This study looked at the use and impact of Participatory Varietal Selection (PVS) and Client-oriented Breeding (COB)/Participatory Plant Breeding (PPB) in Nepal, methodological innovations to crop improvement processes that were partly developed and implemented through projects funded by DFID???s Plant Sciences Research Programme (PSP). The study is part of a wider set of studies that also covers India and Bangladesh, funded by DFID???s Research Into Use programme, to assess the impact of DFID-funded research on rainfed agriculture in south Asia.
This study had two objectives. One was to find out how widely used these innovations are, to identify the organisations in Nepal that have adopted PVS and/or COB/PPB, and to obtain a preliminary estimate of the crops involved and the number of farmers benefitting from the work of each organisation. In addition, the study aimed to identify any influences of the innovation system on adoption (or not) of the institutional innovations by public sector and civil society organisations; and any changes that may have been required to the innovation system as a pre-requisite to more widespread adoption of the innovations.