Sources of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) seed in northwest Ethiopia

Abstract

Smallholder farmers in Ethiopia are involved in multiple seed sources to access bread wheat seed. The present study was conducted in Baso Liben district, northwest Ethiopia, with the objectives of identifying the existing seed sources, factors affecting the use of improved bread wheat seed, and assessing practitioners’ (farmers and experts) suggestions to improve the existing bread wheat seed sources. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 108 farmers and five local experts using semi-structured questionnaires and focus group discussions. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and a line-by-line examination of the transcripts of the FGDs. Results revealed that both formal and informal seed sources are available in the study area where farmers can access bread wheat seed. 41.5% of farmers utilized farm-saved seeds from the previous cropping season. The rest was accessed from neighboring farmers (11.4%), relatives (7.5%), and formal seed suppliers (39.6%). Yield advantage, disease tolerance, market value, and food quality were found to be the most common criteria in making the decision to use improved bread wheat varieties. The study confirms that both formal and informal seed sources are important in improving seed access to farmers. Hence, the importance of informal seed sources should be well-considered in policy development. Moreover, the government and development partners need to develop a mechanism to integrate both the formal and informal seed systems to improve seed availability.

Estimation of Smallholder Farmers’ Demand for Certified Seed: Evidence From Wheat and Tef Seed Systems in Ethiopia

“…Thus, the bigger the household size, the more likely a farmer would be willing to participate in the certified seed purchase, and also increases the quantity of certified tef and wheat seed purchases. This result is consistent with findings of [19]. The findings show that the mean farm experience of certified tef and wheat seeds purchasers were found to be 5.5, 9.5, 8.9, and 7 years in Gimbichu, Becho, Lume, and Adea districts in that order.…”

“…Results show that household size positively influenced the participation of sample farmers' in seed purchase in the probit model at less than (P<0.05) significance level; influenced the quantity of certified seed purchased at less than (P<0.01) significance level in the seed demand model. The findings align with the results reported by [19] demonstrating that the household size of the household head was statistically significant and had a positive correlation with the use of improved technologies. The result depicts that a unit increase in household size could increase the likelihood of participation in certified tef seed purchase by about 0.093 in the probit model and a unit increase in the household size increases the quantity of certified seed purchased by 0.0905 in the demand model holding other factors constant.…”

“…Moreover, only 39.6% of smallholder wheat producers used certified seeds [19]. It is important to highlight that tef and wheat are the main cereal crops in relation to its area coverage, consumption and cash income for smallholder farmers in Ethiopia.…”

“…Numerous studies have been carried out in Ethiopia previously to collect data on the adoption of tef and wheat, as well as the use of complementary inputs [e.g., 19,29,13].…”

Mitigating drought stress in wheat plants (Triticum Aestivum L.) through grain priming in aqueous extract of spirulina platensis

“…Wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) is a cornerstone of global food security, supplying over one-fifth of total caloric and protein consumption worldwide [ 1 ]. Beyond its caloric value, wheat is rich in essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, and minerals [ 2 ].…”