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Participatory Transfer of Integrated Technology: A Promising Approach to Increase Food Legume Production in Turkey

Ismail Küsmenoglu, Exporters Union Seed and Research Company, Ergazi Mahallesi, No.4, Ankara, Turkey; E-mail: i.kusmenoglu@itas.com.tr

Abstract
Food legumes are the main components of dry land cropping systems and one of the leading export commodities in Turkey. In recent years the Turkish legume export is declining on the world market because of poor and inconsistent grain quality and high local grain prices. Several disease resistant and high yielding cultivars of food legumes have been developed and released by the national agricultural research organizations. However, the majority of farmers continue growing traditional local landraces due to lack of appropriate technology transfer mechanism coupled with lack of adoption of new varieties resulting from inadequate legume seed supply. The percentage of certified seed used by farmers is negligible compared to the amount of seed they obtain from other sources. The Exporters Union of Turkey established an Exporters Union Seed and Research Company (ITAS) to improve the production and quality of food legumes. ITAS, established in 1998, launched an innovative and integrated technology transfer project where significant progress has been made in a very short period of time. The approach could serve as a model for promoting the adoption and diffusion of new crop varieties neglected by the formal sector.

Introduction
Food legumes are the main components of dry land cropping systems in Turkey. Chickpea, lentil, and dry bean are three important commercial food legume crops in the country. The total area of chickpea and lentil increased rapidly during the 1980s as a result of the Fallow Replacement Project implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. The government policy favored food legumes and incentives such as credit and subsidy for certified seed were provided to promote commercial production. In 1980, chickpea and lentil were planted on 430,500 ha producing 470,000 tonnes of grain legumes. In 1988 the production reached a peak of 1,817,500 tonnes with

a combined area of 1752,698 ha for both crops. In 2000, chickpea and lentil production dropped to 920,000 tonnes with an area of 955,000 ha.

Similarly, the export of food legumes increased tremendously from 190,782 tonnes in 1980 to a peak of 1,133,850 tonnes in 1988. Ever since the legume export market continues to decline, although it is trending up in recent years. Since the early 1990s, the withdrawal of subsidies has led to a continuous fall in food legume production and grain quality. The decline in legume production posed a serious problem particularly for the export trade which requires high quality grain legumes.

Several disease resistant and high yielding cultivars of food legumes have been developed and released by the national agricultural research organizations. However, the majority of farmers continue growing traditional local landraces due to lack of appropriate technology transfer mechanism coupled with lack of adoption of new varieties resulting from inadequate legume seed supply. There is no effective legume seed production program in either the public or private sector that could support the diffusion of new improved varieties and associated crop production technologies.

Problems of Legume Seed Sector in Turkey
Despite a tremendous effort by the national agricultural research, the average yield of legume crops has remained stagnant or declined over the years (Figure 1). The absence of better legume production technology partly accounts for such low performance. Moreover, there are also biotic and abiotic stresses and technical constraints that limited legume production (Sakar et al., 1988; Durutan et al., 1988; Acikgoz et al., 1993; and Küsmenoglu and Meyveci, 1997). Several improved varieties have been released but few of them are in commercial production. Lack of certified seed production and distribution are the major constraints slowing down the diffusion of improved varieties from research centers to farmers' fields (Figure 2).

Figure 1. Productivity of chickpea and lentil in Turkey

Figure 2. Proportion of certified seed used for legume production in Turkey

The total annual seed requrement for chickpea, lentil, drybean and faba bean is estimated at 150,000 tonnes (Küsmenoglu and Kugbei, 2000). At present, most of the chickpea and lentil seed used for planting largely comes from the informal sector and only very small proportion of certified seed is distributed by the formal sector (Figure 2). Farmers usually obtain their seed through informal channels such as own saved seed, neighbors/other farmers or from local markets/grain merchants (Figure 3).

Figure 3. Seed sources for legume producers in Turkey

There are several factors for low level certified seed production and distribution of legume crops by the formal seed sector. The most limiting factor might be lack of regular demand for certified seed from farmers. Weak organizational support for seed production and ineffective delivery system must also be taken into consideration. The available certified seed is also expensive and many legume growers who are usually considered as low income groups cannot afford to purchase it. The seed distribution networks are not well developed and seed procurement involves transportation costs for growers and processors. In many cases, the low level of effective seed demand is also the result of lack of farmers awareness regarding the merit of new legume varieties and the importance of certified seed.

Establishment of Exporters Union Seed and Research Company (ITAS)
In the 1990s, countries such as Australia, Canada and the United States become major producers and exporters of grain legumes. The support provided to promote food legume research in developed countries (Gareau et al., 1997) forced the legumes exporters of Turkey to take similar action to cope with stiff market competition from these countries. As a result the Cereal, Legume and Oil Crops Exporters Union had established a Research and Development Fund by imposing a levy on export in 1997. The fund is used in promoting food legume production, productivity and grain quality. In 1998, the Exporters Union Seed and Research Company (ITAS) was established and took over the administration of the fund.

The goal of ITAS is to promote productivity and sustainability of food legume production. The short-term objective is aimed at facilitating the transfer of available technology to farmers whereas the long-term objective is aimed at establishing a competitive research capacity at the national level. ITAS formulates and implements its own projects and collaborates with national and international institutions to fulfill its objectives.

ITAS is implementing a Technology Transfer Project in collaboration with agricultural research centers and extension services throughout Turkey. The project includes certified seed production and distribution and the transfer of improved legume production technology. Foundation seed of dry bean, chickpea and lentil cultivars are purchased from research institutes and planted on contract with farmers to produce certified seed. Farmers are selected and contracted from major legume production regions or provinces. Contract growers are supervised in all stages of seed production including field preparation, crop management and harvesting. The seed price is guaranteed in the contract and procured from farmers at production sites and transported to a processing facility located in Ankara. Certified seed is sold either in bulk or directly to farmers with no profit.

