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CARIAD - Centre for Advanced Research in International Agricultural Development

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Participatory Varietal Selection

Lead scientist: Professor John Witcombe
Poor farmers in marginal areas continue to grow old varieties that are often susceptible to pests and disease. They have had little exposure to new varieties and those that have been released are often not suitable for rainfed conditions on marginal lands. One means of addressing this problem is to place the seed of novel cultivars directly in the hands of the farmers. In this way, farmers have the opportunity to test new cultivars for themselves in their own fields.

By fostering collaboration between plant breeders and farmers, CAZS-NR work on participatory varietal selection aims to provide the poorest farmers with a chance to benefit from new varieties. Participatory varietal selection (PVS) assumes that varieties exist that are better than those currently grown, but which farmers have not had the opportunity to test. In PVS, farmers are given varieties to test in their own fields. To save time and to ensure that seed is available, Professor Witcombe’s team have used seed of cultivars that have already been released, not only from the target region but also from other regions or countries.