Four Seasons of Learning and Engaging Smallholder Farmers - icrisat

During 2010 cropping season, ICRISAT-Mali organized a field day for stakeholders on 28 October 2010
at the Samanko Research Station. A total of 200 visitors (69 women and 131 men) including farmers from
the various locations where PVS trials were conducted, representatives of farmers organizations, NGOs
and development partners were exposed to 24 new trait-specific {(tolerant/resistant to : foliar diseases,
aflatoxin contamination, groundnut rosette, drought) and confectionery} varieties sown in demonstration
plots. This visit was also aired on local television and radio, thus reaching a wider audience.
IER-Mali organized an on-farm field day at Sadiola and 94 farmers participated. An on-station field
day at Same, chaired by the regional governor attracted 150 participants. During all these events the
participants were familiarized with new varieties and other productivity enhancing technologies. A
documentary film of 20 minutes was prepared in Niger based on the activities in the pilot sites to raise
stakeholders’ awareness of newly released varieties. This is expected to reach a wider audience.
In Nigeria, six field days/farmer meetings were held at the eight demonstration trial sites and one at
Samaru before harvest. A total of 932 farmers, all men, participated in the field days. The number of
participants ranged from 87 to 264 per location.
Variety development
NARS in WCA lack human resources and infrastructure to execute an efficient groundnut breeding
program. These weaknesses have limited the flow of improved varieties and farmers continue to grow
old varieties that were developed or introduced more than half a century ago. One of the objectives of
this project is to enhance capacity of some of the NARS to breed groundnuts with multiple attributes. To
this effect ICRISAT has supplied more than 600 diverse genetic materials from which to select adapted
farmer-and market preferred varieties. Staff to manage the breeding programs was offered hands-on
training in breeding principles and how to manage a breeding program including priority skills such
as hybridization, data capture and analysis. The new materials have stimulated rejuvenated breeding
activities of the participating NARS who have initiated national variety trials in the target ecologies.
Variety trials
Mali
In 2008 IER received 77 traits specific advanced breeding lines (15 drought tolerant, 15 medium maturity,
15 early maturing and 32 rosette resistant). These were evaluated in. replicated variety trials (4 row plots
of 4 m long) along with local checks. In addition 288 F 7
-F 8
lines with various attributes (resistant to rosette
disease and the vector aphid, resistant to early leaf spots and earliness and limited fresh seed dormancy)
were supplied as observation nurseries. These were successfully conducted at the IER research station in
Kayes. In 2009 IER received 19 new advanced breeding lines resistant to aflatoxin contamination for onstation
testing.
During the 2010 and 2011 cropping seasons, a series of advanced trials were conducted using the
material selected from the observation nurseries and multi-locations on-farm trials involving promising
lines from the advance trials. Overall, IER has conducted 22 observation nurseries, 11 preliminary trials,
14 advanced yield trials and 5 on-farm trials.
Niger
INRAN-Niger, received 45 advanced breeding (15 drought tolerant, 15 medium and 15 early maturing
rosette resistant) lines for replicated trials in 2008. The plot sizes and designs were similar to those in Mali.
In 2009 ICRISAT-Mali, further supplied 397 breeding lines grouped into various trait-specific nurseries.
These were grown at Maradi Research Station. Forty lines from the germplasm supplied in 2008 and 2009
were evaluated at three locations (Tarna, Magaria and Bengou) in 2010. The yield of selected lines ranged
from 14 to 42% over the checks. Among these were ICGV–SM 99502, ICGV-SM 99 510 and ICGV-SM
Progress of Phase 1
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