Is Investment in Maize Research Balanced and Justified? An Empirical Study

Shrestha, Hari; Gairhe, Samaya

doi:10.3126/jnarc.v2i0.16118

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Rice productivity is low in Nepal as compared to global average productivity of 4.0 mt ha -1 due to poor investment in research, technological development (Gauchan and Pandey 2011), mismatch in resource allocation (Shrestha and Gairhe 2016) and inadequate inputs and management practices , Timsina et al 2012. In support of these ideas, several studies reported that farmers have been applying lower fertilizer rates than recommended which caused higher yield gaps .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rice demand and production projections for 2050: Opportunities for achieving self-sufficiency in Nepal

Timsina

Gauchan²,

Gairhe

et al. 2023

Nepal Agric. Res. J.

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Rice is a major food, contributing 67% of cereal consumption in Nepal. It is playing a substantial role in food and nutritional security. Rice production is not sufficient to meet domestic consumption, so its import has been increasing. This study aims to explore whether Nepal can be self-sufficient in rice production in the current context of increasing rice demand and changing climate. We assessed the degree to which Nepal can be self-sufficient in rice production by the years 2030, 2040, and 2050, evaluating 12 different scenarios of demand driven by production, population growth, income, and climate change effect. We used compound growth rate estimation for analyzing the growth of rice production and population growth over time. Auto-regressive regression model was used to analyze the relationship of rice import and demand with domestic production, income, and population. A significant (p=0.000) positive impact of income on the import of rice was estimated, whereas significantly (p=0.000) higher impact of production on demand was estimated compared to income. Based on current rice productivity growth of 1.47% and population growth of 1.3% per year over three decades, the country will not achieve self-sufficiency until 2050.The situation would be further worsened in climate change scenarios. However, integrating the population growth rate of the last decade (0.57% per annum) with two productivity growth rate scenarios (current and (ii) 5% annual increment), the country can be self-sufficient by 2040. Based on different scenarios, the estimated demand can be met by increasing current productivity by at least 27–43% by 2030 and 42–85% by 2050. The study identified major gaps and opportunities in the rice production systems of Nepal and provided evidence-based solutions to meet the future demands in the context of increasing population and income, declining land availability, and high vulnerability to climate change.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rice demand and production projections for 2050: Opportunities for achieving self-sufficiency in Nepal

Timsina

Gauchan²,

Gairhe

et al. 2023

Nepal Agric. Res. J.

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“…ough agricultural imports have increased drastically, domestic production is also increasing slowly. It is thought that plant breeding played a significant role in [20]. In Nepal, local germplasm are barely used in research as mostly foreign genetic stocks are preferred.…”

Section: History Of Plant Breeding In Nepalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scenario of Plant Breeding in Nepal and Its Application in Rice

Bigyan

Pandit

Kandel³

et al. 2021

International Journal of Agronomy

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Rice, the number one staple food crop of Nepal, contributes nearly 20% to the agricultural gross domestic product, almost 7% to gross domestic product, and supplies with 40% of the food calorie consumption of Nepalese people. Despite of increasing production, the national demand of rice cannot be fulfilled, and billions of rupees are spent yearly for importing rice from India. This article reviews history, recent scenario, prospects, and importance of rice breeding research in Nepal for self-sufficiency. Though plant breeding inception point in Nepal was 1951, the systematic research in rice was started from 1972 after the establishment of the National Rice Research Program. Introduction and evaluation of high yielding exotic germplasm of rice was the initial rice breeding activities. After analysing several foreign materials, CH-45 variety of rice was first recommended in 1959. Nepal Agriculture Research Council (NARC), the leading organisation for rice varietal improvement to date, has been doing rice research activities such as germplasm conservation, exchange, varietal development, verification of technologies, and knowledge updates in collaboration with various organizations. International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), since 1966, has been playing an important role in Nepal’s rice research. Major plant breeding achievements are introduction of exotic materials and their evaluation, local landraces identification, collection and analysis, crossing of local landraces with exotic genetic materials, heterosis breeding, tissue culture technology, genetic marker technology, and National Genebank. RAPD and SSR, DNA-based markers, are mostly used for diversity appraisal and selecting desirable genotypes. Integration of advanced tools such as genetic engineering, bioinformatics, protoplast fusion, and SNP markers could not be still applied in rice research and development. Hence, emphasis should be given to improve the capacity and abilities of the rice scientists and should release more short duration, drought, and submergence-tolerant rice varieties by optimum utilisation of local landraces combining modern and conventional breeding.

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“…During the HMRP period of 10 years, 174 CBSP groups and cooperatives were formed and seed production volume increased from 14 tons in 2000 to 830 tons in 2010 ( HMRP-CIMMYT, 2010 ). HMRP, funded by the Swiss Government, resulted in higher investment into maize research over the period ( Shrestha and Gairhe, 2016 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Production and distribution system of maize seed in Nepal

Gairhe

Timsina

Ghimire

et al. 2021

Heliyon

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This study analyses the gaps and issues in the production and distribution system of maize seed in Nepal. A total of 682 households were surveyed in 2017 by employing multistage random sampling with probability proportionate to size by representing different (tarai and hill) agro-ecological zones. Twelve focus group discussions (FGDs) and four key informant interviews (KII) were also carried out. Results showed that the old varieties like Rampur Composite and Manakamana-3 are still popular in the farmers' fields. The cost of seed production was about 48% and the profit of the producer was 18% of the consumer price. The share of wholesalers was 15% of the consumer price whereas it was 19% for retailer/agro-vet. The average total cost of production was found to be $1392/ha and gross income was $1925/ha with the 1.38 average B: C ratio; it is, therefore, a lucrative enterprise. Out of a total of 27 released varieties, only 12 varieties have been used in seed production. Results revealed that 83% of the farmers cultivate open-pollinated maize varieties whereas 17% of them cultivate hybrid maize varieties. Seventy-five per cent of seed was from a formal source. The maize productivity, hybrid maize area, and seed replacement were below the targets set in Nepals’ National Seed Vision, a policy document of the government. Focus on the production of nucleus and breeder seed by Government research farms and use of these seeds by private seed companies and community seed producing groups to produce next generation foundation seeds are urgently required. Equally important is enabling private and community-based organizations to produce hybrid seeds of the crop.

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Is Investment in Maize Research Balanced and Justified? An Empirical Study

Cited by 5 publications

References 2 publications

Rice demand and production projections for 2050: Opportunities for achieving self-sufficiency in Nepal

Rice demand and production projections for 2050: Opportunities for achieving self-sufficiency in Nepal

Scenario of Plant Breeding in Nepal and Its Application in Rice

Production and distribution system of maize seed in Nepal

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