I - --ii

were absorbed by the canning industry in those 2years. This situation stimulated
the high production of 1979 which, associated with considerable imports, led to a
serious problem of surplus. Consequently prices fell and latest reports put them
at as low as CI 120 per tonne on the local market; both area and production were
reduced in 1980 and further reduced in 1981 (official statistics are not available
yet.)
These events indicate that marketing of chickpea is difficult and inreliable
and this constitutes one of the major limiting factors to increasing production.
Consequentl) lhe cost of production needs to be reduced. Problems like mechanization
(especially harvesting) and weed control also continue to be limiting
factors.
Production Practices
Chickpea is grown in rotation with cereals or vegetables under rainfed conditions.
Occasionally spate (i.e. river-flood) irrigation is practised, especially in the
central area, to flood the fields, usually prior to sowing. Producers obtain their
seed from their previous crop or from other chickpea growers. The Seed Production
Centre finds it difficult to dispense seed of the local variety but they
anticipate that seed of new, improved varieties will be easily dispensed. At
present, all chickpea fields are sown almost exclusively with the local landrace
which has a high purity percentage. Recent variety trials have shown that new,
improved cultivars could replace the local landrace (Xenophotos, E., personal
communication).
Fields are prepared by plowing, followed by one or two lighter cultivations, as
soon as the weather and field conditions permit it in January or early February.
The majority of sowing is done from the middle of February to the middle of
March. Winter sowing is not practised. Seed rates used are low, around 75 kg/ha,
and they vary considerably. Higher rates of 100-125 kg/ha are recommended by
the Department of Agriculture. The seed is either broadcasted or hand sown in
furrows; some progressive growers are now using locally constructed cereal drills.
Small doses of N fertilizer (up to 20 kg N/ha) and P fertilizer (40-50 kg P20 5/
ha) are applied at sowing.
Weed control is by hand hoeing. Diseases are not a problem and occasional
attacks by insects are controlled with readily available insecticides.
At harvest, plants are hand pulled, heaped to dry and then threshed with
stationary threshers. The straw is used for feeding the livestock, and is highly
priced.
Generally, chickpea is grown on a limited scale in scattered fields. Some major
limitations to chickpea production are: (a) local consumption is very low (Haricot
beans and faba beans are preferred); (b) cost of production is high due to the
221