Improved rice for hill farmers in eastern and western India. Validated RNRRS Output.
Abstract
This is one of 280 summaries describing key outputs from the projects run by DFID's 10-year Renewable Natural Resources Research Strategy (RNRRS) programmes.
Summary for Project titles: R8099: Participatory plant breeding in rice and maize in eastern India and R7434: Innovative methods for rice breeding - combining participatory plant breeding (PPB) with molecular marker techniques.
Poor hill farmers in eastern and western India now have modern rice varieties suitable for rain-fed cropping. The new varieties were tested by thousands of farmers in their fields, and traders were also consulted on consumer preferences for eating and cooking qualities. The varieties have spread widely. Farmers didn't need to change their farming methods. And, as long as they save or can get seed, they continue to grow the new varieties. The new types of rice are now grown in rain-fed uplands in Jharkhand, Orissa, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh in eastern India; Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh in western India; Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in southern India; and Uttar Pradesh in northern India. Plus, many farmers are distributing seed to other farmers. So, even without fresh supplies of seed, the new varieties are spreading.
The CD has the following information for this output: Description, Validation, Current Situation, Current Promotion, Impacts On Poverty, Environmental Impact. Attached PDF (23 pp.) taken from the CD.
Citation
PSP16, New technologies, new processes, new policies: tried-and-tested and ready-to-use results from DFID-funded research, Research Into Use Programme, Aylesford, Kent, UK, ISBN 978-0-9552595-6-2, p 32.