ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the case study from Rwanda in eastern Africa that illustrates how interdisciplinary farm surveys affected germ-plasm screening criteria in a research program focused on potatoes. The Rwandan program had notable successes with some of its new potato varieties. Substantial increases in Rwanda’s potato production in recent decades have been associated with population growth, extreme land scarcity, and expansion of cultivation in higher altitude zones. Given the resource constraints of Rwandan farmers, a program emphasis on improved cultivars that require no complementary inputs is one of the most immediately effective ways to increase agricultural production. In Rwanda, there is evidence that far from being a dying “traditional” practice, intercropping is increasing over time as population density increases. The chapter addresses the implications of the findings for PNAP’s future agronomic research and for its germ-plasm screening criteria. PNAP scientists at first opposed the recommendation to de-emphasize seed production of its highest yielding cultivars in favor of others available.
