Farmers’ Preferences for Varietal Traits, Their Knowledge and Perceptions in Traditional Management of Drought Constraints in Rice Cropping in Benin: Implications for Rice Breeding

Abstract

Rice (Oryza spp.) is one of the most important crops that significantly contribute to food security in Benin. In the current context of climate change, drought is known to be the main abiotic stress in crops and a major yield-limiting factor for agricultural production worldwide. To assess farmers’ knowledge, the preference traits of the rice cultivars in use, their perceptions and management of drought stress in rice production in Benin, an ethnobotanical investigation was conducted in 50 villages throughout the major zones. The results showed that High yield combined with good grain quality (including good taste, softness after cooking, less starch, white pericarp, long grain length and swelling when cooked), medium maturing and tolerance to drought and flood were the most desired traits motivating farmers for growing rice cultivars. Taste and high yield were the paramount traits of IR841, the most popular rice variety currently cropped in Benin followed by its fragrance. Drought constraints was reported as the most damaging abiotic stress across the villages surveyed with field lost estimated up to 100% at the flowering stage. Changing sowing date (80%), the use of irrigation systems (10%) and the cropping of early maturing cultivars (7%) were the most traditional strategies to reduce drought impacts. Needs for tolerant varieties were clearly expressed by farmers to mitigate drought effects on rice production in Benin. The results of this survey emphasize the need for rice breeders to focus more on improving grain quality in addition to high yield potential and tolerance to abiotic stresses mainly drought.

Perceived Factors Influencing Farmers’ Preference for Rice Varieties in Enugu State, Nigeria

“…It can equally help to bridge the demand-supply deficit for rice in Nigeria, all things being equal. This is in line with the findings of Fatondji, et. al.…”

“…(2020) also assert that factors such as potential yield, early maturity, pest-disease resistance, cooking quality, etc influence the preference for rice variety among rice farmers. Similarly, Fatondji et al (2020) revealed that farmers' preferences for rice variety are basically on certain plant features such as high grain yield. According to Rahman and Connor (2022), farmers who adopt rice varieties of high-yielding qualities like FARO 44 have high income and better nutrition.…”

Participatory Rice Breeding Based on The Concept of Sustainable Agriculture Region

“…Teknik ini mampu menghasilkan benih bermutu sebagai faktor penting untuk meningkatkan produktivitas komoditas pertanian. Petani juga dapat berperan dalam pendaftaran varietas, pemeliharaan tanaman, distribusi produk, dan komersialisasi produk hilir bersama pemulia (Fatondji et al 2020).…”

“…Proses pemuliaan partisipatif idealnya mencakup peserta yang terdiri atas kelompok petani (laki-laki dan perempuan), anggota lembaga akademik, penyuluh, pejabat pemerintah, penjual, dan unsur lain yang terlibat aktif dalam pertanian. Penilaian yang berasal dari stake holder tersebut digunakan dalam analisis gender dan membandingkan keterlibatan peserta pria dan wanita (Fatondji et al 2020).…”

Participatory Varietal Selection for Promising Rice Lines

“…Participatory breeding was developed using indigenous knowledge to accelerate the adoption of new varieties. Decentralization provides farmers with the opportunity to influence varieties according to their specific agro-ecological needs and to improve the breeding programs [12,13]. Importance Performance Analysis is also used to complement farmers' responses to the rice lines.…”