Assessing the economic impact of participatory and conventional barley breeding programs in Jordan
Date
2007
Journal Title
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Volume Title
Publisher
ICARDA, Aleppo, SY
Abstract
Barley in Jordan, is usually grown under harsh, low-rainfall conditions, and is mainly cultivated by small-scale resource-poor farmers in areas where no other crop can grow. Barley improvement research has been of less benefit to those farmers because they could not afford to modify their production practices to suit new cultivars through the application of additional inputs and who could not take the risk associated with replacing the traditional, well-known, and reliable varieties they used. // Participatory plant breeding (PPB) overcomes the limitations of conventional plant breeding (CPB) by offering farmers the chance to decide which varieties best suit their needs and conditions without risking their livelihoods. It exploits the potential gains of breeding for specific adaptation through selection in marginal environments. // Analysis of the farm-level benefits and costs of barley production showed that farmer participation in the participatory breeding program would not definitely result in higher production costs. Economic benefit attributed to the yield gain of PPB varieties over local variety. In addition to the economic benefits, participation also provides other benefits, such as the increase in human and social capital that results from farmers’ interactions with breeders, technicians, and other farmers. // Using estimated adoption rates and productivity gains associated with participatory and conventional varieties for three provinces, market-level benefits were calculated for the two breeding programs separately, using a gross economic benefit model. These benefits were then compared with the estimated investment costs borne by ICARDA for PPB and by the National Center for Agricultural Research and Technology Transfer (NCARTT) for CPB program. Under the baseline scenario, where the adoption rate was 10-30% for PPB varieties and 10-50% for CPB varieties and yield gain was 40-85% for PPB and 32-80% for CPB varieties, the benefit–cost ratio for PPB was 3.91 and the internal rate of return (IRR) was 27%. Whereas, for CPB, the benefit–cost ratio was 2.7 and the IRR was 19%. The gross economic benefits (GEB) accruing to society as a result of adopting participatory varieties were calculated to be US$1.79 million, while those derived from adopting conventional varieties were calculated to be US$6.13 million. Even with higher GEB the CPB was less economically efficient than the PPB because of the high research expenditure associated with it (US$ 2.27 million) compare to the research expenditure associated with PPB (US$ 0.475 million).
Description
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IDRC-Related Report
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Text
Keywords
FARMERS, PLANT BREEDING, BARLEY, AGRICULTURAL BIODIVERSITY, COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS, JORDAN