Source: Plant Breeding News, Edition 188
March, 2008
An Electronic Newsletter of Applied Plant Breeding
Sponsored by FAO and Cornell University
Clair H. Hershey, Editor

Contributed by A.Hamasselbé
Groundnut Breeder, Institute of Agricultural Research for Development (IRAD)

Prior to the introduction of cotton in 1951, groundnut was the major export crop in North Cameroon. Since 1976, groundnut is no longer exported due to high local demand and the strong competition of cotton . Nevertheless, groundnut remains an important cash and food crop which is planted over 140,000 ha of land. The annual production is up to 120,000 tons of pods and the corresponding yield is 800 kg/ha.

In order to improve groundnut production in quantity and quality, a breeding programme was established in 1982 at the Regional Centre of Agricultural Research for Development (RCARD), Maroua. The goal of the programme was to increase groundnut yield through cultivar introduction and selection.

Research activities were conducted on-station and on-farm during the past two years. On- station activities include groundnut collection, breeder and foundation seed production, confectionary and drought resistant variety trials. On-farm activities consisted of community-based seed production to facilitate uptake of the two new improved varieties, BIRMAR 6 and BIRMAR 7.

The major constraints are the lack of research funding and the scientific isolation of the programme. Since 2002, the end of the Groundnut Germplasm Project (GGP), the programme is running at a very low pace, using the low income obtained from the sale of seeds to carry out research activities.

With the current crisis of the cotton sector and the devaluation of the CFA francs, groundnut production is receiving more and more attention from farmers. The programme is requested to establish a groundnut variety map and revamp the seed sector through on-farm trials and farmer training. However, it is not possible to take up these challenges due to lack of research funding.

In spite of current interesting research activities, the programme is facing the major problem of research funding and scientific isolation that could lead to the interruption of the programme in few years.

Website: http://www.fao.org/ag/agp/agpc/doc/services/pbn.html

Published: March 1, 2008