The Netherlands and Kenya
June 1, 2022

Over the last few years, we have extended our market presence in Kenya, specifically with our beans. Bakker Brothers has been specializing in beans for nearly a 100 years. Our breeding department selects its beans based on market need and demands for hot & dry and hot & wet areas. Kenya is a hot & wet area where farmers are able to grow beans year-round.
Our bestselling bean varieties in Kenya are Caledonia, Catalina and Elba. These three varieties comply with Kenya’s market demands for beans:

• Very fine (6,5-8,0 mm) or extra fine (5,0-6,5 mm) beans are the desired segments
• Pod length needs to be 14cm
• Maturity from germination to first harvest needs to be 55-65 days
• Disease package must include Rust, Anthracnose and Halo Blight
• Suitable for year-round production
• Easy to hand harvest
• Continuous setting suitable for multi-harvest picks

Of these three varieties, Caledonia and Elba are for the very fine segment and Catalina is for the extra fine segment. All are suitable for both the fresh market and the processing industry.

Caledonia

Caledonia is our #1 variety in Kenya’s very fine segment. Caledonia is especially popular with growers due to continuous setting – gives 2-3 more harvests - 20% higher yield. Moreover it has good disease resistance package including Rust which increases the potential yield.
 

Catalina

Catalina is rapidly  gaining market share in Kenya in the extra fine segment. This variety is a favourite as it is early maturing variety with high marketable yield. It is top performer in Extra Fine segment with Rust field resistance.
 

Elba

Elba is a close second to Caledonia in the very fine segment. Elba is preferred among growers who need early maturity and bigger sieve size than Catalina. By the way is has very straight pods and Rust resistance.

Website: http://www.bakkerbrothers.nl

Published: June 1, 2022