This is one of 280 summaries describing key outputs from the projects run by DFID’s 10-year Renewable Natural Resources Research Strategy (RNRRS) programmes.
Summary for Project titles: R6395: The Development and Testing of Seed-Priming to Improve Stand Establishment, Early Growth and yield in Semi-Arid Zimbabwe and India and R7438: Participatory promotion of “on farm” seed priming.
Poor farmers in Bangladesh, India and Nepal have seen for themselves how easy it is to get better
crops of legumes by simply priming the seed before sowing. Because legume seeds are large and
hard to store properly, and are sown in the poorest soils, no-one has paid much attention to
improving the way they are grown. But legumes provide valuable protein for the poor. Farmers in
Bangladesh, eastern India and Nepal, now prime chickpea seed so they can grow it as an extra crop
following rice. Lentil seed is being primed in Nepal, and mungbean in Nepal and Pakistan. As priming
is so simple and farmers quickly reap the benefits, the potential for widespread use is huge.
The CD has the following information for this output: Description, Validation, Current Situation, Current Promotion, Impacts On Poverty, Environmental
Impact, Annex. Attached PDF (12 pp.) taken from the CD.