Farmer-to-farmer seed distribution To fast-track the process of getting new varieties into fields, seed multiplication and distribution were designed as a central feature of the program and a farmer-to-farmer model of distribution proved a winning formula. Farmer field days accelerated the update further as they allowed farmers reluctant to take the risk of new varieties to hear the experiences of other farmers who have successfully used the new seeds and are enjoying increased yields. In the first two years of the project, the new rust-resistant wheat varieties reached about 26 per cent of Ethiopia’s total wheat growing area. The seeds have now reached more than 13,000 farmers. Their yields have increased from the national annual average of 2 tonnes/ha to a figure of 3.3 t/ha. However, as Nobel Prize winner Norman Borlaug once remarked, wheat rust is a “disease that never sleeps”, and there is no room for complacency. Preventive and adaptive action is crucial as climate change is altering the patterns of crop pests, and scientists at CGIAR are working to prepare farmers for the new threats they may face.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 09:06:51 +0000
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