Demand and Supply of Crop Infraspecific Diversity on Farms: Towards a Policy Framework for On-Farm Conservation

Interest is increasing worldwide in on-farm conservation as a component of a strategy to conserve crop genetic resources. On-farm conservation may require outside support to small-scale farmers in areas of crop domestication and diversity. This paper argues that crop infraspecific diversity maintained by farming households in these areas results from the interplay between demand and supply for this diversity (i.e., its loss may be demand- or supply-related). In the first instance, interventions should be aimed at increasing the value of crop diversity for farmers or decreasing the farm-level opportunity costs of maintaining diversity. In the second instance, interventions should decrease the transaction costs of accessing crop diversity. It may be difficult, however, to distinguish in empirical research, whether the constraints to diversity are demand- or supply-related. Therefore the process of supporting on-farm conservation should be kept as open as possible and both demand and supply interventions should be available.Crop Production/Industries,

Analysis of Participatory Research Projects in the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center

Through a survey of scientists from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in 2004, this study assessed the extent to which participatory methods had been used by the center, how they were perceived by the scientists, and how participatory research could be applied more effectively by CIMMYT and partners. Results for 19 CIMMYT projects suggest among other things that participatory approaches at the center were largely “functional”—that is, aimed at improving the efficiency and relevance of research—and had in fact added value to the research efforts. The authors suggest that CIMMYT should (1) create a more conducive environment for scientists to share experiences on such approaches and (2) better document their impacts on farmers’ livelihoods and well-being.Economic analysis, Research projects, Research methods, Quantitative analysis, Surveys, Statistics, Evaluation, Scientists, Research institutions, Mexico., Crop Production/Industries, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, E10, A50,

PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH METHODS FOR TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION: A MANUAL FOR SCIENTISTS WORKING WITH FARMERS

This manual presents methods that enable agricultural scientist and farmers to evaluate technologies/practices jointly. The methods are specifically designed for participatory research on germplasm and soil fertility technologies, and they are illustrated with actual examples from three research projects. The manual begins by reviewing conceptual issues that are important in participatory research and presents information to assist researchers in selecting research sites and fieldwork participants. Next, the manual describes the rationale and associated methods for each major activity in farmer participatory research: diagnosing farmers' conditions, evaluating current and new technologies/practices, and assessing their impact. Goals, procedures, advantages, and limitations of each method are outlined. The manual also presents detailed information on analyzing data gathered through participatory methods, discusses differences between gathering data through participatory methods and more traditional structured farm surveys, and offers examples, based on field experience, of the choices and strategies involved in applying these methods.Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

VARIETY CHARACTERISTICS AND THE LAND ALLOCATION DECISIONS OF FARMERS IN A CENTER OF MAIZE DIVERSITY

There is emerging interest in the prospects for enhancing farmers' management of genetic resources as a complementary strategy to ex situ conservation. Using a framework that combines a characteristics model with the notion of impure public goods, we investigate farmers' incentives to grow the varieties identified as important genetic resources.Land Economics/Use, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Farmer Management of Maize Diversity in the Central Valleys of Oaxaca, Mexico: CIMMYT/INIFAP 1998 Baseline Socioeconomic Survey

Crop Production/Industries,

On-farm diversity and market participation are positively associated with dietary diversity of rural mothers in southern Benin, west Africa

