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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Article
Author(s)
Tirtha Bdr. Katwal1, Doriji Wangchuk2, Namgay Wangdi2, Rinzin Choney2 and Lhap Dorji2
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DOI:10.17265/2159-5828/2015.02.004
Affiliation(s)
1. Department of Forest and Park Services, Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, RNR Research and Development Center, P.O. Box 212, Yusipang, Thimphu, Bhutan
2. Department of Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, RNR Research and Development Center, Wengkhar, Mongar, Bhutan
ABSTRACT
Bhutanese maize farmers grow different open-pollinated
traditional varieties and improved high yielding
varieties recommended by the national maize program. All most every maize
farmer uses the recycled seeds from their farms for planting in the next
season. Farmers traditional or informal seed system was found to be poorly
organized and unscientific that has resulted in the deterioration
and contamination of seed quality. Bhutanese maize farmers living in remote
areas are highly constrained by the inconsistent supply and poor access to good
quality maize seed. The formal public
seed sectors lack adequate
resources to produce and supply good quality seeds. This called for an urgency
to identify and adapt an innovative and a sustainable seed production approach
to service the subsistence needs of Bhutanese farmers in a cross-pollinated crop, like maize. The community
based seed production (CBSP) approach was introduced and evaluated
under the Bhutanese maize production system as an alternative farmer based seed
production model. A total of seven farmers CBSP groups were formed and promoted
as a smallholder seed enterprise. The technical skills of these CBSP group
members on maize seed production were improved through practical demonstrations
and trainings. The CBSP groups were supplied with high quality source seed of
new maize varieties by the national maize program. For long term, the sustainability of
CBSP groups were linked to the formal seed sector in the country for marketing
the seeds. The CBSP approach has proven to be a successful small scale maize
seed production model under highland maize production ecosystem that has
improved the production and supply of good quality maize seeds. The Bhutanese
experiences with CBSP in maize, its merits for small holder Bhutanese maize
farmers and lessons learnt from the CBSP model
are discussed in this paper.
KEYWORDS
Seed system, sustainability, CBSP, open-pollinated variety (OPV), seed replacement rate, CBSP groups.
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