Ciara Varley, Angharad Johnston, Charles Spillane, Tione Kaonga.
In June 2025, members of the LEG4DEV research team conducting research in Malawi joined the Head of Programmes for the Irish Embassy to Malawi at their headquarters in Lilongwe for a briefing on some of the latest developments in scaling innovations for legume-based agriculture and development in Malawi.
This follows the earlier visit of the Irish Embassy staff to the International Institure for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) country station at the Chitedze Research Station in October 2024. At Chitedze Research Station the Government of Ireland is also supporting cassava research under the Root and Tuber Crops RTC-MARKET Project.
Sarah McCan, Head of Development Cooperation at the Irish Embassy in Malawi, welcomed the LEG4DEV team and invited them to discuss their research objectives and activities. She emphasised that the Embassy is engaging with those on the ground to learn how their findings and recommendations can be integrated into national programmes. These types of engagements provide an opportunity for key actors to learn from experts who are implementing agrifood research and innovation projects in Malawi.
Following an introduction to the LEG4DEV project from IITA’s Affiliate Investigator Dr. Sika Gbegbelegbe, LEG4DEV PhD researchers Decolius Kalumo, Kareem Longwe, Timalizge Munthali and Tione Kaonga from the University of Galway presented their recent findings from across the project’s six Work Packages, spanning sustainable production, diets and nutrition, labour saving technology and entrepreneurship, especially for women and youth.
- ‘Developing Climate-Resilient Legume-Based Systems for Agroecological Intensification in Sub-Saharan Africa’ – Kareem Longwe shared LEG4DEV’s climate change impact modelling work which aims to inform adaptation responses for soybean production in Malawi, and findings from his crop field trials in Ma;lawi to optimise the responses of soybean varieties to Rhizobium bioinoculants under different Nitrogen fertilizer rates.
- ‘Enabling legume scaling for healthier & more nutritious diets’ – Timalizge Munthali presented her research on the potential of legumes for improving nutritional and health status of rural households, and the effects of gender in scaling legume production and consumption in East and Southern Africa. Timaa also shared her findings on aflatoxin-and fumonisin levels in food and feed derived from legumes and associated cereal and root crops in sub-Saharan Africa’s food systems.
- ‘Labour-saving tools and technologies for scaling legumes for development outcomes in East and Southern Africa’ – Decolius Kalumo shared his research on access to labour-saving tools and the longitudinal mapping of energy access in rural areas.
- ‘Mapping of legume-based enterprises landscape for scaling legumes in East and Southern Africa’ – Tiona Kaonga shared his work investigating legume-based enterprises across East and Southern Africa. Tione also shared his findings on supply models, gaps and opportunities for scaling legume inoculants in the region.
The LEG4DEV team extend their gratitude to the Embassy of Ireland, Malawi for their interest and support for our research and innovation activities in Malawi. The team looks forward to continuing our work scaling legumes for sustainable development outcomes in the coming years, working closely with the Irish Embassy where possible.