Official Newsletter of the WANA Seed Network
No. 32,
January 2007
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Short communications on practical research or relevant information on agriculture or seed technology are presented in this section.
Farmer-based Seed Production: Experiences of the South Agricultural Research Institute in Ethiopia
Asrat Asfaw 1
[1Awassa Agricultural Research Center, South Agricultural Research Institute, P.O. Box 6, Awassa, Ethiopia]
1. Introduction
Formal research on development and promotion of new varieties and production technologies in Ethiopia began in the early 1930s. By December 2005, the national agricultural research system had developed and released 385 varieties for 49 crop species (Table 2). At present, the Ethiopian Seed Enterprise (formal sector) is producing seeds of 80 varieties of 20 crops (Yonas Sahlu, personal communication). Despite efforts in crop improvement, technology transfer and seed supply, most farmers have not adopted these released varieties. Small-scale farmers predominantly use local varieties and farm-produced seed except in a few major crops (McGuire, 2005; Bishaw, 2004). The informal sector supplies much of the seed used nationally. The efforts of the formal sector to supply seed of new varieties are limited by insufficient production capacity and late delivery.
Different staretgeis were attempted to increase the availability of quality seed for use by small-scale farmers. The government has encouraged private investment through free access to crop varieties and hybrids developed by public sector research. The private sector is also encouraged to either produce or import seed of crop varieties that meet the national variety release requirements. Despite the establishment of a few private companies with small market shares, there is little success in improving seed availability and access for small farmers.
The participation of farmers in seed production was sought as an alternative strategy. This approach was first attempted in the late 1980s, under the strategic area seed reserve project. Local landraces were identified, collected, characterized and multiplied for distribution to farmers in drought-prone areas, particularly in North Shewa and South Wollo. The project eventually evolved into on-farm germplasm conservation, enhancement and seed prodcution assisted by NGOs. The Ethiopian Seed Enterprise also involved farmer cooperatives for contract seed production where they are encouraged to retain 10% of the seed for local exchange. These were some of the first attempts to make seed available to farmers within their locality.
In the late 1990s, recognizing the limited capacity of the formal sector to meet national demand, the government launched a farmer-based seed production and marketing project (McGuire, 2005) which sought to organize large numbers of smallholder farmers to produce and market seed within their communities. The intention was to double national seed production, while making seed readily available to farmers by virtue of the decentralized approach, as the seed is sold directly to district agricultural and rural development offices and reaches neighboring farmers through sale or informal exchange. The anticipated impact from the program was constrained by seed pricing and marketing problems. Building strong partnerships among different stakeholders including research, extension, NGOs and farmer's cooperatives unions, etc. could help solve the problems of price and marketing of seed produced by small farmers.
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Table 2. Crop varieties
released as of 2005
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No. of crops
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No. of varieties released
|
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| Cereals |
11
|
143
|
| Pulses |
9
|
92
|
| Oilseeds |
7
|
43
|
| Root and tubers |
4
|
41
|
| Vegetables |
6
|
18
|
| Fruits |
1
|
6
|
| Coffee |
1
|
20
|
| Cotton |
1
|
13
|
| Forages |
9
|
9
|
| Total |
49
|
285
|
| Source: Crop Variety Register 2005, Issue No. 8 | ||
The South Agricultural Research Institute (SARI) is one of the regional agricultural research institutes involved in technology generation and dissemination in the South Nations, Nationalities and People's Regional State. It conducts research at Awassa, Areka, Bonga and Jinka agricultural research centers. SARI, as a part of the national research system, has released a number of crop varieties, but not all are available to farmers. The SARI research centers were involved in on-station seed multiplication and dissemination to farmers and other technology transfer activities. However, the effort is inadequate because of limited production capacity and lack of sufficient effort in promoting and popularizing the varieties. The institute went through structural changes in research and dissemination activities, focusing more on impact orientation. In the 1990s, participatory research was initiated as part of this re-orientation. SARI management encourages breeders to look beyond variety release and use all possible means to promote their varieties to farmers. The participation of farmers and other stakeholders in seed multiplication and dissemination is an alternative strategy to increase seed availability and adoption of varieties by farmers.
