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Impact of Germplasm Research Spillovers: The Case of Sorghum Variety S 35 in Cameroon and Chad

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Relation http://oar.icrisat.org/1067/
ISE 003
 
Title Impact of Germplasm Research Spillovers: The Case of Sorghum Variety S 35 in Cameroon and Chad
 
Creator Yapi, A M
Debrah, S K
Dehala, G
Njomaha, C
 
Subject Sorghum
Agriculture-Farming, Production, Technology, Economics
 
Description An important objective of international agricultural research inst i tut ions is to determine the
extent to which research under taken in one location may impact on other regions of interest.
Thi s is because research activities are most often planned to target mandate crops and
agroecological areas found in many parts of the world. ICRI S A T has, as a pol icy, disributed
a wide range of parental materials to breeding programs in the NARS and private seed
industries throughout the semi-arid tropics. This has cont r ibuted to faster and cost-effective
development of useful final products by the receiving parties.
Thi s study evaluates the impacts and research spillover effects of adopt ion of sorghum variety
S 35, a pure line developed f rom the ICRI S A T breeding program in India. It was later
advanced in Niger ia and promoted and released in Cameroon in 1986 and Chad in 1989.
Today, S 35 occupies about 33% of the total rainfed sorghum area in Cameroon and 2 7 % in
Chad. Compared to farmers' best t radi t ional varieties across all study sites in Cameroon and
Chad, S 35 yields 2 7 % more output (grain) and reduces uni t product ion cost by 20%.These
farm-level impacts are larger in Chad where yield gain is 5 1 % higher and cost reduct ion is
3 3% higher. Th e net present value of benefits f rom S 35 research spillover in the Af r ican
region was estimated to be US$ 15 mi l l ion in Chad and US$ 4.6 mi l l ion in Cameroon,
representing internal rates of return of 9 5% in Chad and 7 5% in Cameroon. These impacts
were evaluated f rom the perspective of nat ional research systems. A conscious decision,
therefore, was made to include only those costs associated wi t h nat ional research and
extension inst i tut ions. Al l other S 35-related research and development expenditures
incur red in India and Niger ia were treated as 'sunk costs', that is, costs which woul d have
occur red anyway wi thout spillover. Ha d each count ry had to develop S 35 and associated
management practices on its own, the t ime lag between research and release of the
technology woul d have been longer and consequently impacts, if any, woul d have been
smaller. For greater effectiveness in sorghum technology development and transfer in the
region, future research and pol icy actions should take greater advantage of research spillovers
through more col laborat ion, communicat ion, and networking between nat ional , regional ,
and internat ional research inst i tut ions.
 
Publisher International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics
 
Date 1999
 
Type Monograph
NonPeerReviewed
 
Format application/pdf
 
Language en
 
Rights —
 
Identifier http://oar.icrisat.org/1067/1/RA_00339.pdf
Yapi, A M and Debrah, S K and Dehala, G and Njomaha, C (1999) Impact of Germplasm Research Spillovers: The Case of Sorghum Variety S 35 in Cameroon and Chad. Documentation. International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, Patancheru, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh.