Minor millets in South Asia: learnings from IFAD-NUS project in India ...

4 Minor Millets in south AsiA
growing them along with one locally popular farmers’ variety. UAS, Bangalore
included five improved varieties of finger millet and one farmers’ variety. Thirty
farmers in 15 villages deploying larger plot size were involved in the participatory
selection. The results revealed that the varieties, L 5 and GPU 28 of finger millet
selected by farmers under participatory variety trial became popular in the project
villages, not only for their superiority in grain and fodder/straw yield, but also
due to their relatively higher resistance to blast disease, which is more prevalent
in the region and causes yield loss to the tune of about 15-20% depending upon
the weather conditions. Thus, participatory variety selection led to achieving the
yield enhancement to the tune of about 30-35% over the variety cultivated. The PVS
under UAS, Dharwad was initiated in all the three crops with five varieties in each
of the three crops. A total of 45 farmers, deploying larger plot size and located in
15 villages were involved in this selection process. PVS concluded in second year of
the project identified varieties GPU 28 in finger millet, Sukshema in little millet and
HMT 100-1 and Krishnadevaraya in Italian millet. Large scale farmer participatory
demonstrations conducted during 2004 confirmed the yield superiority of these
varieties to the tune of 31-35% over the local varieties.
In the participatory variety selection carried out in Nepal, NARC used four
traditional and five improved varieties of finger millet. The data on varieties tested
under participatory variety selection (PVS) revealed that there were no significant
differences in the grain yield of different cultivars. However, the high grain yield
was produced by improved varieties such as GE 5176, GPU 25, and Acc. 523-1 and
local varieties such as Mudke, Mabire, and Dalle at different locations in different
years. The LI-BIRD chose six PVS varieties including one local variety. The farmers
identified and verified ACC.523-1 and GPU 25 varieties as the most promising among
all PVS varieties to add varietal diversity in the area under millet cultivation. They
preferred variety ACC. 523-1 due to its high grain and straw yield, early maturity,
and bold grain, whereas GPU 25 was preferred due to its bigger ear head, bold
grain and high grain yield.
The results from all the locations in Nepal and India suggested that farmers’
preference on varieties chosen was more specific to regional conditions than the
per se productivity of varieties. This exercise, apart from convincing farmers on the
advantages of the varieties they selected through PVS, offered enriching experience
to project staff on the selection nuances of farmers, who did not always place
over emphasis on grain yield alone, but on a set of other traits important to their
agricultural, agro-climatic and ethnic requirements. There were slightly different
selection nuances between women and men farmers, the former giving consideration
to grain colour and culinary aspects.
During 2004, more than 200 demonstrations in 35 villages were laid out in India
and about a dozen in four villages in Nepal. These demonstrations were also used
to popularize the selected variety and production technology through field days