Bean facts:

• The region’s eight million hectares produce half of global output.

• One hectare of beans produces 123 kg of protein, compared to 3.4 kg of protein from cattle.

• CIAT’s gene bank safeguards 26,500 samples of cultivated beans and 1,500 samples of wild beans.

• Bean yields are growing at a rate of 2.7 percent annually, versus the region’s population growth rate of 1.9 percent.