FARMER INVOLVEMENT IN SELECTING NEW VARIETIES - POTATOES IN BOLIVIA

The strengths and weaknesses of the evolving techniques used by resear chers in Bolivia to evaluate potato germplasm with farmers are assesse d. When detailed knowledge of farmers' criteria is required, questionn aires or forms are most appropriate; otherwise techniques from partici patory rural appraisal could be used. Initially, when evaluating large numbers of clones, scientists' and farmers' choices tended to coincid e, although subsequently they diverged. This suggested that it may be more efficient to involve farmers later in the selection process, ensu ring that an interesting amount of diversity still exists, and work to improve breeders' knowledge of farmers' criteria. Integration between social scientists and breeders was less than ideal at the start of th e study, reducing the impact of farmer evaluations on the breeding pro gramme.