Climbing beans are high yielding
giving four times harvest compared to ordinary beans
Their breeds are Kenya Mavuno, Kenya Safi and Kenya Tamu.The three bean varieties are available from kenya seed company.Climbing beans ensure high yields from even the smallest piece of land available.The beans are therefore perfect for food security and agribusiness. The venture is a worthy undertaking as they will yield up to 20 bags per acre while ordinary beans yields about 5-6 bags per acre. Grown at a spacing of 1×1 metre 2 seeds per hole, one acre of climbing beans will hold 8000plants. Each plant can yields a minimum of 0.225g beans resulting to total yield of about 1800kg kg from one acre. Sold at a cost of 60/= per kg, 1800×60=108, 000/= gross revenue per acre in 4 months . Tabulated estimated cost of production and returns are shown below:
Their breeds are Kenya Mavuno, Kenya Safi and Kenya Tamu.The three bean varieties are available from kenya seed company.Climbing beans ensure high yields from even the smallest piece of land available.The beans are therefore perfect for food security and agribusiness. The venture is a worthy undertaking as they will yield up to 20 bags per acre while ordinary beans yields about 5-6 bags per acre. Grown at a spacing of 1×1 metre 2 seeds per hole, one acre of climbing beans will hold 8000plants. Each plant can yields a minimum of 0.225g beans resulting to total yield of about 1800kg kg from one acre. Sold at a cost of 60/= per kg, 1800×60=108, 000/= gross revenue per acre in 4 months . Tabulated estimated cost of production and returns are shown below:
|
Item
|
Quantity
|
Unit cost
ksh
|
Total
ksh
|
|
Total Output
|
1800 kgs
|
60
|
108,000
|
|
Production cost
|
|||
|
Climbing beans Seed
|
10 kg
|
500
|
5000
|
|
Fertilizer
|
1bags
|
3000
|
3000
|
|
Land preparation
|
9 mds
|
300
|
2700
|
|
Stakes
|
4000
|
1
|
4000
|
|
Planting & staking
|
15 md
|
300
|
4500
|
|
Weeding
|
5 md
|
300
|
1500
|
|
Insecticide
|
300 ml
|
300
|
300
|
|
Spraying
|
2md
|
300
|
600
|
|
Harvesting and Threshing
|
7 md
|
300
|
2100
|
|
Storage bags
|
20
|
40
|
800
|
|
Transport
|
40 bags
|
-
|
3500
|
|
Total cost of production
|
28000
|
||
|
Gross margin/ Returns in 4 months
|
80,000
|
||
Plant at the beginning of the rains using a compound fertilizer or inoculate with Rhizobium soil fertility bacteria. The plant largely grows vertically saving land space and is Ideal solution to land scarcity problem. Climbing beans growing calls for staking the crop for support with 2 metres long stakes as is the case in hybrid tomatoes farming. Canes from overgrown Napier grass can effectively be used to avoid destroying trees and avoid interfering with environment conservation. This means a farmer planning to plant climbing beans can leave napier grass from the previous season to overgrow and produce supporting stakes. Climbing beans have numerous advantages as they are leguminous and improves the soil fertility through nitrogen fixation. This makes it a good crop to include in the rotation program of the farm. The legume requires a shorter cooking period in addition to being tastier than the local beans.
