Underutilised legumes we currently work on

Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.)

Winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus)
​

Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.)

Common names: bambara beans (global), nyimo beans (Zimbabwe), jugo beans (South Africa), voandzou (Benin and other francophone countries), kacang poi (Malaysia) , kacang bogor (Indonesia), tu a rang / tu a met liau (Thailand)
Strengths  
  • Drought resistant                                      
  • Grows well in both semi arid and tropical environments 
  • Good adaptability
  • Seeds are nutritious
  • Nitrogen fixing legume
  • Tolerates poor and low pH soils 
Drawbacks 
  • Photoperiod sensitive for pod-filling 
  • Lack of commercial varieties
  • Limited markets
  • Few value added products
  • Lack of comparative data to other legumes
Opportunities                                                   
  • Food security
  • Income generation
  • End-user driven variety development
  • Human dietary diversification
  • Animal feed 

Winged Bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus)

Common names: kacang botol (Malaysia) , kacang belimbing/botor/kecipir (Indonesia), shikaku-mame (literally "square bean“; Japan), le foie carré (Mauritius) 
Strengths
  • Grows in hot and humid equatorial  countries and parts of Southeast Asia 
  • Nitrogen fixing legume 
  • Seeds are nutritious, with protein levels comparable to soybean 
  • Every part of the plant, (shoots, flowers, leaves, seed pods and seed) are edible
Drawbacks
  • Trellis support needed for pod growth
  • Vining and indeterminate growth habit
  • No mechanisation
  • Labour intensive harvest with limited shelf-life for fresh pods
Opportunities
  • Food security
  • Income generation
  • Human dietary diversification
  • Multiple product development using different parts of the plant
  • Partial replacement for soybean imports