On-Farm Performance and Farmer Participatory Evaluation of Newly Released Common Bean Varieties in Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia

Abstract

Common bean is an increasingly important commodity in the cropping systems of smallholder farmers for food and income generation in drought-  prone areas of Ethiopia. Despite its high yield potential on research stations, the actual farmer's yield is low. To minimize the yield gap, a range of  high-yielding and diseaseresistant common bean varieties were released. On-farm evaluation and demonstrations of newly released Awash-2 and  SER-125 varieties with the recommended agronomic practices were conducted to select a best-fit variety for large-scale promotion of the  technologies. The study was conducted in East Shewa and West Arsi zones of Oromia Regional state in 2017 and 2018. The field experiments were  established on 54 farmers' fields. The new varieties were planted and evaluated alongside the checks (Awash-1 and Nasir). A mean yield of 2448  kg/ha and 2793 kg/ha were recorded from Awash-2 and SER-125 varieties, respectively. Given, similar investments per unit area to produce common  beans, the new varieties have higher returns because of their yield advantages. The mean yield of SER-125 is significantly higher than that  of the check–Nasir (t (₂₂) =9. 236, p=.000). SER-125 gives a significant yield advantage of 363 kg per hectare. Similarly, Awash-2 gave a  significantly higher yield than the standard check–Awash- 1 (t (₃₀) =8.049, p=.000) in which the mean yield difference of 464 kg per hectare.  Sensitivity analysis shows that the financial profitability of common bean farming is more sensitive to reduction in yield than to increases in price.  Farmers’ common bean variety selection criteria were yield, drought tolerance, grain color, disease and insect resistance, food taste, and large seed  size. Accordingly, Awash-2 and SER-125 were selected as the superior varieties as compared to Awash-1 and Nasir varieties respectively. Generally,  common bean producers can earn higher returns if they produce the new varieties with the recommended agronomic practices. Therefore, we  advise common bean farmers to pursue large-scale production of Awash-2 and SER-125 in the replacement of the old varieties in the moisture  stress area such as West Arsi, East Shewa Zone and similar agro-ecologies.