Log out
My profile and settings
My bookmarks
Comment history
Please complete your account verification. Resend verification email.
today
This verification token has expired.
today
Your email address has been verified. Update my profile.
today
Your account has been deactivated. Sign in to re-activate your account.
today
View all newsletters in the newsletter archive
today
You are now unsubscribed from receiving emails.
today
Sorry, we were unable to unsubscribe you at this time.
today
0
0
Back to profile
Comment Items
You have not left any comments yet.
title
you replied to a comment:
name
description
Saved Posts
You haven’t bookmarked any posts yet.

Even once we have great curriculum, a lot will depend on professional development and the seriousness of how well that’s done.

Read More
Become a Gates Notes Insider
Sign up
Log out
Personal Information
Title
Mr
Mrs
Ms
Miss
Mx
Dr
Cancel
Save
This email is already registered
Cancel
Save
Please verify email address. Click verification link sent to this email address or resend verification email.
Cancel
Save
Email and Notification Settings
Send me updates from Bill Gates
You must provide an email
On
Off
Send me Gates Notes survey emails
On
Off
Send me the weekly Top of Mind newsletter
On
Off
Email me comment notifications
On
Off
On-screen comment notifications
On
Off
Interests
Select interests to personalize your profile and experience on Gates Notes.
Saving Lives
Energy Innovation
Improving Education
Alzheimer's
Philanthropy
Book Reviews
About Bill Gates
Account Deactivation
Click the link below to begin the account deactivation process.
If you would like to permanently delete your Gates Notes account and remove it’s content, please send us a request here.

Cool beans

Clare Mukankusi will make you geek out on beans

Beans are a staple crop in Uganda. This plant breeder is working to make them more nutritious and easier to grow.

|
0

What’s your favorite way to eat beans? Mine is in chili. I know that’s a controversial opinion in some parts of the United States, but in my family, we grew up eating bean chili. It was such a delicious, filling meal that I still enjoy today.

I’m a big fan of beans, but my love for them can’t touch Clare Mukankusi’s. She has devoted her whole career to creating more reasons to eat and love legumes.

Clare is a bean breeder in Kampala, Uganda. She works at the Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (or CIAT, from its name in Spanish)—which is part of CGIAR—where she spends her days developing new plant varieties that are more nutritious and easier to grow.

Like many Ugandans, Clare’s family has roots in agriculture. She grew up in Kisoro, a small town in the highlands of Uganda, where climbing beans are a major crop. Both her grandparents and her great-grandparents were farmers there, and Clare was proud to follow in their footsteps. She studied agriculture at Makerere University and later earned her Ph.D. in plant breeding from the University of Kwazulu-Natal before joining CIAT.

When it came time to choose a research focus, Clare didn’t hesitate. “At my home, beans are eaten on a daily basis,” she says. “And in most Ugandan homes, beans are on the table almost daily. They’re a major food in hospitals and schools.” The reasons why are clear: Beans are tasty and cheap. Plus, they’re a natural source of protein, carbohydrates, and other important nutrients.

But beans aren’t without their drawbacks. The varieties grown in Uganda can require as long as three hours of cooking time, and the cost of fuel is very high. Most people, including Clare, use charcoal and firewood to cook them, even if they have electricity at home. It’s just too expensive to use an electric burner for that long. But cooking with wood creates a lot of smoke, which causes health issues.

That’s where Clare’s work comes in. By using traditional crossbreeding techniques to create new varieties with desirable traits, she’s making beans easier to cook and more nutritious while still tasting delicious. For example, Clare is currently working on a variety that is ready to eat in as little as 40 minutes. It also has 15 percent more iron and 10 percent more zinc than a normal bean. Malnutrition and anemia remain big problems in Uganda, especially for children, and I am excited about how a crop like this could help kids stay healthy.

But Clare’s work isn’t only targeted at people who eat beans. She also wants to help those who grow and sell them. She is constantly thinking about the growing conditions farmers face, what types of soil they’re planting in, and even what kind of market they’re targeting. No one is going to buy a bean if it tastes weird or looks unappetizing. Clare has to stay up-to-date on what kind of products are most appealing in the places where her plants are grown.

The farmers she works with are worried about climate change, which is creating more extreme growing conditions and changing the types of pathogens they see in the field. “When it’s going to rain is no longer as predictable as it used to be,” she says. “It’s a challenge to keep up with the climate, pests, and disease. We need to be on the lookout for all of this to ensure that beans are able to survive even under different climates.”

This is a problem that farmers around the world are trying to adapt to, and Clare is working closely with bean breeders across Africa to make more climate-resilient beans. She’s a key leader in the Pan-Africa Bean Research Alliance, a consortium of 31 national research programs that facilitates information sharing and collaboration. Right now, Clare and her colleagues are focused on breeding qualities that make for better drought tolerance, like deeper roots that are resistant to root rot.

“Plant breeding is a really important science,” Clare says, “because it actually looks at how we are going to have food in the future. What food are we going to be consuming? Will we have enough food? We keep abreast with the population and changes in the behavior of people to make sure that we are actually addressing the needs of food at that time.”

