New Chickpea Variety to Drive Climate Resilience in Africa

Chickpea farmers in Malawi where the new variety is being piloted. Picture supplied.by Ignatius Banda (bulawayo, zimbabwe)Wednesday, August 05, 2026Inter Press Service BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe , August 5 (IPS) - New chickpea seed research and production have become the new frontier of climate resilience in southern Africa as farmers battle failing cereal production. Farmers in Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique are benefiting from a new chickpea variety which researchers say requires lower nitrogen fertiliser at a time such agriculture inputs have become the latest victim of global trade disruptions that are driving production costs.The variety, high in its nutritional value, is also boosting farmer incomes while also driving exports, researchers say.For a long time African farmers have struggled with both poor yields and low-nutrition crops amid concerns of stunted growth, especially among children.These agriculture science interventions come at a time of concerns about how best the Global South, affected by climate change, can navigate what has increasingly become the complex nature of food production.The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), with suppo...