Farmer participation on on-farm varietal trials: multilocational testing under resource poor conditions

This reports on the trials of various pigeonpea cultivars. In 1989- 90, the performance of four pigeonpea genotypes resistant to helicoverpa armigera - ICPL 84060, ICPL 332, ICPL 87088 and ICPL 87089 were evaluated in on-farm trials in Medak district, Andhra Pradesh, India. Forty marginal farmers from 16 villages were asked to grow the genotypes on large plots using their own management practices, and compare them with local pigeonpea cultivars. PRA methods were used to elicit criteria for comparisons from farmers in semi-structured interviews. All participants were women farmers who play a central role in fuelwood collection and in all aspects of food production, preparation and storage. The PRA methods used were pairwise ranking and direct matrix ranking in the context of semi-structured interviews involving groups of 10-15 women.