lines deployed. Elucidation of plant mechanisms governing pest and disease resistance, abiotic stress tolerance and grain nutritional quality guides the selection methods used by the breeders. Molecular markers are used to select for resistance to key diseases and insect pests. Efforts have been made to utilize modern genomic tools to increase scale, efficiency, accuracy and speed of breeding. Through gender‐responsive participatory variety selection, market‐demanded varieties have been released in several African countries. These new bean varieties are a key component of sustainable food systems in the tropics.

Legumes are important components of sustainable agricultural production, food, nutrition and income systems of developing countries. In spite of their importance, legume crop production is challenged by a number of biotic (diseases and pests) and abiotic stresses (heat, frost, drought and salinity), edaphic factors (associated with soil nutrient deficits) and policy issues (where less emphasis is put on legumes compared to priority starchy staples). Significant research and development work have been done in the past decade on important grain legumes through collaborative bilateral and multilateral projects as well as the CGIAR Research Program on Grain Legumes (CRP‐GL). Through these initiatives, genomic resources and genomic tools such as draft genome sequence, resequencing data, large‐scale genomewide markers, dense genetic maps, quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and diagnostic markers have been developed for further use in multiple genetic and breeding applications. Also, these mega‐initiatives facilitated release of a number of new varieties and also dissemination of on‐the‐shelf varieties to the farmers. More efforts are needed to enhance genetic gains by reducing the time required in cultivar development through integration of genomics‐assisted breeding approaches and rapid generation advancement.

There are several hurdles to ensure sustainable seed production and consistent flow of improved legume varieties in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA) and South Asia (SA). The unreliable demand, autogamous nature of most of the grain legumes, and slow variety replacement rate by smallholder farmers do not provide strong incentive for private seed companies to invest in legume seed business. Unless a well thought‐out and comprehensive approach to legume seed delivery is developed, current seed shortages will continue, eroding emerging market opportunities. The experiences reported here are collated through a 10‐year partnership project, the Tropical Legumes in SSA and SA. It fostered innovative public–private partnerships in joint testing of innovative market‐led seed systems, skills and knowledge enhancement, de‐risking private sector initiatives that introduced in new approaches and previously overlooked entities in technology delivery. As new public and private seed companies, individual seed entrepreneurs and farmer organizations emerged, the existing ones enhanced their capacities. This resulted in significant rise in production, availability and accessibility of various seed grades of newly improved and farmer demanded legume varieties in the target countries.

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is a major legume crop, serving as a main source of dietary protein and calories and generating income for many Tanzanians. It is produced in nearly all agroecological zones of Tanzania. However, the average yields are low (<1000 kg/ha), which is attributed to many factors including virus diseases. The most important viruses of common bean in Tanzania are Bean common mosaic virus (BCMV) and Bean common mosaic necrosis virus (BCMNV) but other viruses have also been reported. There has never been a review of common bean virus diseases in the country, and the lack of collated information makes their management difficult. Therefore, this review focuses on (1) occurrence of different viruses of common bean in Tanzania, (2) molecular characterization of these viruses, (3) detection tools for common bean viruses in Tanzania and (4) available options for managing virus diseases in the country. Literature and nucleotide sequence database searches revealed that common bean diseases are inadequately studied and that their causal viruses have not been adequately characterized at the molecular level in Tanzania. Increased awareness on common bean virus diseases in Tanzania is expected to result into informed development of strategies for management of the same and thus increased production, which in turn has implication on nutrition and income.

Background Improving the productivity of grain legumes is important to address global challenges of food security and soil degradation. This study’s objective was to quantify the adoption of improved mungbean (Vigna radiata L.) varieties and agricultural practices and to identify production constraints for six countries in Southeast Asia and three countries in East Africa. Methods A Delphi method using expert elicitation was applied at subnational levels and then aggregated to national levels. Each panel employed repetitive and independent questioning of experts. The study organized 31 expert panels involving 387 experts across 9 countries. Results The share of improved varieties in the planted area, as estimated by the expert panels, was 92% for the Philippines, 91% for Vietnam, 99% for Thailand, 84% for Cambodia, 60% for Indonesia, 35% for Laos, 91% for Kenya, 30% for Uganda and 25% for Tanzania. The average age of improved varieties was 19 years in Asia and 12 years in East Africa. Of the mungbean area in Southeast Asia, 61% was planted to varieties developed by the World Vegetable Center, but this was only 2% in East Africa. Production constraints generally included insect pests and plant diseases, unstable markets with low price and low market demand, and the lack of quality seed of suitable varieties. Conclusions There are ample opportunities to improve mungbean productivity through wider use of improved varieties and practices, which is important to meet the contemporary challenges of improving human nutrition and agricultural sustainability.