**6. The key recommendations for the oilseeds and textile industries is the need to attend to the problems for each of the following areas**

### 1.Poor access to improved seeds

A multitude of issues contribute to the existing seed system's failure to offer improved varieties of oil crop and legume seeds to smallholder farmers. Many farmers have grown accustomed to receiving free seed from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and are unappreciative of the investment necessary. Based on lessons learned in other regions of the world, establishing a Foundation Seed Enterprise committed to the production and distribution of foundation/ basic seed can aid seed companies interested in commercializing enhanced publically developed varieties.

#### 2.*Lack of farm machinery*

Despite the development of yield-enhancing technologies over the last three decades, labor-intensive farming practices continue to prevail, and crop products are still processed manually at home. However, due to poor input marketing arrangements, inorganic amendments are rarely available in cheap quantities to farmers.

### 3.*Low soil fertility*

However, due to poor input marketing arrangements, inorganic amendments are rarely available in cheap quantities to farmers.

#### 4.*Input market constraints*

Improved seed, fertilizers, crop protection products, and novel agronomic practices are all examples of science and technology that can help accelerate agricultural growth. Because of a lack of oversight, pesticides that are old or contaminated are widely used.

#### 5.*Output market constraints*

Because of a number of structural and institutional obstacles that impede market participation, smallholders have not been able to respond effectively to potential soybean market possibilities. Low quality grain, insufficient supply, and high cleaning costs restrain processors and traders, whilst market intermediaries suffer high assembly costs, high market risk, and cash flow issues. Improving smallholder farmers' market access and competitiveness would necessitate new types of market institutions that allow contract formulation and enforcement, as well as vertical and horizontal coordination of production and marketing tasks. Farmers' awareness and access to new information, expected benefits and local availability of new technologies, market access and opportunities, and access to credit and other policies that enable farmer investment in new technologies have all been shown to be major drivers of research product dissemination and adoption.

### 6.*Low levels of technology adoption*

A number of socioeconomic and targeting studies (http://www.icrisat.org/impitl-2.htm) demonstrate that new variety acceptance has been slow and sluggish,

with old varieties launched 15–20 years ago still occupying much of the production area. Farmers' awareness and access to new information, expected benefits and local availability of new technologies, market access and opportunities, and access to credit and other policies that enable farmer investment in new technologies have all been shown to be major drivers of research product dissemination and adoption.
