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ICRISAT Archival Report 2006 - The seedlings of success in the ...

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Activity A9.3: Share seed <strong>of</strong> improved pigeonpea and chickpea germplasm with drought tolerance with<br />

partners <strong>in</strong> ESA<br />

Milestone A9.3.1: Nucleus/breeder seed <strong>of</strong> at least 10 pigeonpea and 20 chickpea cultivars/ advanced l<strong>in</strong>es<br />

available for shar<strong>in</strong>g with NARS multiplied by 2009<br />

In <strong>2006</strong>/07 cropp<strong>in</strong>g season, <strong>the</strong> production <strong>of</strong> breeder seed was <strong>in</strong>creased to <strong>in</strong>clude two locations (Kampi ya Mawe<br />

and Kabete Research Stations) <strong>in</strong> Kenya. For pigeonpea, it is necessary to cover <strong>the</strong> crop with nets dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong><br />

flower<strong>in</strong>g period <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> crop to avoid cross poll<strong>in</strong>ation. Production <strong>of</strong> breeder seed <strong>of</strong> five wilt resistant and eleven<br />

pigeopea cultivars is <strong>in</strong> progress at Kabete and Kampi yaMawe respectively. Breeder seed <strong>of</strong> 13 chickpea advanced<br />

l<strong>in</strong>es was also produced <strong>in</strong> <strong>2006</strong> at Kabete. Samples <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> breeder seed will be stored for medium-term <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> m<strong>in</strong>igene<br />

bank at <strong>ICRISAT</strong>-Nairobi and <strong>the</strong> rema<strong>in</strong>der will be shared with partners to produce foundation or certified<br />

seed.<br />

SN Silim and E Gwata<br />

Milestone A9.3.2: Seed <strong>of</strong> improved pigeonpea and chickpea germplasm dissem<strong>in</strong>ated to at least 4 NARS/ countries<br />

<strong>in</strong> ESA by 2008<br />

<strong>The</strong> high level <strong>of</strong> out-cross<strong>in</strong>g (30%) <strong>in</strong> pigeonpea poses a challenge to farmers <strong>in</strong> terms <strong>of</strong> ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g cultivar<br />

purity. <strong>The</strong>refore it is necessary to dissem<strong>in</strong>ate high quality seed to national programs for multiplication and<br />

distribution to farmers. Samples <strong>of</strong> clean breeder or foundation seed were shared with partners <strong>in</strong> Malawi, South<br />

Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe.<br />

For chickpeas, <strong>the</strong> national programs (<strong>in</strong> Eritrea, Kenya and South Africa) as well as o<strong>the</strong>r partners (Catholic Relief<br />

Services and Egerton University) received seed. Requests for seed have also been received from Rwanda and<br />

Zimbabwe. In Mozambique, adequate stocks <strong>of</strong> high quality seed are available to both <strong>the</strong> national program and<br />

NGOs. It is evident that <strong>the</strong> demand for seed <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se two legumes <strong>in</strong> ESA has <strong>in</strong>creased significantly necessitat<strong>in</strong>g<br />

<strong>the</strong> legume enhancement program (at <strong>ICRISAT</strong>-Nairobi) to respond positively and ensur<strong>in</strong>g availability <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

germplasm.<br />

SN Silim and E Gwata<br />

Milestone A9.3.3: Farmers’ access to legume seed <strong>in</strong> at least two ESA countries enhanced through collaboration<br />

with at least one public/private partnership (NARS/NGO/Private Seed Company by 2010<br />

Collaborative efforts <strong>in</strong> seed multiplication with <strong>the</strong> private sector were <strong>in</strong>itiated <strong>in</strong> at least two countries <strong>in</strong> ESA. In<br />

Kenya, a private seed company (Leldet Ltd.), with assistance from <strong>the</strong> Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service,<br />

agreed to undertake multiply<strong>in</strong>g seed <strong>of</strong> <strong>ICRISAT</strong> chickpea (four) and pigeon pea (three) cultivars. Similarly, <strong>in</strong><br />

Tanzania a seed company (Rotian Seed Company) <strong>in</strong>itiated seed multiplication jo<strong>in</strong>tly with <strong>ICRISAT</strong>. <strong>The</strong> company<br />

is multiply<strong>in</strong>g two cultivars (ICEAP 00040 and ICEAP 0053) <strong>in</strong> particular which are <strong>in</strong> high demand <strong>in</strong> Tanzania.<br />

<strong>The</strong> seed requirement for <strong>the</strong> two cultivars already exceeds 6.0 t <strong>in</strong> Babati district.<br />

<strong>The</strong> partnerships with private companies are expected to rise with <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong> demand for legume seed <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

region. Apart from provid<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> seed, <strong>ICRISAT</strong> provides technical support to <strong>the</strong> seed companies. This model <strong>of</strong><br />

seed production is still be<strong>in</strong>g developed with <strong>the</strong> hope that eventually, it can be scaled-up to <strong>in</strong>clude o<strong>the</strong>r countries<br />

<strong>in</strong> ESA.<br />

SN Silim and E Gwata<br />

Milestone: A9.3.4: New <strong>in</strong>stitutional models designed and tested to enhance <strong>the</strong> availability <strong>of</strong> improved groundnuts,<br />

pigeon pea and chickpea seed through commercial channels by 2009<br />

New <strong>in</strong>stitutional models: In Mozambique foundation seed <strong>of</strong> improved pigeonpea varieties from a Foundation<br />

Seed Enterprise (FSE) was marketed to a farmer-owned company for fur<strong>the</strong>r multiplication <strong>in</strong>to certified seed. This<br />

was <strong>the</strong>n sold to farmers l<strong>in</strong>ked to a pigeonpea process<strong>in</strong>g factory produc<strong>in</strong>g dhal for export. Prelim<strong>in</strong>ary results<br />

suggest that this <strong>in</strong>stitutional arrangement builds upon <strong>the</strong> strengths <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>formal seed supply systems that most<br />

smallholder farmers rely on, but enhances <strong>the</strong> choice <strong>of</strong> varieties available to such farmers from research. <strong>The</strong><br />

availability <strong>of</strong> uniform gra<strong>in</strong> from a s<strong>in</strong>gle variety reduces <strong>the</strong> losses associated with process<strong>in</strong>g, and creates<br />

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