An estimated 140 million households in Sub-Saharan
Africa and South Asia cultivate one or more of the six
tropical legumes, benefiting more than 700 million
people. The productivity of tropical legumes remains low
because of limited use of improved technology. Based on
existing knowledge from research and development, this
article argues that a successful strategy to raise
productivity and incomes from grain legumes must
contain several components. These include the
recognition that: regional diversity requires a countryspecific
approach; institutional challenges are as
important as technical challenges; and that success will
require institutional innovations not only in access to
input and output markets, but also in research
collaboration, and a systems approach. Current initiatives
by three international agricultural research centers
through the Tropical Legumes II Project seek to apply
these lessons.