2. Objectives of farmer-based seed multiplication
The main goals of seed production with farmers are to:
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•
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Improve adoption and diffusion of new varieties by farmers |
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•
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Improve availability and accessibility of seed to farmers |
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•
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Create impact on the livelihood of small farmers |
3. Farmer seed production models
SARI used different seed multiplication and dissemination models, which are discussed below.
3.1 Individual farmers
In this model researchers directly work with farmer seed producers to improve seed availability within the communities. Box 1 summarizes the steps involved.
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Box 1. Steps in individual
farmer seed production model
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| Variety and seed need assessment | |||||
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•
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How? | ||||
| - participatory variety trial (PVS) | |||||
| - adaptation trial/variety validation trial | |||||
| - participatory rural appraisal (PRA) | |||||
| Identification/selection of variety for multiplication | |||||
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•
|
How? | ||||
| - PVS | |||||
| - community meeting | |||||
| Identification of farmer seed producers | |||||
|
•
|
How? | ||||
| - community meeting | |||||
| - seed multiplication and marketing | |||||
Common bean: Seed production with farmers was started in 2003 after PVS trials at Boricha woreda, Sidama zone. Two communities were selected in the woreda for implementation. Meetings were organized with the communities to discuss PVS results, interest on getting seed of varieties evaluated, limited capacity of research in providing seeds, and seed marketing issues like the willingness to buy or get seeds through social networks if multiplied by farmers in the community. The community selected varieties and farmers capable of producing seed of these varieties. Variety selection was based on seed color, market demand, and on productivity witnessed by PVS farmers. Land and labor availability and standing in the community were used as criteria to select the seed producers. Nine farmers from the two communities were selected to multiply seeds of four varieties.
The following procedures were followed for seed production:
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•
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Farmers were trained (on-farm training) in seed production |
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•
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Researchers supplied the initial seed and fertilizers |
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•
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Farmers provided land, labor, and performed all agronomic management |
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•
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Research staff with experts from Bureau of Agriculture monitored the seed production |
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•
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Researchers supplied bags and pesticides to facilitate seed packaging and storage by farmers |
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•
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Farmers were advised to sell the seed as they liked. |
Within a year nine farmers in the two communities multiplied nearly 900 kg seed of four varieties. On average each farmer sold to or exchanged with at least 10 farmers within the community and sold as seed in local markets. An estimated 90 farmers got access to seed of modern bean varieties through wider farmer-to-farmer seed diffusion of red mottled varieties, which are new in the area.
Irish potato: In 2002 and 2003, the seed production was started with 12 farmers from six woredas. First, farmers and experts from the woreda were trained at Holeta Research Station on potato seed production, diffused light store (DLS) construction and ware potato storage. Individual farmers then started seed multiplication with initial seed supplied by researchers. The 12 farmers collectively multiplied 7,350 kg and 19,480 kg potato seed tubers in 2002 and 2003, respectively. Nearly 60 farmers benefited from the scheme through farmer-to-farmer seed exchange in the first year (Table 3).
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Table 3. Potato seed multiplication
in 2002 and 2003
|
||||||
|
Woreda
(Zone)
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
|
|
2002
|
2003
|
|||||
|
Bule
(Gedio)
|
2
|
2
|
1750
|
5900
|
20
|
965
|
|
Boditi
(Wolayta)
|
2
|
2
|
600
|
2050
|
3
|
800
|
|
H/selam
(Sidama)
|
2
|
2
|
2900
|
9600
|
14
|
1552
|
|
Lemo
(Hadiya)
|
2
|
2
|
600
|
600
|
-
|
-
|
|
Gumer
(Gurage)
|
2
|
2
|
600
|
530
|
4
|
-
|
|
Chencha
(Gamogofa)
|
2
|
2
|
900
|
800
|
6
|
-
|
|
Total
|
12
|
2
|
7400
|
19500
|
57
|
|
|
Source:
ARC progress report 2003
1 = No. of farmers; 2 = No. of varieties; 3 = Amount of seed produced (kg), 4 = No. of farmers obtaining seed through farmer-to-farmer exchange, 5 = Money obtained through sale of 2002 production (Eth Birr). USD 1 = 8.65 Birr |
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3.2 Social networks
In 1999 and 2002 social networks (e.g. church) were tried for common bean seed production and dissemination in Areka. The church was supplied with initial seed and backstopped by research in technical aspects of seed production. This approach proved to be effective because seed could easily be exchanged among members without any fear of marketing problems and more seed was produced compared to individual farmers.
