Profile of ICTP 8203 Farmers in Maharashtra

1. Profile of ICTP 8203 Farmers in Maharashtra HarvestPlus, Impact and Policy Team

2. Background • Following 2009 Kharif season, H+ and collaborators have conducted a detailed survey with 2069 randomly selected farm households in major bajra growing areas of Maharashtra • The aims of this study were to investigate: • Popular varieties of pearl millet currently cultivated, • Farmers’ demand for various production, consumption and marketing traits, • Farmers’ sources of pearl millet seeds and • Farmers’ sources of information about new varieties. … to inform the design of targeted interventions that ensure maximum adoption of biofortified varieties. • Here are the main results relevant to ICTP 8203

3. Popularity of ICTP 8203 • ICTP 8203 is among the top 10 most popular bajra varieties • Top 10 varieties are cultivated by 81% of the farmers on 82% of the bajra land area • ICTP 8203 is cultivated by 5% of all bajra farmers in Maharashtra • 93.5% of the farmers cultivated hybrid bajra varieties and 1.5% cultivated local varieties (landraces) • The major (and only) ICTP 8203 seed mentioned by sampled farmers was Mahabeej ICTP 8203

4. Location of ICTP 8203 farmers • Districts where greater proportion of bajra farmers cultivate ICTP 8203 are Sangali (20%), Solapur(19%) and Ahmednagar (8%) • Majority of the bajra land area allocated to ICTP 8203 is in the “Scarcity” agro climatic zone, characterised by low and irregular rainfall

5. Household characteristics I • Household size and household head age and education level do not statistically significantly differ across ICTP and non-ICTP bajra farmers • Households have about five members • Household head is about 48 years of age and around a great majority (80%) are literate • ICTP producing households have heads with significantly fewer years of bajra farming experience • ICTP producing households have significantly higher off farm and farm income levels, compared to the non-ICTP producing households

6. Household characteristics II • Similar to the non-ICTP growing households • 97% of ICTP growing households are Hindu • 98% speak Marathi • A great majority are other backward caste or other open category caste

7. Farm characteristics & bajra use • ICTP farmers have significantly smaller total land areas and significantly smaller land areas allocated to the bajra variety • The yield for ICTP is significantly lower than that of other varieties • ICTP and non-ICTP bajra farmers have on average grown their varieties for two years • There is no significant difference in the use of ICTP and non-ICTP grain: Farmers consume about half of their produce and sell about 45% and use the rest as feed

8. Seed sources • ICTP farmers’ seed sources differ significantly from those who do not cultivate ICTP • Non-ICTP farmers procure greater proportions of their seed from formal seed sources (e.g., input providers and agri-service centres) whereas ICTP producers acquire greater proportions of their seeds from their social networks (e.g., family members and neighbours) • Overall, over half (51%) of ICTP producers acquire their seed from agri-service centers (KVK, KSK) and 29% acquire from input providers.

9. Seed supply and replacement • Similarly to the non-ICTP farmers, a great majority (83%) of ICTP 8203 farmers replace their seed every year • Again, similarly to the non-ICTP farmers, a great majority (91%) of ICTP 8203 farmers did not face any problems with seed supply.

10. Sources of information • ICTP farmers’ sources of information about new varieties do not statistically significantly differ from those of non-ICTP farmers • A great majority of farmers (84%) cited their social networks (e.g., neighbours, friends, extended family) as their primary sources of information about new varieties • Neighbours are an especially popular source of information, cited by over half (60%) of ICTP farmers. • This reveals the importance of proximity to and regular contact with the source of information in farmers’ choice of a variety • Formal sources (extension officers and agri service centre) are cited as the main source of information only by 8% of ICTP farmers.

11. Would you cultivate ICTP next year? • 52% of ICTP 8203 farmers said they would grow this variety again next year mainly because… .. the yield is good and the taste and quality of the food made with ICTP is good.

12. Would you cultivate ICTP next year? • 48% of ICTP 8203 farmers said they would NOT grow this variety again next year mainly because… … the yield was not good.

13. Rating of ICTP production traits • The most highly rated production traits for ICTP 8203 are its • Maturity period – rated as good or very good by 79% of farmers • Panicle length - rated as good or very good by 79% of farmers • Grain yield – rated as good or very good by 76% of farmers • Grain mass - rated as good or very good by 70% of farmers • Irrigation requirement - rated as good or very good by 70% of farmers

14. Rating of ICTP marketing traits • The most highly rated marketing and processing traits for ICTP 8203 are its • Sales price - rated as good or very good by 73 % of farmers • Reliability of buyers– rated as good or very good by 71% of farmers

15. Rating of ICTP consumption traits • ICTP 8203 performs the best in terms of its consumption traits • The most highly rated consumption traits for ICTP 8203 are its • Taste– rated as good or very good by 98% of farmers • Colour- rated as good or very good by 93% of farmers