Abstract

Agricultural research and extension in sub-Saharan Africa has focused mainly on basic staples and traditional commodity exports. Despite the nutritional, medicinal and economic importance of vegetables, the subsector is largely neglected by extension services in favor of staple crops. Since 1992, AVRDC– the World Vegetable Center has been engaged in demand-driven vegetable extension through direct training of farmers and dissemination of production manuals. In Mali, the center has successfully introduced three new high yielding, early maturing, and locally adapted hot pepper varieties of Capsicum annuum through distribution of extension materials, multidisciplinary and participatory approaches, and teamwork. The promotion strategy was based on field visits, farmer participatory variety selection, on-farm discussion sessions with producers, sensory quality testing and organization of demand creation fairs to enhance technology delivery. The combined efforts successfully raised awareness about hot pepper among smallholder farmers in four villages, who are requesting additional seeds for planting. Prior to the intervention, C. annuum hot peppers were not well-known in the area compared withCapsicum frutescens and Capsicum chinense. High quality seeds must be available for farmers if the new hot peppers are to achieve their full potential for higher incomes and nutrition security. Lessons learned include the need to disseminate more extension materials and facilitate extensive interactions and partnerships with stakeholders to achieve greater impact.

Key words: Agricultural knowledge and information systems, hot pepper, home gardens, innovation systems, nutrition security, rural household livelihoods, technology adoption.