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Opportunities and barriers in purchase of sorghum hybrid seeds in Mali: A qualitative assessment
Opportunities and barriers in purchase of sorghum hybrid seeds in Mali: A qualitative assessment
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Opportunities and barriers in purchase of sorghum hybrid seeds in Mali: A qualitative assessment

  1. Opportunities and barriers in purchase of sorghum hybrid seeds in Mali: a qualitative assessment In West and Central Africa, there is limited development of hybrid sorghum varieties and those that do exist often don’t reach or meet the needs and preferences of smallholder farmers. Over the past decade in Mali, scientists at ICRISAT and the national Institute of Rural Economy have developed hybrid sorghum varieties, based on West African guinea-race landraces and guinea-caudatum interracial breeding lines. Along with improved and local sorghum varieties, these hybrids are being produced for seed and marketed by local cooperatives. The potential improved yields from the hybrids present an opportunity to growers but there are also many barriers to their uptake. Several factors complicate the adoption of these hybrid varieties, including the novelty of hybrid seeds, specific trait preferences, the complex challenges associated with adoption of new varieties, and the fact that purchasing sorghum seed is not even a common practice. Scientists conducted semi-structured interviews with second year buyers of sorghum hybrid seeds in order to investigate these issues, and elucidate which attributes of the hybrids are appealing, or not, to buyers. In particular, they set out to: • determine the traits/attributes that drive farmer demand for, or experimentation with new hybrid sorghum types A market breakthrough for hybrid sorghum varieties could follow comprehensive questioning of smallholder farmers to determine why some are ready adopters and others hold back. • determine if and how this varies between different types of farmers • determine if hybrids fill specific niches, and farmers grow a range of different varieties with different traits Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 43 buyers of hybrid sorghum seed in October 2015 and will be repeated in 2016. These buyers were identified with the assistance of partner cooperatives that produce and market hybrid sorghum seed. To ensure they had harvested the hybrid varieties and been motivated to purchase a second time, the selected buyers had purchased the seed for at least two years. These interviews took place in seven localities in the Sikasso region. Only two women were interviewed, as women are not traditional buyers of sorghum seed. In the interviews, seed buyers were asked when they first bought the seed, for how many years they had purchased it, the quantities, and the names of all the other varieties they grew or had grown in the past five years. Then for each of these varieties the reasons were established for growing or abandoning these varieties, and the traits liked and disliked. This was done for hybrids and non-hybrids alike in order to determine if there were distinct or similar traits of interest between the types of varieties. Thematic coding was used to analyze the interviews. From the ongoing analysis, three salient concepts emerged. These pertain to the amount of exposure and experimentation necessary before the purchase of new varieties, specific traits farmers seek, and knowledge about hybrids. It required an average of four years of exposure to new varieties, either through demonstration trials, neighbors, media, and/or a close relationship with a cooperative member before interviewees were willing to purchase hybrid seeds. Knowing that the seeds were produced locally and by someone they knew in the area increased the chances of purchase. Even after purchase, farmers said they would test the varieties between 2–5 years before they would more often incorporate them permanently into their selection of varieties. The primary reason for long-term experimentation was due to variability in rainfall and varietal adaptation to different on-farm environments. Farmers maintained 2–4 types of varieties in order to manage this variability. However, about 10% of those interviewed had already switched the majority of their production into hybrid varieties. The overwhelming reason why people liked hybrids was yield and improved fodder quality that provided “more profit”. Other traits, important to growers for all variety types, were timely maturity, panicle form, grain weight, grain hardness and grain storability. Farmers liked photo-period sensitive varieties for two reasons: 1) when the rains come late and late planting is necessary, they still reach maturity, and
  2. 2) there are many field activities for other crops that must be completed before sorghum is planted. Grain storability was a trait farmers associated with local varieties and guinea-race hybrids. The available hybrid varieties had many of these qualities, increasing early farmer approval. Regarding knowledge about hybrids, there was confusion amongst the buyers, despite numerous trainings and information sessions provided to seed sellers. Only eight farmers of the 43 knew that a hybrid planted for a second year would segregate, while four knew it would segregate but still experimented with the F2.  Identification of farmers that have not purchased hybrid seeds but have been exposed for a sufficient time period is challenging but they are an obvious group of people that are not included in this analysis. These interviews with buyers do emphasize which varietal attributes are appealing and not appealing to buyers, thus capturing the potential reasons (including exposure and risk factors) why others may not purchase various types of sorghum seeds. In addition, women are neglected in this study because they are not traditional purchasers of sorghum, which is generally considered a crop grown by men. However, women are often given the leftover seed to grow in small plots and they play a major role in all field activities, thus it is likely they influence some decisions on the purchase of these varieties. One woman interviewed stated she grew hybrid sorghum after seeing it in a neighbor’s field and comparing it with her local variety. Her husband liked it so much they selected it for the family fields. To further understand these perspectives, future interviews will include both male and female buyers, and the wives of buyers. Sorghum hybrids are beginning to emerge as a viable option that meets farmer demand for higher yield and dual-purpose varieties, but it is a long-term process that can take anywhere from 4–10 years of exposure and individual experimentation with the varieties before adoption. Hybrids fill an important niche on-farm, and varieties developed from local germplasm fit best with preferred attributes such as photo-period sensitivity and grain hardness, although some found the caudatum varieties ideal for fodder. Farmer management of diverse varieties for different purposes indicates that diverse variety types, such as improved, hybrid, and combined trait qualities of different races, need to continue to be maintained and developed. Importantly, local availability of improved seeds through decentralized seed production increases farmer confidence and willingness to purchase new varieties. N’Guedjouma Coulibaly and his family in M’péssoba, Mali stand proudly in front of hybrid sorghum Fadda (right), and a local variety that stores for five years (left). Project: Farmer-managed seed enterprises in Mali (FarmSEM) funded by USAID (2014–2016) 33 ICRISATWestandCentralAfrica | 2015Highlights | Future-proofscienceforupcominggenerations
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