A Participatory Plant Breeding (PPB) Monitoring tour involving 14 NARs scientists from eight countries was conducted in May 2005, and highlighted salient trends and accomplishments of the bean networks in the field of PPB. Over 50% of the plant breeders in the ECABREN and SABRN networks are employing participatory approaches in variety selection and breeding (27 scientists out of a total of 53). In the last three years, the bean networks have made important gains in learning how to get PPB-selected varieties released through the formal system. Releases include: in Ethiopia, two by the Ethiopian Agricultural Research Organization (EARO) in 2003 with 3 in the pipeline; and two in work led by the Southern Agricultural Research Institute (SARI) in 2002 and 2 others recommended for region-specific use. In northern Tanzania, the Selian Agricultural Research Institute (SARI) anticipates multi-release of nine materials in 2006. In Southern Uganda two varieties were identified by the community of Bukoba, working with the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO).

Variety criteria of different users groups (women/men, more market-oriented/home consumption) are well understood across a range of agro-ecological zones and such preference information is feeding back to fine-tune formal breeding programs. While yield and disease resistance remain among the key decision-making criteria, three others stand out across sites: Early maturity (linked to both drought escape and to 'filling the hunger gap") is perhaps first priority (above absolute yield) in moisture-stressed regions; marketability (for both domestic and export concerns) increasingly proves key, even for the poorest; and cooking time (as well as taste) have risen in importance as rural farmers move to supply town/urban markets, and as fuelwood becomes harder to access.

In summary, the bean networks and ECABREN, in particular, are developing capacity to get farmer evaluations taken seriously as an input and even a determining factor in official release; and to move PPB varieties through formal systems.

Contact: Louise Sperling