Seed delivery system in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo: characteristics, stakeholders mapping and challenges towards building a well-functioning seed system under humanitarian and security crises

Quality seed is one of the most important farm inputs. The Ituri province, in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), faces enormous challenges in implementing a coherent formal seed sector, an essential gage for seed quality. This study aimed at diagnosing the Ituri seed value chain to propose improvements at all levels. Data collection was conducted using focus group discussions and direct interviews with key players at all levels, household surveys across the province, and a review of seed intervention programme reports, farm visit reports and other literature. Results showed that the seed system in the northeastern DRC is mainly informal due to several socioeconomic and technical factors. Less than a third of crops in the region had a formal seed delivery system. The cash flow in the seed sector was high owing to high seed demands from humanitarian organizations and farmer support structures, estimated at ∼1.5 million US$ in 2022 for the top three commercial seed commodities (common beans, maize and peanuts). However, the province seed production capacity through formal pathway is low (only ∼35 and 69% of the demands for common bean and maize, respectively, are covered by local productions), meaning that the seed demand is met either through importation or fraudulent conversion of farmer-saved seed. Due to lack of technical capacities, Ituri seed multipliers mainly produce open pollinated and synthetic varieties, while hybrids are imported from neighbouring countries. The lack of functional breeders in the provincial seed production chain, disproportionately low seed multipliers-to-distributors ratio, the weakness of the seed certification and regulation services, the border porosity, poor coordination among actors, and low awareness of farmers on seed qualities and advantages of using certified quality seed are the main structural and functional factors hindering the well-functioning of northeastern DRC seed system. This study provided an insight on the characteristics, stakeholders and challenges facing the seed sector in northeastern DRC and proposed an action plan for its improvement.</p

Data_Sheet_2_Farming practices, varietal preferences, and land suitability analyses for yam production in Eastern D.R. Congo: implications for breeding initiatives and food sovereignty.docx

Yam (Dioscorea spp.) is a key tuber crop in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) with huge potential for poverty alleviation, food sovereignty, and nutrition security. Exploiting its full potential requires that factors holding it down are understood and mitigated. This study, conducted between May and July 2022 and 2023, assessed yam farming practices, varietal preferences, and land suitability in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). We interviewed 765 smallholder farmers within four agro-ecological zones (AEZ) to assess the sociocultural, agronomic, varietal, and biophysical factors affecting yam production. Land suitability analyses were conducted using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to identify areas suitable to extensive yam production and to cluster environments that could optimize yam varietal selection and testing. Results showed that yam is mainly cultivated by women in eastern DRC (70%). The seed delivery system is informal, relying primarily on farmer-saved seeds and farmer-seed exchanges (74.9%). Soil depletion (68.3%), limited access to high-quality seeds (54.5%), youth disengagement in yam value chain (50.3%), insect pests (17.9%), and short tuber shelf-life (65.8%) were, respectively, the main ecological, agronomic, sociocultural, biological, and tuber quality factors hindering yam production in eastern DRC. However, the perceived importance of most factors significantly varied with farmer gender and age categories. A multitude of varietal traits was used to assess yam varieties in eastern DRC, of which the tuber taste (59%) was the most valued trait regardless of gender and age categories, though it had highest scores among middle-aged adult women. Land suitability analyses discriminated five clusters; the most significant part of the region falling under suitable (27%), highly suitable (24%), and very highly suitable classes (37%). We further discussed how breeding initiatives for delivering yam varieties, suiting local producers’ and end-users’ needs, could unlock the crop’s potential for enhancing food security and wealth creation in eastern DRC. The land suitability map from this study is a valuable decision-making tool in defining priority areas for extensive yam production and varietal selection and testing. This study provided valuable insights on factors affecting yam production and suggested yam breeding as a backbone of a holistic approach seeking to address challenges faced in unlocking the potential for yam production in eastern DRC.</p

Data_Sheet_1_Farming practices, varietal preferences, and land suitability analyses for yam production in Eastern D.R. Congo: implications for breeding initiatives and food sovereignty.xlsx

Yam (Dioscorea spp.) is a key tuber crop in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) with huge potential for poverty alleviation, food sovereignty, and nutrition security. Exploiting its full potential requires that factors holding it down are understood and mitigated. This study, conducted between May and July 2022 and 2023, assessed yam farming practices, varietal preferences, and land suitability in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). We interviewed 765 smallholder farmers within four agro-ecological zones (AEZ) to assess the sociocultural, agronomic, varietal, and biophysical factors affecting yam production. Land suitability analyses were conducted using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to identify areas suitable to extensive yam production and to cluster environments that could optimize yam varietal selection and testing. Results showed that yam is mainly cultivated by women in eastern DRC (70%). The seed delivery system is informal, relying primarily on farmer-saved seeds and farmer-seed exchanges (74.9%). Soil depletion (68.3%), limited access to high-quality seeds (54.5%), youth disengagement in yam value chain (50.3%), insect pests (17.9%), and short tuber shelf-life (65.8%) were, respectively, the main ecological, agronomic, sociocultural, biological, and tuber quality factors hindering yam production in eastern DRC. However, the perceived importance of most factors significantly varied with farmer gender and age categories. A multitude of varietal traits was used to assess yam varieties in eastern DRC, of which the tuber taste (59%) was the most valued trait regardless of gender and age categories, though it had highest scores among middle-aged adult women. Land suitability analyses discriminated five clusters; the most significant part of the region falling under suitable (27%), highly suitable (24%), and very highly suitable classes (37%). We further discussed how breeding initiatives for delivering yam varieties, suiting local producers’ and end-users’ needs, could unlock the crop’s potential for enhancing food security and wealth creation in eastern DRC. The land suitability map from this study is a valuable decision-making tool in defining priority areas for extensive yam production and varietal selection and testing. This study provided valuable insights on factors affecting yam production and suggested yam breeding as a backbone of a holistic approach seeking to address challenges faced in unlocking the potential for yam production in eastern DRC.</p

Table_1_Genetic architecture of post-harvest tuber quality traits in bush yam (Dioscorea praehensilis Benth.) germplasm through association mapping.docx

IntroductionBush yam (Dioscorea praehensilis Benth.) is an important semi-domesticated food crop in West Africa. Limited information on the genetic architecture and its poor post-harvest tuber quality traits significantly hinder its use as food and source of income. Hence, dissecting the genetics underlying the expression of its post-harvest tuber quality traits is essential for establishing proper breeding schemes.MethodsIn this study, 138 D. praehensilis accessions collected in Ghana were sequenced using Diversity Array Technology (DArTSeq). The materials were profiled for dry matter content (DMC), tuber flesh oxidation (TBOXI) and for tuber flesh hardness (TBhard) during two cropping seasons.Results and discussionDiversity assessment using population structure, principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering methods revealed the presence of three major groups. Six genetic models were used for the trait association analysis using multiple random locus mixed linear model (MrMLM). Sixteen SNP markers distributed across the yam genome were identified to be associated with the evaluated traits. The associated SNP markers displayed a phenotypic variance ranged from 4.22% in TBHard to 16.92% in TBOXI. A total 25 putative candidate genes were identified around the SNP markers. The putative genes were identified to play key roles in tuber bulking, oxidative browning and starch hydroxylase. This study provides a valuable insight on the genetics underlying tuber quality traits in bush yam and opens avenues for developing genomic resources to improve D. praehensilis.</p

Image_1_Genetic architecture of post-harvest tuber quality traits in bush yam (Dioscorea praehensilis Benth.) germplasm through association mapping.pdf

IntroductionBush yam (Dioscorea praehensilis Benth.) is an important semi-domesticated food crop in West Africa. Limited information on the genetic architecture and its poor post-harvest tuber quality traits significantly hinder its use as food and source of income. Hence, dissecting the genetics underlying the expression of its post-harvest tuber quality traits is essential for establishing proper breeding schemes.MethodsIn this study, 138 D. praehensilis accessions collected in Ghana were sequenced using Diversity Array Technology (DArTSeq). The materials were profiled for dry matter content (DMC), tuber flesh oxidation (TBOXI) and for tuber flesh hardness (TBhard) during two cropping seasons.Results and discussionDiversity assessment using population structure, principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering methods revealed the presence of three major groups. Six genetic models were used for the trait association analysis using multiple random locus mixed linear model (MrMLM). Sixteen SNP markers distributed across the yam genome were identified to be associated with the evaluated traits. The associated SNP markers displayed a phenotypic variance ranged from 4.22% in TBHard to 16.92% in TBOXI. A total 25 putative candidate genes were identified around the SNP markers. The putative genes were identified to play key roles in tuber bulking, oxidative browning and starch hydroxylase. This study provides a valuable insight on the genetics underlying tuber quality traits in bush yam and opens avenues for developing genomic resources to improve D. praehensilis.</p

Table_2_Genetic architecture of post-harvest tuber quality traits in bush yam (Dioscorea praehensilis Benth.) germplasm through association mapping.docx

IntroductionBush yam (Dioscorea praehensilis Benth.) is an important semi-domesticated food crop in West Africa. Limited information on the genetic architecture and its poor post-harvest tuber quality traits significantly hinder its use as food and source of income. Hence, dissecting the genetics underlying the expression of its post-harvest tuber quality traits is essential for establishing proper breeding schemes.MethodsIn this study, 138 D. praehensilis accessions collected in Ghana were sequenced using Diversity Array Technology (DArTSeq). The materials were profiled for dry matter content (DMC), tuber flesh oxidation (TBOXI) and for tuber flesh hardness (TBhard) during two cropping seasons.Results and discussionDiversity assessment using population structure, principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering methods revealed the presence of three major groups. Six genetic models were used for the trait association analysis using multiple random locus mixed linear model (MrMLM). Sixteen SNP markers distributed across the yam genome were identified to be associated with the evaluated traits. The associated SNP markers displayed a phenotypic variance ranged from 4.22% in TBHard to 16.92% in TBOXI. A total 25 putative candidate genes were identified around the SNP markers. The putative genes were identified to play key roles in tuber bulking, oxidative browning and starch hydroxylase. This study provides a valuable insight on the genetics underlying tuber quality traits in bush yam and opens avenues for developing genomic resources to improve D. praehensilis.</p