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Accelerating the Transfer of Wheat Breeding Gains to Farmers: A Study of the Dynamics of Varietal Replacement in Pakistan.

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Accelerating the Transfer of Wheat Breeding Gains to Farmers: A Study of the Dynamics of Varietal Replacement in Pakistan.

Heisey, P.W. (ed.) 1990

CIMMYT Research Report No. 1. Mexico, D.F.: Mexico.

This publication is the first in a series of reports that document specific CIMMYT research efforts. This series is directed toward technical audiences, and each publication synthesizes the results of research that has usually occurred over an extended period. Although this series will normally feature the research of CIMMYT staff alone, collaborative research is sometimes reported. Such is the case with this Report, which describes work done by Dr. Paul Heisey and Dr. Derek Byerlee in conjunction with colleagues in Pakistan. Their investigation focused on slow wheat varietal replacement and related problems that have gradually increased the risk of serious rust epidemics in Pakistan. The issues analyzed here initially came to the attention of researchers when they began to conduct diagnostic surveys of the farming systems of Pakistan. Special follow-up surveys to understand the problem of slow varietal replacement recorded, for the first time, data on the sources of the seed that farmers grew, on how farmers gained access to sources of seed, and on how they managed wheat seed once they obtained it. Additional surveys identified which varieties farmers actually planted and explored farmers' motives for changing varieties. Part of the analysis of the survey results required that researchers develop a model for determining optimum rates of varietal replacement. This analysis of the informal seed system was complemented by a study of the formal system for breeding, producing, and distributing seed in the Punjab and North West Frontier Province. This report moves from the interpretation of survey results to an exploration of numerous organizational issues impinging on efforts to improve rates of varietal replacement. By showing just how the processes of breeding, seed production, seed distribution, information transfer, and adoption of new varieties function in Pakistan, and by indicating how more appropriate policies could make these processes more efficient, the authors reveal both the complexity and urgency of the varietal replacement problem. It is anticipated that this study, whose methods and results are relevant beyond the borders of Pakistan, will enhance the ability of developing world research, seed, and extension systems, as well as farmers, to translate the gains achieved in plant breeding research into the economic benefits associated with more efficient and more stable crop production.

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