Source:
Plant Breeding News, Edition 188
March, 2008
An
Electronic Newsletter of Applied Plant Breeding
Sponsored by
FAO and Cornell University
Clair H. Hershey, Editor
Contributed by
A.Hamasselbé
Groundnut Breeder,
Institute
of Agricultural Research for Development (IRAD)
Prior to the introduction of
cotton in 1951, groundnut was the major export crop in North
Cameroon. Since 1976, groundnut is no longer exported due to
high local demand and the strong competition of cotton .
Nevertheless, groundnut remains an important cash and food crop
which is planted over 140,000 ha of land. The annual production
is up to 120,000 tons of pods and the corresponding yield is 800
kg/ha.
In order to improve groundnut production in quantity and
quality, a breeding programme was established in 1982 at the
Regional Centre of Agricultural Research for Development
(RCARD), Maroua. The goal of the programme was to increase
groundnut yield through cultivar introduction and selection.
Research activities were conducted on-station and on-farm during
the past two years. On- station activities include groundnut
collection, breeder and foundation seed production,
confectionary and drought resistant variety trials. On-farm
activities consisted of community-based seed production to
facilitate uptake of the two new improved varieties, BIRMAR 6
and BIRMAR 7.
The major constraints are the lack of research funding and the
scientific isolation of the programme. Since 2002, the end of
the Groundnut Germplasm Project (GGP), the programme is running
at a very low pace, using the low income obtained from the sale
of seeds to carry out research activities.
With the current crisis of the cotton sector and the devaluation
of the CFA francs, groundnut production is receiving more and
more attention from farmers. The programme is requested to
establish a groundnut variety map and revamp the seed sector
through on-farm trials and farmer training. However, it is not
possible to take up these challenges due to lack of research
funding.
In spite of current interesting research activities, the
programme is facing the major problem of research funding and
scientific isolation that could lead to the interruption of the
programme in few years. |
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