Farmers Participatory Varietal Selection (FPVS) trials

The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture Farmers’ Empowerment, Government of Odisha, India, conducted activities for the promotion and adoption of new and improved chickpea cultivars in three districts (Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj and Sundargarh) of Odisha state from 2014 to 2017. The objective was to identify and promote farmer-preferred chickpea varieties. Core components were farmer-participatory variety selection (FPVS) trials, through which farmers were exposed to seeing the performance of improved and diverse cultivars, including early maturing, drought tolerant, high yielding and wilt resistant cultivars. Fifty-two FPVS trials were conducted in different villages of the target districts, each trial included 5-6 cultivars; 668 men and 261 women farmers participated in the activities. Farmer-preferred chickpea varieties spread quickly among the farming community and showed high rates of adoption. These trials enhanced farmers’ awareness of newly available varieties and improved production technologies among farmers. Key lessons learned include that the low availability of improved seeds is one of the challenges face by farmers, and there is a need to strengthen seed systems, to enhance farmers’ access to their preferred varieties.