In each province, a regional field day and several local field days are organized every year. Contract seed production fields will provide farmers with an opportunity to evaluate new cultivars and improved crop management technologies. This will provide an opportunity to promote new varieties and other associated production technologies.

Achievements of ITAS
Since 1998, ITAS has successfully multiplied several tonnes of certified seed of Gokce variety and distributed to farmers in major chickpea production areas located in 45 provinces. Gokce was released in 1997, but through the technology transfer project implemented by ITAS, the variety has been popularized and largely accepted by farmers. At present the variety occupies considerable area planted with food legume crops in Turkey. On the other hand, the State Farms which are officially authorized by the government as public sector suppliers of legume seed has not yet able to produce and provide certified seed of Gokce to farmers. Almost all chickpea and lentil varieties previously released by research did not reach farmers because of the failure of public sector seed production and supply system.

Apart from chickpea, a new project entitled 'Winter Red Lentil Production in Central Anatolia' has been launched recently with two lentil cultivars that were released in 2001. The present seed multiplication procedure requires up to a maximum of six years from the release of a new variety to the distribution of certified seed of self-pollinated crops to farmers. ITAS initiated a pre-release seed multiplication of promising lentil varieties while they are still in variety release and registration trials. As a result 40 tonnes of seed of Kafkas variety was produced and made available for distribution to farmers upon its official release by the Variety Release and Registration Board. The pre-release multiplication ensured the availability of seed of new lentil varieties upon release and accelerated their flow from research stations to farmers in the shortest possible period of time.

Since its establishment in 1998, ITAS has been recognized as information clearing house and being consulted by all stakeholders of the legume sector in Turkey.

ITAS will soon establish a research section to conduct market oriented breeding program on food legumes in the country.

Lessons Learnt
The practice of contract production has already been employed by other organizations to multiply sugar beet and sunflower seed. Selection of growers is vital for effective contract seed production programs. At the beginning it is important to limit the number of crops and varieties for seed multiplication and to select cooperative, dedicated and hard working farmers in the community.

Despite spring sowing chickpea is generally affected by Ascochyta blight. Since most farmers still use local landraces the introduction of disease tolerant varieties could be very beneficial and attractive in the pilot areas. This will encourage the adoption of new chickpea varieties by farmers.

A good dry bean crop tends to generate higher gross margin than chickpea, but it appears to be a more risky crop for farmers. Apart from disease problems, it is only produced under full irrigation and could also easily affected by soil conditions.

Farmers are aware of the risks associated with crop production due to drought and crop pests. A seed organization should provide assistance to contract growers to minimize and cope with risks. For example, the payment of a guarantee price based on cultivated area could be an option, although the success of this approach will depend on the loyalty and honesty of the farmers.

Despite poor performance in some areas farmers are generally keen and interested to continue multiplying seed for the project because they perceive the introduction of improved legume varieties as vital to their farming systems. Contract seed growers need to be reassured and encouraged particularly during bad harvest years. They expect trustworthy partnership in coping with the problems they encounter in seed production. The organization of contract growers into an association with common goals and objectives will help to advance and protect the interests of their members.

Conclusion
Since the primary objective of the project focuses on grain export, the real impact of the scheme implemented by ITAS will be realized when farmers adopt new varieties and use certified seed to produce grain legumes that meet export standards. It is unlikely that ITAS could produce all certified seed requirement and solve all problems of food legume production in Turkey. The project could serve as a model how legume seed production constraints could be solved by taking the right approaches through participation of farmers and the industry. The real effort will bear fruit when all stakeholders i.e. producers, exporters and researchers unite under the umbrella organization, such as 'Turkish Pulse' and work together for a common goal. In conclusion it should be noted that the initiative could serve as a model for promoting the adoption and diffusion of new crop varieties elsewhere in situations where the formal sector failed to address the variety and seed issues.

References
Acikgoz, N., M. Karaca, C. Er and K, Meyveci. 1993. Chickpea and Lentil Production in Turkey. In Muehlbauer, F.J. and W.J. Kaiser (eds.). Expanding the Production and Use of Cool-Season Food Legumes. 388-398pp. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.
Durutan, N., B. Yilmaz and M. Kiziltan. 1988. Small Grains and Food Legume Production in Turkey. In Srivastava, J.P., M.C. Saxena, S. Varma and M. Tahir (eds.). Winter Cereal and Food Legumes in Mountainous Areas, 66-68pp. ICARDA, Aleppo, Syria.
Gareau, R.M., F. Muel and J.V. Lovett. 1997. Trends in Support for Research and Development of Cool Season Food Legumes in the Developed Countries. In R. Knight (ed.). Linking Research and Marketing Opportunities for pulses in the 21st century, 59-66pp. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.
Kusmenoglu, I., and K. Meyveci.1997. Chickpea in Turkey. In Saxena, N.P., M.C. Saxena, C. Johansen, S.M. Virmani, and H. Harris (eds.) Adaptation of Chickpea in the West Asia and North Africa Region, 67-84pp. ICRISAT, Patancheru 502 324, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Kusmenoglu, I., and S. Kugbei. 2000. Developing small-scale Seed Enterprise for Food Legumes in Turkey. In Kugbei, S., M. Turner and P. Witthaut (eds.) Finance and Management of Small-scale Seed Enterprises, 123-128pp. ICARDA, Aleppo, Syria.
Sakar, D., N. Durutan, and K. Meyveci. 1988. Factors Limiting Productivity of Cool-Season Food Legumes in Turkey. In Summerfield, R.J. (ed.). World Crops: Cool-Season Food Legumes, 137-146pp. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.