Linking small farmers to the formal research sector: lessons from a participatory bean breeding programme in Honduras
2005
S. Humphries | O. Gallardo | J. Jimenez | F. Sierra
This paper discusses the improvement of bean varieties as a joint activity between Honduran hillside farmers and regional scientists. Some of the findings outlined in the paper include:farmers trained to conduct participatory plant breeding (PPB) have succeeded in improving the yield and the value of a local bean varietyfarmers and scientists may not necessarily make the same choices in the selection of varieties for use in marginal agricultural areassocial development activities and high levels of trust between farmers and NGOs are required to maintain the involvement of poor farmers when the return from their long-term labour investment is uncertainintermediary research and development NGOs provide a critical link between farmers and scientists in initiating decentralised participatory plant breeding at remote locations.The authors highlight the following policy implications:the costs associated with participatory plant breeding at remote locations may be comparable to conventional breeding at the outsetthe benefits from PPB should not be measured only through the development of new varieties but also through skill development and the sense of empowerment that it brings to local men and women.
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