Common bean is a queen of legumes and a major source of protein and iron for many people in Lesotho. It is speculated that bean production, area planted and yield of common beans have been erratic throughout the period of 58 years from 1961-2017. This has not been verified statistically and documented, hence this study has been conducted to dispel or dispute the speculation. The object of the study was therefore to (a) estimate the trend in the production, area and yield of common bean over a period of six decades, (b) identify the key factors influencing bean production. Data on trend of common beans were obtained from Bureau of Statistics (2017), while data for factors affecting production were obtained from Lesotho Meteorological Service (2017). Excel spread sheet was employed to determine the trend of bean over the period of 58 years and ANOVA was to establish the significance of the factors contributing towards bean production. The results showed an average increase of 44% in the production, 42% increase in area planted and 2% decrease in yield. There were droughts and peaks during this time-period differing greatly. The factors of production did not significantly influence the bean production.
Keywords: Area, Common bean, Lesotho, Yield, production trend
