This study presents evidence about the strengths and weaknesses of the participatory plant breeding (PPB) projects in two regions of Honduras, empirically estimate the benefits and costs of PPB to farmers, and generate recommendations for successfully scaling up the PPB methodology. Results from a farm-level survey in 2006 in two regions of the country show that one of the most important strengths is that many PPB varieties have been adopted through the communities. PPB varieties were planted in 32% of the bean area while conventionally bred (CPB) varieties were planted only in 4% of the bean area. One of the most important weaknesses is that the project is technologically and financially dependent on Zamorano and NGOs. A single-equation linear regression model was estimated to evaluate factors associated with differences in farmers' yields. Both PPB and CPB varieties yielded more than traditional varieties. Farmers who planted a PPB variety obtained 20% higher yields than farmers planting a traditional variety and the economic impact of PPB varieties was 192% larger than that of CPB varieties. The net present value of PPB in Honduras from 1999 to 2018 is $969 and the rate of return is 10.73. To scale up PPB, stakeholders need to select CIALs with different environmental conditions than CIALs already implementing PPB, develop PPB varieties with higher yield advantage, and increase efforts to promote the use of PPB varieties.
Read
