Research Highlights of the CIMMYT Wheat Program 1999-2000

Table 2. Wheat production statistics for South Asia, 1999-2000.
Country Area (000 ha) Yield (t/ha) Production (000 t) Area under one main variety (000 ha)
Bangladesh 700 2.4 1680 525 (=Kanchan, 75%)
India (Country) 27000 2.8 75640 4500 (=PBW 343, 16.7%)
India (North*) 5560 4.15 2309 4000 (=PBW 343, 71.9 %)
Myanmar 98 0.9 85 73 (=SKA, 75%)
Nepal 660 1.8 1188 200 (=NL 297, 30%)
Pakistan 9100 2.5 22500 6370 (=Inquilab 91, 70%)
South Asia 37558 2.7 101093 —————
* States of Punjab and Haryana only.
worked hand in hand with regional NARSs on
farmer participatory variety selection (PVS) and
farmer participatory plant breeding (PPB). Thanks
to the active participation of resource-poor farmers,
both approaches, especially PVS, have proved
effective in promoting the adoption of new wheat
varieties and of relevant site-specific resource
conservation techniques (RCTs).
Farmer Participatory Approaches
Farmer participatory approaches for identifying or
breeding improved crop cultivars can be
categorized into participatory varietal selection and
participatory plant breeding (Witcombe et al., 1996).
In PVS, farmers select finished or nearly finished
products (released cultivars, varieties in advanced
stages of testing, and advanced non-segregating
lines) from plant breeding programs in their own
fields. In contrast, in PPB farmers select genotypes
from genetically variable, segregating materials.
PPB may be used when PVS has failed, or when
conventional plant breeding has not developed or
identified a variety suitable for a specific, usually
harsh, environment. The difference between PVS
and PPB may at first seem negligible, but PPB
requires more time and resources, while PVS
identifies materials that the seed sector can supply
more rapidly. Also, PVS and PPB have contrasting
impacts on biodiversity (Witcombe and Joshi, 1995;
Witcombe et al., 1996).
When scientists and farmers work together, they
learn from each other and begin to understand the
differences in their views and knowledge systems.
By bridging this gap, they are able to develop
solutions that respond to the perceived needs of
farmers. Solutions oriented towards fulfilling these
needs have greater potential for adoption and for
achieving positive changes in farming systems.
Farmers’ role in varietal selection
Farmers are usually involved only in the final
stages of variety testing, generally after varieties
have been identified for release. On-farm
demonstrations and similar trials organized by
extension services are managed with the full range
of recommended external inputs, which can be
atypical of the predominant management practices
in the target region. Farmers have little or no input
regarding the management of these trials or the
varieties being tested. Farmers’ evaluations of the
tested genotypes are usually not sought, nor are
their criteria applied, or if they are, they play little
or no role in the decision-making process for
varietal releases and recommendations (Farrington
and Martin, 1988). However, possibilities for
farmers’ participation in selection are as diverse as
the nature of selection itself, e.g., selection among
single plants, progeny rows, experimental elite
lines or varieties, selection on-station, or selection
on their own farms (Weltzien et. al., 1998).
Farmer-Scientist Participatory Activities in
South Asia
For the last three crop seasons, the CIMMYT-South
Asia wheat regional program, in close partnership
with NARSs and other stakeholders working in the
region, has conducted PVS and PPB activities with
the following objectives:
• To promote the adoption and dissemination of new
varieties and site-specific resource conservation
technologies
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