83
Farmers and other stakeholders who took part in the variety evaluation consistently
ranked BH661 first for on-farm grain yield, maturity, prolificacy, standability, uniformity and biomass yield. In 2011, the National Variety Release Standing
Committee officially approved the release of BH661 for commercial cultivation in
the mid-altitude sub-humid and transition highland maize growing areas (Worku
et al. 2012). Farmers who were impressed by the outstanding performance of BH661
during the verification and PVS trials started to demand its seed immediately, forcing seed companies to quickly scale-up certified seed production.
At the end of 2011, Bako National Maize Research Center supplied 400 kilogrames (kg) of breeder seed of each of the parental lines, and 450 kg of the SC parent to five certified seed producers—namely, Amhara Seed Enterprise (ASE), Bako
Agricultural Research Center (BARC), ESE, Oromia Seed Enterprise (OSE) and
South Seed Enterprise (SSE). The Center also produced and distributed 1.7 tonnes
of certified seed to seed companies, agricultural offices, research centres and nongovernmental organizations who were interested in popularising the new hybrid. In
addition, the breeders of BH661 established demonstration plots, organised farmers’ field days and intensively used public television stations to promote the hybrid
in the two most widely spoken Ethiopian languages, Amharic and Afaan Oromo. By
2012, many institutions were actively promoting BH661, while four of them
(BARC, ESE, OSE and SSE) had already begun producing basic seed. ESE produced 6.0 tonnes of certified seed, which was enough to cover 240 ha. By 2014, five
companies—namely ASE, Avallo, ESE, OSE, and SSE—produced nearly
2900 tonnes of certified seed (Abate et al. 2015). This rose to almost 9000 tonnes by
2016 (Fig. 7.2). This concerted effort by the national maize research and extension
programmes in Ethiopia, along with various national and international stakeholders,
was instrumental in fast-tracking the dissemination and adoption of the new DT
hybrid.
0.00
1000.00
2000.00
3000.00
4000.00
5000.00
6000.00
7000.00
8000.00
9000.00
10000.00
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
QUANTITY OF SEED (T/HA)
YEAR
BH660
BH661
Fig. 7.2 Comparison of the amount of certified seed production of BH660 and BH661 from 2012
to 2016. (Source: compiled by the authors)
7 Fast-Tracking the Development and Dissemination of a Drought-Tolerant Maize…
Farmers and other stakeholders who took part in the variety evaluation consistently
ranked BH661 first for on-farm grain yield, maturity, prolificacy, standability, uniformity and biomass yield. In 2011, the National Variety Release Standing
Committee officially approved the release of BH661 for commercial cultivation in
the mid-altitude sub-humid and transition highland maize growing areas (Worku
et al. 2012). Farmers who were impressed by the outstanding performance of BH661
during the verification and PVS trials started to demand its seed immediately, forcing seed companies to quickly scale-up certified seed production.
At the end of 2011, Bako National Maize Research Center supplied 400 kilogrames (kg) of breeder seed of each of the parental lines, and 450 kg of the SC parent to five certified seed producers—namely, Amhara Seed Enterprise (ASE), Bako
Agricultural Research Center (BARC), ESE, Oromia Seed Enterprise (OSE) and
South Seed Enterprise (SSE). The Center also produced and distributed 1.7 tonnes
of certified seed to seed companies, agricultural offices, research centres and nongovernmental organizations who were interested in popularising the new hybrid. In
addition, the breeders of BH661 established demonstration plots, organised farmers’ field days and intensively used public television stations to promote the hybrid
in the two most widely spoken Ethiopian languages, Amharic and Afaan Oromo. By
2012, many institutions were actively promoting BH661, while four of them
(BARC, ESE, OSE and SSE) had already begun producing basic seed. ESE produced 6.0 tonnes of certified seed, which was enough to cover 240 ha. By 2014, five
companies—namely ASE, Avallo, ESE, OSE, and SSE—produced nearly
2900 tonnes of certified seed (Abate et al. 2015). This rose to almost 9000 tonnes by
2016 (Fig. 7.2). This concerted effort by the national maize research and extension
programmes in Ethiopia, along with various national and international stakeholders,
was instrumental in fast-tracking the dissemination and adoption of the new DT
hybrid.
0.00
1000.00
2000.00
3000.00
4000.00
5000.00
6000.00
7000.00
8000.00
9000.00
10000.00
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
QUANTITY OF SEED (T/HA)
YEAR
BH660
BH661
Fig. 7.2 Comparison of the amount of certified seed production of BH660 and BH661 from 2012
to 2016. (Source: compiled by the authors)
7 Fast-Tracking the Development and Dissemination of a Drought-Tolerant Maize…