Farmers' Seed System of Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) in the Center of Diversity

ABSTRACT

Farmers' seed system is defined as a system in which seed selection, seed production, seed storage, seed management and seed diffusion are integrated with crop production. Formal seed system is the one that is run by formal private and public seed companies. Farmers indicated that when they started sorghum farming the seed of farmers' varieties (FVs) they obtained was normally a gift from the parents and relatives. Thereafter own stock was the predominant seed source. However, for the improved varieties (IVs) purchasing was the common initial source. The current seed source is predominantly own stock. The farmers' seed system was dominantly dependent on the FVs. Consequently, the demand for IVs is very low. The weather conditions partly affect the seed-sourcing pattern. In a bad cropping season, farmers were forced to use seed sources other than own stock; namely, purchase, gift, exchange and loan. Genetic diversity dictated the pattern of seed sources. High on-farm genetic diversity leads to more on-farm and less off-farm seed sourcing (more own stock than non-own stock). The most widely used non-cash based seed channels were gift and exchange. The role of formal seed system in seed supply is very limited. Over the last 20 years, the total amount of seed produced by Ethiopian Seed Enterprise (ESE) amounted to 16,740 tons, which is almost equivalent to two years' sorghum seed requirement. The low amount of seed produced and sold by the ESE is due to the low demand by farmers for IVs and lack of appropriate varieties for the intermediate and highland areas. Farmers' seed system has been found resilient, accommodative, adaptive and flexible. It has been always responsible for on-farm conservation, maintenance and selection of farmers' varieties.

Key Words:

• Seed system
• seed source
• seed diffusion
• seed network
• Ethiopia
• Sorghum bicolor