Barley Yield Gaps, Varietal Adoption, and Seed Commercial Behavior of Smallholder Farmers in Ethiopia ABSTRACT: Barley is among the major food security crops in the highlands and industrial commodity for the emerging brewery industry. This paper documents the current productivity levels, varietal adoption and seed commercial behaviors based on primary data collected from randomly selected 549 barley growers. The result indicates that the national average yield (1.5 t/ha) is by 61% and 29% lower than the yield achieved at research stations and farmers’ fields with improved variety and recommended practices, respectively. For food barley, 23.3% (2.6% are women) were full-adopters of improved varieties and 9.5% (less than 1% women) were partial adopters while all malt barley growers were adopters. Among the adopters, only 8.3% of food barley and 38.5 % of malt barley growers purchased certified seed. This is also associated with the huge gap of supply of demanded seed, where only 9% of revealed barley seed demand was supplied (4% for food and 17% for malt barley) in the 2014 cropping season. DISCUSSIONS The current state of barley production in terms of the yield gaps, varietal adoption levels and the commercial behaviors of smallholders in seed demonstrate the following key challenges and future areas of attention: Old commercial varieties dominate the formal sector for both malt and food barley showing low rate of varietal replacement. Promotion of newly released improved varieties of barley for increased varietal and seed demand is critical for increased productivity; Enhance demand and supply of seed from the formal sector through better demand assessment taking into account farmers' demand shift in response to emerging production and marketing challenges; The commercial behavior of farmers for seed of food barley and malt barley is different, where only 8.3% of the food barley and 38.5% of the malt barley growers purchased certified seed from formal sources. This implies the need to improve the demand for certified seed of food barley varieties; Given the considerable use of saved seed of improved barley varieties, it will be important to promote integrated seed system where community based seed systems can contribute to the improvement of access to improved varieties. Given the important role of food barley as food security crop mainly in the highlands of the country where there is limited crop diversity, enhancing the adoption of available varieties will be very crucial. More emphasis requires also for belg food barley production as the adoption levels are very low compared to meher season. INTRODUCTION In Ethiopia, both food and malt barley are produced and their production systems are quite different. Food barley is an indigenous crop with wider genetic diversity and associated traditional knowledge. Malt barley is a recently introduced crop with limited genetic diversity and limited traditional knowledge. Cognizant of the role of improved technology in agricultural transformation agenda of the country, considerable public investment in agricultural research, seed sector and extension services have been made over years. This paper presents the yield gaps in barley production, the status of varietal adoption, the commercial behaviors in barley seed and seed sources, and the implications to enhance the barley seed systems RESULTS Yield gaps in barley production Clear yield gap due to variety use and application of recommended crop management practices The national average yield (1.5 ton/ha) is by 61% and 29% lower than the yield achieved at research stations and farmers’ fields with improved variety and recommended practices, respectively Varietal adoption All malt barley growers used improved varieties About 23.3% (2.6% women) were full-adopters and 9.5% (<1% are women) were partial adopters of food barley; Among food barley growers 67.2% (4.9% women) are non-adopters of improved varieties Commercial behaviors in barley seed Adopters: 8.3% purchased certified seed, 3.5% locally purchased seed and 11.8% saved seed Non-adopters: 9.2% use purchased seed and 62.6% used saved seed 38.5 % purchased certified seed 17.5% used purchased non-certified seed 44.1% used saved seed Demand and supply of certified barley seed The revealed seed demand is estimated to cover 4.3% of (2.9% for food and 10.8% malt) total barley area (1.02 million ha) Of revealed (actual) barley seed demand, only 9% of was supplied (4% for food and 17% for malt barley) There is mismatch between varietal choice and seed supply METHODOLOGY AND LOCATION The study was based on nationally representative sample of 549 barley growers selected from 19 districts in 13 zones of the four major regions of the country (Amhara, Oromia, SNNPR and Tigray) during the 2014 cropping season (see Figure). Food Barley Malt Barley REFERENCES Alemu, D and Z. Bishaw. 2015. Commercial behaviours of small-holder farmers in wheat seed and its implication for seed demand assessment in Ethiopia. Development in Practice 26(6): 798-814 Mulatu, B. and Grando, S. (eds.). Barley Research and Development in Ethiopia. Proceedings of the 2nd National Barley Research and Development Review Workshop. 28-30 November 2006, HARC, Holetta, Ethiopia and ICARDA, Aleppo, Syria. The adoption rates were estimated based on two approaches at householder level: (i) estimation based on the plot number and varietal use (not considering plot size), and (ii) based on plot size (area) allocated for improved varieties. In both cases, we identify full adopters, partial adopters and non-adopters. The average number of barley plots/farmer was 1.64. EIAR, Addis Abeba, Ethiopia and ICARDA, Addis Abeba Ethiopia Acknowledgements: CRP DS and DC Dawit Alemu1 and Zewdie Bishaw2 A global alliance for improving food security, nutrition and economic growth for the world’s most vulnerable poor