Participatory plant breeding in 10 rice in Nepal.

Abstract

AbstractWe describe here work over many years both in high-altitude villages of Nepal and in the lowland area of the Nepal terai on participatory crop improvement in rice. We focus on the interactions of farmers and scientists and the contributions each partner makes in participatory research. This has encompassed contractual, consultative, collaborative and collegial modes of participation. Since the goal of the programme was functional, that is, to improve efficiency of the breeding process, rather than the empowerment of farmers, the first three of these four modes of participation were the most important. Farmers contributed in goal setting, in identifying traits and in providing a testing system that was multi-farmer, multi-locational and allowed the trade-off between many traits. Breeders contributed their more formal scientific knowledge to this process and assisted in the scaling up of products identified from the participatory varietal selection (PVS) and participatory plant breeding (PPB) programmes. Breeding methods were adapted to accommodate the opportunities and constraints of PPB, and used a low-cross-number, high population-size breeding strategy. Within this strategy, modified bulk population breeding has been used extensively. The PVS and PPB programmes have identified or produced many varieties that farmers prefer. Their adoption is spreading through farmerto-farmer networks. Governmental and non-governmental organizations have helped this process by leading more formal approaches to seed supply. The government extension service is now scaling up the PVS approach in several districts of Nepal.