One of the reseachers from the Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST) Dr Edda Lungu said this after holding an engagement with Women drawn from various areas in the central region in line with a project called Grassroot Food Product Innovation Challenge.

Dr Edda Lungu has told Zodiak Online, the institution is now working with farmers in various extension planning areas to improve legume farming.

"We must empower our farmers in legume farming in order to enhance food diversification in a bid to contain malnutrition cases," said Dr Lungu.

Chairperson for Rural Women Assembly (RWA) Alice Kachere has however expressed worry over lack of a well established markets to sell their legume products.

"We are calling upon authorities to make a special consideration by identifying a sustainable market for our yields," Kachere added. 

Large scale legume farming is being recommended as an alternative to Malawi's green gold, tobacco whose returns have for the past years gone down.