Abstract
Scientists and farmers in Uganda identified preferred sweet potato: (1) varieties through participatory varietal selection (PVS); and (2) new clones from seedling populations through a participatory plant breeding (PPB) approach. During these two processes, farmers identified 51 attributes of their landraces and of released varieties and used 21 criteria to select clones from amongst the seedling populations. Scientists had, in publications, listed attributes (11 main attributes identified), morphological descriptors (11) of released varieties and varietal needs (23) of sweet potato farmers. One released variety (NASPOT 1) was selected by farmers during PVS, mostly for its high and early yield of large, sweet and mealy roots, and several clones were selected through PPB amongst the seedling populations for a wider range of attributes. Some varietal attributes needed by farmers were not included by scientists either because they were very laborious, for example, selecting on-station for clones suitable for sequential piece-meal harvesting, or because occurrence of important abiotic or biotic stresses such as drought or pest damage were difficult to predict. Farmers seldom mentioned disease resistance but did mention pest resistance, consistent with easy visibility of both the causes of and the damage due to pests. Unlike scientists, farmers made no mention of a need for cultivars to have perceptually distinct features, despite this being a common attribute of landraces of most crops.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anon. (1993) Uganda agriculture. World Bank Country Study. The World Bank, Washington, DC, USA, 208 pp
Anon. (2006) GMOs. Up from the dead. Economist 379(8476):73–74
Aritua V, Adipala E, Carey EE, Gibson RW (1998) The incidence of sweet potato virus disease and virus resistance of sweet potato grown in Uganda. Ann Appl Biol 132:399–411
Ashby JA, Sperling L (1994) Institutionalising participatory, client-driven research and technology development in agriculture. ODI Agricultural Research & Extension Network Paper No. 49, 21 pp
Bashaasha B, Mwanga ROM, Ocitti p’Obwoya C, Ewell PT (1995) Sweetpotato in the farming and food systems of Uganda: a farm survey report. International Potato Center, Kenya and National Agricultural Research Organisation, Uganda, 63 pp
Bentley JW, Thiele G (1999) Farmer knowledge and management of crop disease. Agric Human Values 16:75–81
Bentley JW (1991)The epistemology of plant protection: Honduran campesinos’ knowledge of pests and natural enemies. In: Gibson RW, Sweetmore A (eds) Proceedings of a seminar on crop protection for resource poor farmers. Isle of Thorns, West Sussex, UK, 4–8 November 1991, pp 107–118
Berg T (1997) Devolution of plant breeding. In Sperling L, Loevinsohn M (eds) Using Diversity. Enhancing and maintaining genetic resources on-farm . IDRC Canada. Available online at http://www.idrc.ca/seeds/ev-9290-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html
Boster JS (1984) Classification, cultivation, and selection of Aguarana cultivars of Manihot esculenta (Euphorbiaceae). Adv Econ Bot 1:34–47
Boster JS (1985) Selection for perceptual distinctiveness: evidence from Aguarana Jivaro varieties of Manihot esculenta. Econ Bot 39:310–325
Ceccarelli S (1994) Specific adaptation and breeding for marginal conditions. Euphytica 77:205–219
Earthtrends (2006) http://earthtrends.wri.org/
Elias M, Oenet L, Vindry P, McKey M, Panaud O, Robert T (2001) Unmanaged sexual reproduction and the dynamics of genetic diversity of a vegetatively propagated crop plant, cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz), in a traditional farming system. Mol Ecol 10:1895–1907
FAOSTAT (2006) http://faostat.fao.org/
Friis-Hansen E (1992) The failure of formal plant breeding to meet the needs of resource-poor peasants in African arid lands. African Arid Lands; Working Paper Series No 3/92, 12 pp
Gabre-Madhin EZ, Haggblade S (2004) Success in African agriculture: results of an expert survey. World Dev 32:745–766
Gibson RW, Jeremiah SC, Aritua V, Msabaha RP, Mpembe I, Ndunguru J (2000) Sweet potato virus disease may remain a damaging disease of sweet potato in Africa because lack and neglect of seedlings in the traditional farming system hinder the development of superior resistant landraces. J Phytopathol 148:441–447