3.3 Farmer research groups
Farmers' research groups (FRGs) were organized around testing sites of Awassa and Areka Research Centers. The FRGs were used for technology evaluation and demonstration. The demonstration plots with FRGs were used for popularization and technology validation and also as source of seed for preferred varieties. FRGs are now involved in micro level seed production of some crops.
3.4 Cooperatives
This is part of a wider impact strategy involving large numbers of stakeholders. The steps used to make this model effective were as follows:
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•
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Assessment of possible and potential stakeholders/partners and commodity(ies) |
|
•
|
Assessment of market outlets/potential markets and requirement for potential commodity(ies) |
|
•
|
Facilitation of partners' meeting/stakeholders forum (research extension advisory council or seed partners meeting). The strengths, weaknesses, potentials and possible threats for the commodity were analyzed in these meetings. Crops and varieties were selected based on market demand and potential adaptation. The roles and responsibilities of each partner were determined (Table 4) and a memorandum of understanding prepared. |
|
•
|
Organization of promotion campaigns (field days) to create awareness and markets for seeds and commodities. |
The Awassa Research Center, Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Development of Sidama and Gurage zones, Farmers' Cooperative Unions (Sidama ELTO and Walta), Self-help Development International Capacity Building Project (NGO) and farmers were identified as potential partners. The partners identified potato, onion, wheat, and soybean as potential crops. Activities began in 2004 in two zones (Sidama and Gurage) with the intention of improving the livelihood of smallholder farmers by enhancing productivity and market access. Because of the acute seed shortage of the selected crops, seed was multiplied by some cooperatives in order to ensure seed availability and self sustainability.
 |
Field day on promotion of soybean seed production under the cooperative model. |
| Table 4. Roles and responsibilities of partners in the cooperative based model | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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This approach is better than all other models because the seed produced was used within the cooperatives. This system made seed available within a short distance and overcame the problem of marketing as the seed was purchased by the cooperatives and sold back to farmers at planting time. The buyers in turn produced grain demanded by agro-industries, consumer cooperatives and wholesalers with guaranteed market.
4. Lessons learnt and the way forward
Participation of farmers in seed production with different approaches revealed that seed marketing and storage were major problems with the individual farmers. The model may work for root and tuber crops provided a farmer specializes and is recognized as a seed producer by stakeholders who guarantee a market for the seed produced. The social networks were better for seed diffusion as the church has many followers who will buy seed produced by church. The bean seed production at Areka indicated that social networks are better in improving seed availability compared to the individual farmer approach. The cooperatives are good for they are promoting adoption of technologies and providing well-organized credit system and market outlets for seeds produced via cooperative unions. In general, while attempting seed production with farmers linkages with neighboring communities, traders and cooperatives are essential to create a market for the seed produced. The seed provision strategy of SARI is the distribution of small packets to many farmers, encouraging local seed multipliers (and linking them to markets) and catalyzing much larger multipliers (NGOs, cooperatives, and private sector).
References
ARC. 2003. Awassa Agricultural Research Center Progress Report 2003.
ARC. 2004. Awassa Agricultural Research Center Progress Report 2004.
Bishaw, Z. 2004. Wheat and barley seed systems in Ethiopia and Syria. PhD thesis, Wageningen University.
MARD. 2005. Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Crop Variety Register Issue no. 8.
McGuire, S. 2005. Getting genes. Rethinking seed systems analysis and reform for sorghum in Ethiopia. PhD thesis, Wageningen University.