Pigeonpea in East and Southern Africa - A story of two decades

1. Pigeonpea in ESA:
A story of two decades
Said Silim

2. In 1991:
• Pigeonpea was not a crop of importance
• Farmers growing traditional low yielding varieties as
intercrop
• Preference was for bold seeded fast cooking varieties
• National research systems and governments paid no
attention
• Private sector had no interest
• No awareness about the export potential

3. Initial approach:
• Initial approach was to introduce varieties from HQ
through local testing but
• They were not adapted to the region
• Emphasis at HQ is on SD and MD types while
ESA demand is for MD and LD
• Farmers and market demand white bold grain
that cook fast
• Resistance to Fusarium wilt

4. Revised strategy:
• Understand the influence of temp (T) and photoperiod
(P) and used for targeting developed varieties
• Ensure resistance to diseases and pests
• Fill germplasm gaps for posterity and use in the
breeding program
• Include crop management to enhance systems
productivity
• Market needs and opportunities
• Develop varieties that exploit farmer and markets
• Support seed systems
• Enhance stakeholder capacity

5. Understanding modulation of T and P
• Trials conducted across a transect
• 50 to 2500 m asl and T varied from 30 - 150C
• Used artificial lighting P 12 h 20 min to 16 h 20 min
• Early flowering observed at 240C for SD, 220C for MD
and at 180C for LD
• MD varieties matured early (150 days) at equator
and late (200 days) away from equator

6. Filling germplasm gaps:
• Additional germplasm was collected in Uganda,
Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique
• Long duration varieties from the collections were
used to develop varieties for delayed matured under
cooler temperatures
• Medium duration varieties from Uganda were used
as sources for high temperature and pest tolerance

7. Grain characteristics used in breeding:
• White/cream seed coat
• Bold and round seeds
• Aroma
• Cook fast

8. Resistance to Fusarium wilt:
• Losses from Fusarium wilt were estimated to be
about US$ 5 m per country
• Varieties resistant to Fusarium in India were found to
be susceptible in the region
• Wilt sick plots were developed in Kenya, Tanzania
and Malawi
• Sources of resistance from local land races were
identified and used in the breeding program

9. Pest management:
• Major pests in the region are
• Field: pod borers, pod suckers and pod
flies
• Storage: Bruchids
• Research was initiated to screen varieties
with resistance to these pests

10. Molecular tools:
• Identifying and use of molecular markers speed up
the process of resistance breeding
• A limiting factor in the region is lack of biosafety
regulations
• One area for immediate research attention is risk
assessment including geneflows

11. Crop management:
• Pigeonpea is mainly grown as intercrop
• The best row ratios were found to be paired rows of
pigeonpea with 3 rows of maize or 6 rows of legumes
such as groundnut, bean and soybean
• In both cases residual N was found to be >40 kg/ha
Agronomy
Pigeonpea Yield (t/ha) Maize Yield (t/ha)
Variety
Mean
Variety
Mean
Improved Farmer Improved Farmer
Improved 1.460 1.497 1.478 1.252 1.539 1.410
Farmer 0.811 1.091 0.951 1.231 1.459 1.345
Mean 1.136 1.294 1.257 1.499

12. Market information:
• Coordinate and synchronize production and
marketing activities
• Shorten the then existing long marketing channels
• Reduce transaction costs along the value chain
• Mainstream grades and standards in the value chain
• Provide avenues for farmers to access improved
technologies
Pigeonpea Value Chains
Rural wholesaler
Small farmer
PMG/Union
Middlemen/brokers
Urban wholesaler
Processing
Industry
Rural retailer (1)
Rural
consumer
Supermarkets
(3) Grain
Exporter (4)
Urban
retailer (2)
Urban consumer
Transporter
Processed
Exporter (5)
Foreign consumers

13. Seed systems:
• Strategic partnerships to increase the availability of
improved seeds developed
• The actors in these partnerships include NARS,
commercial seed companies, input suppliers and
farmer associations
• Farmers and extension agents are trained in seed
production
• Farmer cooperatives, local seed enterprises and input
stockists were established and /or strengthened

14. Capacity building:
• Capacity building activities covering all aspects from
production to marketing to consumption were
implemented
• Now there are pigeonpea breeders in all countries
• Farmers are aware about the pigeonpea potential
• Private sector is actively pursuing the promotion of
pigeonpea
• Policy makers are paying attention to promote
pigeonpea

15. Partnerships:
• ICRISAT-ESA worked hard to develop meaningful
partnerships that add value
• This was achieved by strategic choice of partners to
sustain future R&D efforts
• We are now working with CIMMYT and CIAT
• Number donors supporting pigeonpea also
increased during this period

16. On-farm demonstrations:
• Potential varieties were evaluated on station and
on-farm in the target regions in Kenya, Tanzania,
Uganda and Malawi
• Participatory on-farm evaluation followed involving
farmers, market agents and agri-business
enterprises
• The best bet varieties were promoted in
collaboration with NARS, NGOs and private sector

17. Varietal Targeting:
General preference for cream bold grains with fast cooking
and aroma, Fusarium wilt resistance and
• MD and LD varieties that escape drought, with
ratoonability in Eastern Kenya
• LD and MD in Northern and MD in Eastern and Southern
Tanzania, suitable to cereal inter-cropping
• MD varieties and new pest tolerance populations
developed crossing with local varieties in Uganda
• LD and MD varieties for Southern and MD with higher opt.
temp. and insensitivity to Ppd for Central & Northern Malawi
• In Mozambique conditions are similar to Malawi and
varieties released are the best bet

18. Impacts:
• A total of 23 varieties released
• Area increased from 450K ha in 1992 to 930K in 2012
• Adoption rate is high in Tanzania, Kenya, Malawi and
Mozambique
• Productivity has increased
• Increase in export results in three fold increase in price
• Tanzania currently exports 100K t grain
• Private seed companies in Kenya, Tanzania and Malawi are
investing is seed production
• Capacity of all partners strengthened
Country Area (‘000 ha) Yield (Kg/ha) Production (‘000 t)
90-92 00-02 2011 90-92 00-02 2011 90-92 00-02 2011
Kenya 160 167 182 409 465 608 65 77 111
Malawi 142 137 197 684 753 1103 97 103 217
Mozambique - 69 193 - 465 504 - 32 97
Tanzania 56 134 288 650 650 946 38 87 273
Uganda 61 80 93 827 1000 1025 51 80 95
Total 419 587 953 598 647 832 251 380 792

19. In 2012:
• Pigeonpea is a food and cash crop for smallholder
farmers
• Farmers growing medium-duration high yielding
varieties
• Shifted to varieties that are attractive to Indian
markets
• National research systems and governments are
making concerted efforts to promote the crop
• Private sector entered in a big way
• Policies are in place to exploit the export potential

20. Behind this:
• Strong research and development agenda founded
on identified constraints and opportunities
• Well planned research that addressed key constraints
• An approach that integrated production with
markets
• ICRISAT and donor support in operationalizing the
strategy
• A champion in place for continuity and mobilising
necessary funding and other support

21. • Develop agronomy for inter-cropping that
contributes to intensification and expansion
• Strengthen seed system
• Gain greater knowledge of markets and their
structures
• Ensure in country value addition through processing
• Develop better adapted and high yielding varieties
using conventional approach and use molecular
tools to improve efficiency
• Be very cautious on hybrid technology
Future Direction

22. Thank you!
ICRISAT is a member of the CGIAR Consortium