Production and overall importance of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) in Ethiopia

Abstract

Common bean is one of the most important legume crops cultivated worldwide and used in various applications, especially as food. In Ethiopia, the common bean is widely cultivated across various regions and holds substantial national economic importance. Beyond its economic value, the common bean plays a vital role in ensuring sustainable food security and improving nutrition due to its numerous health-promoting benefits. Despite being a nutrient-dense crop, its utilization is limited by the presence of several anti-nutritional factors, which hinder the digestibility and bioavailability of essential nutrients. However, these constraints can be effectively mitigated through the application of various processing techniques. Common bean is consumed in different traditional dishes such as nifro, shiro-wot, kik-wot, shorba, fossese, kurkufa, and sambusa after the raw bean passes through different conventional processing steps. The utilization of common bean as food and for the market is selected based on their color, size, cooking time, and other preferences. Improved varieties are also released in Ethiopia with the goal of protecting crops against disease, drought, and high-yielding potential, as well as based on their high nutritional values. Common bean is being used as a potential ingredient in industry for a variety of applications, especially food processing industries, because of its high volume of production, high nutritional content, health benefits, low cost, and ease of availability.