ICARDA Annual Report 2001

Knowledge gained through socioeconomics studies can be applied when researchers work with farmers to develop improved, more sustainable production systems and household livelihood strategies. In 2001, ICARDA scientists studied the role of farmer-to-farmer seed exchange in distributing new varieties of barley, and examined the influence of different production systems on the nutritional status and pattern of growth in local children. The growing role of women in farming systems was the subject of two studies: the first examined their role as a source of agricultural labor and the second focused on the contribution of women to household livelihoods. All four studies were conducted in Syria.

Barley, mainly two local landraces, ‘Arabic Abiad’ and ‘Arabic Aswad,’ covers about 1.5 million hectares of cultivated land in Syria. However, the average yield from these landraces is less than 1 t/ha. Barley breeders have developed several promising new varieties that can increase yields by an average of 20% over local landraces, without the need for additional inputs. For these new varieties to be successfully adopted, the seed should be easily and widely available to farmers.

Scientists from ICARDA assessed the role of farmer-to-farmer seed exchange in the distribution of new varieties by tracing the flow of seeds from 52 farmers in 24 villages in Syria. Barley breeders supplied each farmer with 100-200 kg of seed of the new varieties in the 1994/95 season, and traced the ensuing distribution for five years. The researchers also examined the reasons for farmers’ acceptance of promising new barley varieties in different agroecological zones, and the extent to which farmer-to-farmer distribution of the seed was an autonomous process.

Most of the farmers involved in the study had already collaborated with the ICARDA barley improvement program, either through on-farm trials or by attending field days. Five promising new barley varieties (‘Arta’, ‘Rihan’, ‘Zanbaka’, ‘Tadmor’, and ‘WI 2291’) were distributed to them in the first year. Some farmers selected more than one variety and others chose only the one they considered most suitable for their environment. Farmers grew the new varieties in the same way as their local barley and without any supervision from ICARDA or national extension agents.

On average, farmers sold 60% of grain as feed, kept 13% to feed their own sheep, and retained 7% as seed for the next season. They sold only 3% as seed to other farmers. Barley is therefore regarded principally as a cash crop in this area. In the markets, grain from the new varieties fetched similar prices to that from landraces when sold as feed, but farmers were able to obtain higher prices when selling it as seed.

The high adoption rates achieved in this study illustrate the importance of farmer participation in evaluating new varieties and distributing seed. Farmer-to-farmer seed transfer appears to be a viable option for the dissemination of new varieties of cereals such as barley, especially when seed companies have been unable to meet local demand. Community-level seed technology needs to be developed to guarantee quality and to establish trusted local seed experts who can ensure a constant flow of new germplasm into communities. Such experts could be key partners in participatory germplasm improvement programs.

After five years, seeds of the new varieties had spread to 60 villages (Fig. 24). The process of technology transfer is summarized in Table 18. The total number of farmers monitored over the course of the study continued rising to reach 206 in the last year, but the number receiving new seeds each year declined after reaching a peak in the 1996/97 season.

Growers were divided into two types: ‘new growers,’ planting the varieties for the first time, and ‘adopters’ who planted the new varieties again after evaluating them. The adoption rate peaked at 75% in the second year and then declined slowly, with no

significant difference between the different agroecological zones studied. About 30% of growers in the first year grew more than one promising barley variety and some planted up to four varieties. This percentage dropped to only 4% in the last year, suggesting that farmers deliberately test several new varieties before selecting those best suited to their environment. This finding also suggests that they are retaining some of their traditional varieties in order to reduce losses in bad years. Although some farmers discontinued the new varieties, they did not necessarily reject the new seeds. Researchers discovered that about 35% had stopped growing barley altogether, choosing to introduce other options, such as fruit trees, particularly on stony and shallow soil. The average grain yield for the new barley varieties was higher than for the local landraces in all zones; the increase ranged from 53% in zone 1 to 160% in zone 2.

Farmers’ opinions about new crop varieties they see in the field or grow themselves are important in that they reflect their own experience and judgment. In this study, farmers were asked to identify their reasons for continuing to grow the new barley varieties (Table 19). Higher yield was an important factor, and was the most frequently cited reason for growing ‘Arta’, ‘Rihan’, and ‘Tadmor’. The lodging resistance of ‘Rihan’, a variety with good adaptation to relatively high rainfall, was highly valued. Many farmers in drier areas believed good plant height to be important, as this trait is thought to reduce the risk of total crop failure in a drought.