Introduction
Bambara Groundnuts (Vignea subterranea), also known as Nyimo Beans in Zimbabwe and JugoBeans in South Africa are an underutilized African legume widely cultivated in sub- Saharan Africa. Its center of origin is thought to be Bambara, near Timbuktu in Central Mali, West Africa (hence it’s name Bambara Groundnut).
It is now widely distributed and is grown in Asia, parts of Northern Australia, and South and Central America.
The Bambara Groundnut is the third most important crop after groundnuts and cowpeas but it has low status as it is seen as a snack or food supplement but not a lucrative cash crop.
Additionally, it is traditionally grown by women which means it is often given less value and less priority in the allocation of land. Between 10-40% of the harvest is sold, the rest is consumed by the rural farmers themselves.
Seeds for growing the beans are rarely purchased by farmers because the women are responsible for passing the seed down through the generations, saving seed yearly and putting dried beans away for food security. The women are usually given it by female relatives (mother in law) when they are married. Sometimes the local chief gives them the seed when they move into the area.
Worldwide bambara production
The Bambara Groundnut is one of the most adaptable of all plants and tolerates harsh conditions better than most crops. It is ideally suited for hot, dry regions where growing other pulses is risky. It yields on poor soils in areas of low rainfall and does not yield well in times of heavy rainfall. However, substantial yields have been known when the crop is grown under more favourable conditions than the traditional harsh conditions of bad soils and low rainfall. In Zimbabwe it is normally intercropped with maize in November/December and harvested 5-6 months later.
No chemicals or fertilizers are used and the crop is relatively unaffected by pests and diseases. The main problem affecting the crop is that sometimes the leaves dry up and there are no pods (or they are empty). After harvesting the seeds are usually stored in their shells otherwise they are susceptible to weevils.
The Bambara Groundnut is important for rural-farmers because it fixes nitrogen into the soil which improves soil fertility. The beans are an important source of food security because it is highly nutritious and is unusually high in methionine, an essential amino acid.
The beans are eaten fresh after harvest and also dried and stored for later consumption. The beans are extracted from the pods by gently pounding the pods with a pestle and mortar. One of the reasons for its underutilization at rural level is that the dried seeds are difficult to cook and require lots of time, fuel and water. Boiling from fresh = 45 mins, boiling from dried = 3-4 hours.
Bambara Groundnut Plant
Nutritional Information
Carbohydrates - 54.5-69.3%
Protein - 17-24.6%
Fat - 5.3-7.8%
Calories - 367-414 Kcal per 100g
Good source of fibre, calcium, iron and potassium
Unusually high in methionine, an essential sulphur-containing amino acid
The beans have the potential for providing a balanced diet in areas where animal protein is expensive and the cultivation of other legumes is risky because moisture levels are unfavourable. The red seeds could be useful in areas where iron deficiency is a problem as they contain almost twice as much iron as the cream seeds.
Red seeds are more popular than the cream seeds and command a higher price with the Grain Marketing Board because they are classed as Grade A.
Nutritional Comparisons
It can be seen that Bambara Groundnut compares favourably with other well known and highly commercialized beans.
Sourced from: www.underutilized-species.org
