Marama II. Overall objective. The marama plant where does it grow? Partners. Overview

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1 Marama II Overview Marama Bean (Tylosema esculentum) - A wild African bean with unexploited potential The overall aim of project Partners Åse Hansen Department of Food Science Faculty of LIFE Sciences University of Copenhagen aah@life.ku.dk Project title of EU funded INCO project : Development of Innovative and Healthful Marama Bean (Tylosema esculentum) Products Targeting Niche Markets The marama plant The importance of the marama beans Focus group discussions, Marama Products and dissemination of results Total budget 1.3 mill Euro Overall objective Improve the food security and diversify livelihoods for poor people in Southern Africa through the development of market driven value-added marama bean products New marama products should be produced so the local people can get products from local crops instead of imported products Increased demand for marama beans should increase the income for the local people who collect and sell the beans Specific objectives - to reach the overall objectives Characterization of the composition of the marama bean Conduct consumer and market studies and identify potential target markets Develop a range of high quality value added marama-based food products Evaluate the quality of the processed products Evaluate the health benefits of marama bean and its products using human cell culture models Partners University of Copenhagen, Denmark -coordinator University of Botswana University of Namibia University of Pretoria, South Africa University of Maribor, Slovenia Instituto de Investigacao Cientifica Tropical (IICT), Portugal Market Matters Inc., South Africa (USA) A non profit organisation The marama plant where does it grow? The Marama bean plant (Tylosema esculentum) is a wild growing plant indigenous to the Kalahari dessert and neighbouring areas with poor semi-arid soils in Botswana, Namibia and northern part of South Africa Inhabitants HIV % Botswana 1,8 mill. 24 Namibia 2,0 mill. 18 Sydafrika 47,5 mill. >15 Area where the wild growing marama bean plants are found 1

2 Why is the marama plant interesting? The importance of marama bean The seeds of the marama plant are gathered and eaten as a snack by the ingenious people (San people) after roasting in hot sand The marama bean is an important supplement to the daily food The seeds are vey rich in nutrients and are an important food supplement The seeds are stored for seasons with limitation of food - a life saver in times of crisis, when other foods are not easily available Surplus of beans are sold on the local market and result in some income Marama beans Marama beans in the pot before roasting The marama plant what is it? Immature marara seeds can be used as food The marama plant belongs to the plant family Fabaceae The plant is a creeper with and the stems are trailing up to 3m in length It takes 3-4 years after seeding before new seeds can be harvested in considerable amount In good years the yield can be abundant It becomes more and more difficult to collect the beans as earlier public area is taken by farmers and fenced Immature marama seeds The immature marama seeds can be eaten after boiling in water Marama oil can be collected on the water surface after cooking of green beans The oil ca be used for frying and for skin care The marama oil is connected with girls initiation rituals The skin of young people are oiled with marama oil before they are married Marama plant in Steenbokpan region, South Africa Some farmers see the plant as weed The marama oil is playing an important role in rituals or in traditional healers` practices Several villages are without medical services. The medical services only come if there is an epidemic or a vaccination campaign Marama seeds - mature Marama bean - chemical composition The pods are very hard and they usually have 2 (3) seeds The seeds are round with a diameter about 20 mm Chemical composition of the bean as percentage in dry matter (Dry matter content ~ %) The seeds are surrounded by a very hard seed coat The seeds have very low water content and can be stored for months (and years) The seeds are very rich in nutrients Dietary fibre 19-27% Minerals % Protein 29-38% Lipids 32-42% Holse et al. (2010). J Food Comp Analys, 23,

3 Marama-plant with root Local women collecting marama beans - Namibia The root is a water reservoir for the plant The size of the root can be up to 150 Kg The root can also be eaten but then the basis for the bean production disappear Roasting of marama bean Focus group discussions Marama beans are roasted in hot sand on open fire. The sand is used for avoiding popped beans to jump away. The roasting procedure is very important to get the right taste of the beans. The roasted beans are eaten without salt Focus group discussions were made in Botswana, Namibia and South Africa in both rural and urban areas The AIM of the focus group discussions was to find out what the local people knew about the use of marama beans to get knowledge about the importance of the beans Market analyses were made in urban areas to find out the willingness to pay for new marama products The roasted beans are de-hulled by stones Remarks from focus group discussions The green beans assist digestion People gain weight (when someone is losing weight she/he is given marama beans) Marama had a revitalizing effect upon sick people and upon women who recently gave birth The marama beans are compared with peanut butter in terms of health and nutrition, and say it is beneficial for breast-feeding women Higher consumption of marama beans in the past is associated with better health. According to the local informants, the diseases that most affect people nowadays are tuberculosis, flu, headaches. 3

4 Pressed marama oil High protein marama bean flour Defatted marama bean flour has very high nutritional quality due to a good composition of amino acids Marama oil can easily be produced locally by simple technique Marama oil is comparable to olive oil in composition of fatty acids The high protein marama bean flour can be use for the local sorghum porridge to increase the nutritive value and the taste of the porridge The high protein marama bean flour might be used as soya protein concentrate Marama oil is quite stable against lipid oxidation compared to other seed oil Remarks about buying marama products Workshops dissemination of results 2008 Scientific workshop on Marama bean, Gaborone, Botswana Most interest in high protein marama flour to increase the nutritive value of the local sorghum porridge Also interest in the marama oil and roasted marama beans Products could be served on international flights from this area 2008 Processing and Marketing of Morama Bean for Dairy Applications, Kanye, Botswana 2009 Practical Short Course on Processing and Marketing of Morama Bean, Kanye, Botswana 2010 Practical Workshop on Small-scale Processing and Marketing of Oilseeds and Legumes, University of Pretoria, South Africa 2010 Planned open house with test of Marama youghurt - However it was cancelled as the local chief passed away just before Practical workshop on Marama bean products, Botswana 2009 Products made from marama bean Dr. Mpotokwane is demonstrating the pilot plant at National Food Technology and Research Center (NFTRC), Botswana This is wild 4

5 Collaborating partners Sandveld research station, Gobabis, Namibia NAFWU NDC NISER NNFU NPSM Namibian Farm Workers Union Namibian Development Corporation Namibian Institute for Social and Economic Research Namibia National Farmers Union Namibian s People Social Movement ALDEP BCA BFA BNF ISNAR PTB Arable Land Development Programme, Botswana Botswana College of Agriculture Botswana Farms Association Botswana National Front International Service for National Agricultural Research Permaculture Trust of Botswan TAU SADC Transvaal Agricultural Union, South Africa Southern African Development Community 5