DCG Report 54
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Kiros Meles, Gebremichael Nigussie, Tesfay Belay and Kebede Manjur
The objective of the study was to describe the existing seed system in the area, determine the impact of improved seed on farmers’ income and crop biodiversity. The year 1984, a year of severe drought and famine in the region, was chosen to mark two periods, as “before and after” for comparison purpose.
The existing seed systems in the area before and after 1984 include both the informal and formal seed systems. Informal seed system in the area consists of saving own seed, exchange, gift, borrowing and purchase from the local market. The dominant and most important type of the informal seed system was the use of own saved stocks. Formal seed system refers to seed provision through Bureau of Agriculture and NGOs after knowing the demands of farmers for improved seed.
Five cultivars of sorghum, one cultivar of tef and four cultivars of maize have been lost and others are on the verge of being lost from the farming system of the area. Early maturing sorghum cultivars from the informal seed are gaining upper hand and have already replaced the old but late maturing types.
As conclusion the study revealed that, the use of improved tef seed could increase the income of users by 32%. Total owned land, total land under cultivation by the household, and years of schooling were found to be significant determinants of yearly gross cereal income.
Finally the study makes recommendations as the following:
Measures that could minimize the impact of moisture stress and poor soil fertility might be appropriate to make the traditional cultivars as productive as they used to be and thereby contribute to conservation of crop biodiversity of the area. We also need to focus on the utility and market quality of the products. Whenever varieties and technologies are developed, they should consider variations in soil, moisture and other climatic factors even at a distance of hundred meters.
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