@article{oai:nagoya.repo.nii.ac.jp:02001890,
 author = {Musila, Ruth N. and Sibiya, Julia and Derera, John and Kimani, John M. and Tongoona, Pangirayi and Danda, Kengo},
 journal = {農学国際協力},
 month = {Mar},
 note = {The adoption rate of new rice varieties in the coastal region of Kenya has been negligible, possibly because the farmers’ special preferences are not taken into account during the breeding process. To bridge the gap between breeders and farmers, and to ensure the faster release and widespread adoption of new varieties, participatory research was undertaken in two major rain-fed rice-producing counties (Kwale and Kilifi) in coastal region of Kenya. The objectives were to determine what rice varieties were grown by the farmers and what their trait preferences were. Results showed that, over 90% of farmers grew landraces with preference differing between counties. The landrace Sigaye was preferred in Kilifi county while Kitumbo, Madevu and supa dominated in Kwale county. Preferred traits of new rice varieties were high-yield, short-duration, drought-tolerance, medium height, with white, long, bold grains of good baking quality. The good baking quality trait was found to be a unique requirement in the region, because rice is rarely bred for its baking properties especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. In this study, the role of farmers’ trait preferences were revealed in the adoption decisions when considering a new rice variety for the coastal region of Kenya. Future breeding programmes are encouraged to utilize farmer preferred landraces in their breeding programmes and incorporate farmer desired traits into new rice varieties for the region.},
 pages = {20--30},
 title = {Farmers' Perceptions of, and Preferred Traits in, Rice Varieties in the Coastal Region of Kenya and Their Implications for Breeding},
 volume = {16},
 year = {2018}
}