Participatory
plant breeding in Africa: A framework for understanding diverse approaches and
results achieved
L. Sperling
Participatory
Plant Breeding (PPB) is a relatively new approach to germplasm development,
with most PPB programs having been initiated within the last 10 years.
While some may argue that commercial, private-sector, plant breeding
has long been client-driven, or “participatory”,
PPB, when used to reach poor client groups to breed for heterogeneous
conditions, and to incorporate specialized client preferences leads to
fundamental changes in how plant materials are bred and selected by formal
breeding programs and farming communities.
This paper proposes a framework for relating different PPB approaches
to different outcomes and impacts. Drawing on 110 field programs worldwide and
focusing on case experiences from 16 African countries (presented at an
Africa-wide PPB symposium funded by RF in May 2001) the paper suggests some of
the wide variability of PPB programs. It
lays out the key variables for discriminating among PPB approaches and the
type and range of impacts achieved. These
include: the institutional context, the bio-social environment, the kind of
participation sought and the goals originally set.
While the paper’s core is ‘current trends in Africa PPB”, it ends
by presenting the next step: recommendations of an Africa-based PPB working
group. These embrace
institutional, technical and social action-based challenges.
