Farmer Participation in Pearl Millet Breeding for Marginal Environment

One of the goals of the Consultative Group on International kgricultural Research (CGIAR) is to Mop strategies and research methods to cope with increasing demand for food production in light of degrading arvironments. This commitment to integrate growth and povwty alleviation with anbnmental protection was runford by Agenda 21 (CGIm 1993). A large proponion of the wrld's poor live in the harsh environments of the arid and semi-arid tropics. It is one of ICRISATs goals to denlop innovative techniques to improve the impact of its nsearch on the nutritional and &onomic wdl being of low-income people in these environments. Developing methods to bring farmas Md sdentists closer together har been one of the approaches used to achieve research results with more relevance to spec& farming communities. Undemanding her's priorities helps to target research efforts. Giving farmas oppurtunities to choose, improvise and adapt from a range of choices will crate more useful technologies (Farrington and Martin. 1988)