Humphries S, Gallardo O, Jimenez J, Sierra F (2005) Linking small farmers to the formal research sector: lessons from a participatory bean breeding programme in Honduras. ODI Agricultural Research & Extension Network Paper No 142, 14 pp
Kapinga R, de Steenhuijsen Piters B, Heemskerk W, Chirimi B, Mutalemwa M, Kabissa J, Kapingu P (2001) Participatory research in sweetpotato variety evaluation and selection for the diverse environments of the Lake Zone of Tanzania. Proceedings of the 7th Triennial Symposium of the International Society for Tropical Root Crops-Africa Branch, p 471
Manu-Aduening JA, Lamboll RI, Ampong Mensah G, Lamptey JN, Moses E, Dankyi AA, Gibson RW (2006) Development of superior cassava cultivars in Ghana by farmers and scientists: the process adopted, outcomes and contributions and changed roles of different stakeholders. Euphytica 150:47–61
Morris ML, Bellon MR (2004) Participatory plant breeding research: opportunities and challenges for the international crop improvement system. Euphytica 136:21–35
Mwanga ROM, Odongo B, Turyamureeba G, Alajo A, Yencho GC, Gibson R W, Smit NEJM, Carey EE (2003) Release of six sweetpotato cultivars (‘NASPOT 1’ to ‘NASPOT 6’) in Uganda. Hortscience 38:475–476
Mwanga ROM., Stevenson RC, Yencho CG (2006) Development of high yielding multiple resistant sweetpotato germplasm research progress report: April 1, 2005 through March 31, 2006. http://mcknight.ccrp.cornell.edu/program_docs/project_documents/spu/SPU_progressrep_05-06_yr10_31may06.pdf
Salick J, Cellinese N, Knapp S (1997) Indigenous diversity of cassava: generation, maintenance, use and loss among the Amuesha, Peruvian Upper Amazon. Econ Bot 51:6–19
Sperling L, Ashby JA, Smith ME, Weltzien E, McGuire S (2001) A framework for analyzing participatory plant breeding approaches and results. Euphytica 122:439–450
Sperling L, Loevinsohn ME, Ntabomvuras B (1993) Rethinking the farmers’ role in plant breeding: local bean experts and on-station selection in Rwanda. Exp Agric 29:509–519
Tripp R (2001) Seed provision & agricultural development: the institutions of rural change. Overseas Development Institute, London, UK, 174 pp
Weltzien E, Smith M, Meitzner L, Sperling L (2003) Technical and institutional issues in participatory plant breeding from the perspective of formal plant breeding. A global analysis of issues, results, and current experience. PPB Monograph No. 1. pp 1–208 + I–XXI. PRGA Program, Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT), Cali, Colombia
Witcombe JR, Joshi A, Joshi KD, Sthapit BR (1996) Farmer participatory crop improvement. I. Varietal selection and breeding methods and their impact on biodiversity. Exp Agric 32:445–460
Witcombe JR, Gyawali S, Sunwar S, Sthapit BR, Joshi KD (2005a) Participatory plant breeding is better described as highly client-orientated plant breeding. II. Optional farmer collaboration in the segregating generations. Exp Agric 42:79–90
Witcombe JR, Joshi KD, Gyawali S, Musa AM, Johansen C, Virk DS, Sthapit BR (2005b) Participatory plant breeding is better described as highly client-orientated plant breeding. I. Four indicators of client orientation in plant breeding. Exp Agric 41:299–319
Zeven AC (2000) Traditional maintenance breeding of landraces: 1. Data by crop. Euphytica 116:65–85
Zohary D (2004) Unconscious selection and the evolution of domesticated plants. Econ Bot 58: 5–10
Acknowledgements
We acknowledge the support of the farmers, particularly the late Mr Rajab Ssetyabula of Manyama, Zirobwe, Uganda and critical reading of the manuscript by Mr Richard Lamboll. The project was funded by the UK Department for International Development. However, DFID can accept no responsibility for any information provided or views expressed.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gibson, R.W., Byamukama, E., Mpembe, I. et al. Working with farmer groups in Uganda to develop new sweet potato cultivars: decentralisation and building on traditional approaches. Euphytica 159, 217–228 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-007-9477-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-007-9477-4