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Impacts of Participatory Variety Selection in Wheat on Agro-economic Changes of Wheat Farmers in Bangladesh

D. B. Pandit
Wheat Research Centre, BARI, Nashipur, Dinajpur, Bangladesh.

M. E. Baksh
Wheat Research Centre, BARI, Nashipur, Dinajpur, Bangladesh.

M. A. Sufian
Wheat Research Centre, BARI, Nashipur, Dinajpur, Bangladesh.

M. Harun-Ur-Rashid
Wheat Research Centre, BARI, Nashipur, Dinajpur, Bangladesh.

M. M. Islam
Wheat Research Centre, BARI, Nashipur, Dinajpur, Bangladesh.

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

Impacts of participatory variety selection in wheat on agro-economic changes like adoption of new wheat varieties and production technologies, income and attitude change of the wheat farmers, etc. are presented in the paper. Participatory variety selection was conducted at 12 villages of four districts in Bangladesh. Base line information from the villages was collected through participatory rural appraisal and household survey in 2002. Data on agro- economic changes were collected through household survey in 2005. Impacts were assessed from the difference of the data of two surveys. The area of the check variety Kanchan came down from 97.8% (covered in 2002) to 57% in the working villages in 2005. Varietal diversity was increased remarkably and seven varieties were found to cultivate in 2004-05. The new varieties occupied 43% of the wheat areas. Seed preservation by farmers was increased remarkably and 208 tons seeds of new varieties were preserved by them in 2004-05. When 60% seeds of their total requirements were collected from Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation in 2002, then, 100% seeds were used from farmers’ own source in 2004-05. There were remarkable changes in production technology adoption, sources of agricultural knowledge, attitude and income changes. Farmers’ income was increased to Tk. 11148/ha due to cultivation of new varieties and use of recommended production technologies. Participatory variety selection approach in wheat was found very useful to increase wheat production in the working villages. Widespread use of this approach may be useful throughout the county in other crops also.

Keywords: Wheat, Participatory variety selection (PVS), Impact, Income , Attitude , Varietal diversity

Location: Dinajpur, Jessore, Rajshahi, and Jamalpur

Start Date: 00-00-2002

End Date: 00-00-2005

Program Area: Socio-economic and Policy

Non-commodity: Impact

Objectives:

To select the varieties and management technologies, seed preservation, and most importantly the changes in incomes and attitudes of the farmers'.

Methodology:

The PVS researches were conducted at 12 villages of greater Dinajpur, Jessore, Rajshahi, and Jamalpur districts of Bangladesh. Most of the wheat of the country is grown in these districts. Each site has particular target population environments (TPE). The soils of Dinajpur is acidic (pH ranges from 4.5 to 5.0), poor in fertility with micronutrient deficiency and sometimes foggy weather from last week of January intermittently prevails > 15 days that limits sunlight during anthesis to grain filling stages of the crop and enhance spikelets sterility. The climate of Jessore is hot and humid as a result, Bipolaris leaf blight (BpLB) disease is the major problem in the district. This area also needs terminal heat tolerant variety. Rajshahi is a low rainfall dry area and irrigation facilities are not adequate. The wheat of greater Jamalpur is mainly grown in char (river bank) areas. The soil is sandy and irrigation facilities are not adequate. Participatory rural appraisal (PRA) was conducted at four selected villages from four districts in 2002. A 12-member team was formed with scientists from different disciplines, extension, and NGO personnel headed by an Economist. This team together with randomly selected 25 farmers, irrespective of wealth, caste, and sex (where available) conducted PRA in each village to collect base line information about agro-economic situations of the farmers. Base line information from other eight villages on agro-economic conditions of the farmers was collected through house hold level survey from 30 farmers per village by the PVS team. Impact assessment data were collected from 30 farmers from each of the 12 villages by the team members. The criteria for selecting 30 farmers were as follows: 1. ten farmers were from PVS research collaborators; 2. ten farmers were not PVS research collaborators but got training/demonstration on wheat; 3. the rest 10 farmers were new to the researchers and did not get any training/demonstration. Out of those 30 farmers, 5-8 were female (at Dinajpur site only). The farmers were randomly selected irrespective of wealth, religion, and sex. A house hold level questionnaire (HLQ) was prepared to record data emphasizing on new variety and production technology adoption, varietal diversity change, seed production and preservation, sources of agricultural knowledge, income and attitude change, women empowerment in agriculture, etc. The questionnaire was filled-up by the members of the team separately. The data of base line information and impact assessment were compiled and analyzed in Excel. In some cases, data were converted into percentage and Chi- square test was done. Impacts were estimated by the difference from the data of base-line information and impact assessment survey.

Source of Information: Bangladesh J. Agril. Res. 32(3): 335-347, September 2007, ISSN 0258 - 7122

Article Link (Online Journal):

Funding Source:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

Participatory variety selection research reduced the area of Kanchan from 97.8% to 57% by 3 years. Varietal diversity was increased and seven varieties were found to grow in 43% wheat areas of the working villages in 2004-05. Due to imparting training and doing lot of interactions with the farmers during three years of project period; their knowledge on seed preservation was improved. As a result, farmers preserved their own seeds rather than dependence on BADC and other sources. They adopted recommended management technologies to a considerable extent. Their sources of agricultural knowledge were changed remarkably and most of the farmers were dependent on research and extension- the most reliable information source. Due to adoption of new varieties and management technologies, average yield of the villages was increased notably, as a result, their income was increased remarkably. The attitudes of the farmers were also changed about PVS, researchers, and extension personnel.

Knowledge Management: Journal