ABSTRACT
The Collaborative Programme on Participatory Plant Breeding in Mesoamerica (Programa Colaborativo de Fitomejoramiento Participativo en Mesoamérica, PPBMA) is a pioneer in its area, and has been operating in the region for the last ten years. It promotes the participation of farmers in decision-making through the various steps of plant breeding, and increases farmers’ knowledge on ways to improve the performance of their local varieties. PPBMA is funded by the Development Fund (Norway), which fosters the establishment of relationships between governmental institutions, non-governmental organizations, and national and international research centres in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Through PPBMA, we have been working with small-scale farmers on a number of national projects to conserve, characterize and improve varieties of maize, beans, sorghum and other crops. In the current chapter, we describe the methods used in participatory crop improvement (PCI) in Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. The locations are indicated in Figure 2.6.1 (p. 100).
