Abstract

A participatory research appraisal (PRA) was conducted in ten villages of the Cascades Region of Burkina Faso. Group discussions and individual interviews were employed. A total of 212 farmers including 176 women and 36 men were interviewed on their rice cropping management, the rice traits they preferred, and their perception on rice diseases with a focus on rice yellow mottle virus (RYMV). Taste, yield, grain quality, and cooking qualities were amongst the most valued traits. The taste was the paramount trait valued by farmers in their selection criteria. Moreover, taste is the reason why farmers still favour their local rice cultivars. The PRA also revealed that RYMV was the most damaging disease across the villages. Farmers recognised the disease through its symptoms (leaf yellowing, plant stunting, sterility, necrosis, and plant death). However, farmers were ignorant of the cause of RYMV disease. Resistant or tolerant varieties against RYMV were identified by farmers, and all belonged to the Oryza glaberrima species.

Key words: Participatory research appraisal (PRA), rice yellow mottle virus (RYMV), rice, grain and cooking quality.