The next time you eat a bean, I hope you think about Clare Mukankusi. It’s no exaggeration to say that her love of legumes will benefit millions of Ugandans. And her story is an inspiring reminder that even something as small as a bean can help people lead healthier, more fulfilling lives.

Meet more of my heroes in the field

Discussion
Thank you for being part of the Gates Notes Insider community.
Not seeing your comment? You can read our policy on moderating comments here and learn about our Gates Notes badges here.
Badge
📌
Pinned by
Gates Notes
Badge
ʼʼ
0 responses
Sort by
all
all
most
top
old
Comments loading...
CTW
Thanks for visiting the Gates Notes. We'd like your feedback.
Become a Gates Notes Insider
Join the Gates Notes community to access exclusive content, comment on stories, participate in giveaways, and more.
SIGN UP
Already have an account?
Log in here
Logout:


Become a Gates Notes Insider
Become a Gates Notes Insider
Join the Gates Notes community to get regular updates from Bill on key topics like global health and climate change, to access exclusive content, comment on stories, participate in giveaways, and more.
Already joined? Log in
Please send me updates from Breakthrough Energy on efforts to combat climate change.
On
Off
LOG IN
SIGN UP
Title
Mr
Mrs
Ms
Miss
Mx
Dr
This email is already registered. Enter a new email, try signing in or retrieve your password
Why are we collecting this information? Gates Notes may send a welcome note or other exclusive Insider mail from time to time. Additionally, some campaigns and content may only be available to users in certain areas. Gates Notes will never share and distribute your information with external parties.
Bill may send you a welcome note or other exclusive Insider mail from time to time. We will never share your information.
Sign up
We will never share or spam your email address. For more information see our Sign Up FAQ. By clicking "Sign Up" you agree to the Gates Notes Terms of Use / Privacy Policy.
Street address
City
postal_town
State Zip code
administrative_area_level_2
Country
Data
Gates Notes Insider Sign Up FAQ

Q. How do I create a Gates Notes account?

A. There are three ways you can create a Gates Notes account:

  • Sign up with Facebook. We’ll never post to your Facebook account without your permission.
  • Sign up with Twitter. We’ll never post to your Twitter account without your permission.
  • Sign up with your email. Enter your email address during sign up. We’ll email you a link for verification.

Q. Will you ever post to my Facebook or Twitter accounts without my permission?

A. No, never.

Q. How do I sign up to receive email communications from my Gates Notes account?

A. In Account Settings, click the toggle switch next to “Send me updates from Bill Gates.”

Q. How will you use the Interests I select in Account Settings?

A. We will use them to choose the Suggested Reads that appear on your profile page.

BACK
Forgot your password?
Enter the email you used to sign up and a reset password link will be sent to you.
This email is already registered. Enter a new email, try signing in or retrieve your password
Reset Password
Reset your password.
Set New Password
Your password has been reset. Please continue to the log in page.
Log in
Get emails from Bill Gates
Send me updates from Bill Gates
You must provide an email
On
Off
Email me comment notifications
On
Off
On-screen comment notifications
On
Off
This email is already registered
Finish
We will never share or spam your email address. For more information see our Sign up FAQ. By clicking "Continue" you agree to the Gates Notes Terms of Use / Privacy Policy.
You're in!
You're in!
Please check your email and click the link provided to verify your account.
Didn't get an email from us? Resend verification
Upload a profile picture
Choose image to upload
Uploading...
Uh Oh!
The image you are trying to upload is either too big or is an unacceptable format. Please upload a .jpg or .png image that is under 25MB.
Ok
Title
Mr
Mrs
Ms
Miss
Mx
Dr
Cancel
Save
This email is already registered
Cancel
Save
Please verify email address. Click verification link sent to this email address or resend verification email.
Email and notification settings
Send me updates from Bill Gates
You must provide an email
On
Off
Email me comment notifications
On
Off
On-screen comment notifications
On
Off
Select your interests
Saving Lives
Energy Innovation
Improving Education
Alzheimer's
Philanthropy
Book Reviews
About Bill Gates
Finish
Confirm Account Deactivation
Are you sure you want to deactivate your account?
Deactivating your account will unsubscribe you from Gates Notes emails, and will remove your profile and account information from public view on the Gates Notes. Please allow for 24 hours for the deactivation to fully process. You can sign back in at any time to reactivate your account and restore its content.
Deactivate My Acccount
Go Back
Your Gates Notes account has been deactivated.
Come back anytime.
Welcome back
In order to unsubscribe you will need to sign-in to your Gates Notes Insider account
Once signed in just go to your Account Settings page and set your subscription options as desired.
Sign In
Request account deletion
We’re sorry to see you go. Your request may take a few days to process; we want to double check things before hitting the big red button. Requesting an account deletion will permanently remove all of your profile content. If you’ve changed your mind about deleting your account, you can always hit cancel and deactivate instead.
Submit
Cancel
Thank You! Your request has been sent
Page https://www.gatesnotes.com:443/3NbDCQW secs = 0.0312387