At the beginning of June, a group of about 40 partners from diverse backgrounds met in Entebbe, Uganda to shape the proposal for N2Africa Phase II. We had strong participation from national research organisations, the private sector, local and international NGOs and other international partners. All N2Africa countries were represented. Dr Peter Ebanyat, N2Africa Coordinator Uganda and Makerere University hosted the workshop together with the local IITA office.

Pulses are important food and cash crops for farmers and rural households in Ethiopia. Pulses are the second most important element in the national diet, providing the principal protein source and important dietary supplement to cereal consumption. Pulses recently have regained significance as export commodities. Despite the economic and food security importance of these crops, actual smallholder farm yields are far below the potential production, e.g. 1.3 t/ha for common bean and 1.5 t/ha for chickpea and faba bean.