OBJECTIVE:The objective of this study is to test the extent to which, under different opportunities for market participation, the diversity of plant species rural households grow or collect (on-farm diversity), and the variety of foods mothers purchase (market diversity) are associated with their dietary diversity. METHODS:Rural households from three districts in southern Benin were interviewed during dry (n = 472) and wet (n = 482) seasons between 2011 and 2012. Villages within districts and their households were selected randomly according to market accessibility, with a mother selected from each household. Information on on-farm diversity was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire. Market diversity was obtained through a 7-day food frequency questionnaire that elicited if foods were purchased. Dietary diversity was derived from a quantitative 24-hour food recall. A system of three simultaneous equations via a Generalized Methods of Moments was estimated to address potential endogeneity between dietary diversity and on-farm diversity and market diversity. RESULTS:Results show rich on-farm diversity with more than 65 different edible plant species grown or collected by households. More than 70% of foods consumed by mothers were purchased in 55 market places. More than 50% of mothers met minimum dietary diversity with at least 5 food groups consumed. Diagnostic tests indicated the existence of endogeneity. Econometric results showed that on-farm and market diversities were positively associated with mothers' dietary diversity (p < 0.05) once market opportunities, seasonality and other socioeconomic factors were controlled for. CONCLUSION:Results provide evidence of a positive relationship between on-farm diversity and dietary diversity among participant mothers. They demonstrate the important contribution of market diversity to their dietary diversity. Links among these three facets of diversity suggest that production for self-consumption and food purchases complement rather than replace each other in their contribution to dietary diversity and thus dietary quality

SOCIAL RELATIONS AND SEED TRANSACTIONS AMONG SMALLSCALE MAIZE FARMERS IN THE CENTRAL VALLEYS OF OAXACA, MEXICO; PRELIMINARY FINDINGS

This paper explores social arrangements associated with seed transactions among small-scale maize farmers in the Central Valleys of Oaxaca, Mexico, a centre of crop genetic diversity. A formal seed distribution system has yet to develop in the region and when seed loss occurs, farmers are faced with costs and difficulties identifying, locating, and obtaining seed of desired varieties. For these reasons, it was hypothesized that there were strong incentives for collective action among farmers to facilitate seed supply. The study found, however, no evidence of collective action with regards to seed supply in the three study communities-San Pablo Huitzo, San Lorenzo Albarradas, Santa Ana Zegache. Instead, farmers acquired seed using a variety of networks of social relations and different types of seed transactions. The results suggest that seed flow among farmers in the Central Valleys of Oaxaca is a complex process of negotiation and reciprocity, influenced by a variety of agroecological, socioeconomic, and cultural factors.Farm Management,

Farmers' Taxonomies as a Participatory Diagnostic Tool: Soil Fertility Management in Chihota, Zimbabwe

Soil infertility is a major constraint to food production in the communal areas of Zimbabwe. Smallholders in the region recognize the problems of low soil fertility and have devised ways of coping with them. This study describes the use of farmers� taxonomies of themselves and their soils to identify and understand the options they have, and the constraints they face in managing poor soil fertility in Chihota, a sub-humid communal area of north central Zimbabwe. It is part of an effort by a group of agricultural researchers and extensionists working on improved soil fertility technologies, to better integrate their work with farmers in order to expose the latter to promising technologies, get feedback on the technologies merits and feasibility, and help farmers experiment with them. The results show that these farmers have relatively sophisticated taxonomies, which provide a good picture of the resources, constraints, and concerns they have about soil infertility and ways to manage it. The taxonomies are an important framework for integration of technical interventions with farmers� requirements, systems, and circumstances.participatory methods, soil fertility, local taxonomies, smallholders, Zimbabwe, Farm Management, Land Economics/Use,

IDENTIFYING APPROPRIATE GERMPLASM FOR PARTICIPATORY BREEDING: AN EXAMPLE FROM THE CENTRAL VALLEYS OF OAXACA, MEXICO

Identifying the appropriate germplasm to be improved is a key component of any participatory breeding effort because of its implications for impacts on social welfare and genetic diversity. This paper describes a method developed to select a subset of 17 populations for a participatory breeding project from a set of 152 maize landraces. The larger set of landraces was collected in order to characterize, for conservation purposes, the maize diversity present in the Central Valleys of Oaxaca, Mexico. The method combines data representing the perspectives of both men and women members of farm households and those of genetic resources specialists, including professional plant breeders, gene bank managers, and social scientists. The different perspectives complement each other. The results show that when the choice of germplasm is based only on the perspective of genetic resources specialists, traits and materials that are important to farm households may be ignored. Such selections may be less valuable to farmers, limiting the impact of the participatory breeding effort on their livelihoods. However, the findings also indicate that relying solely on the perspectives of farm households may lead to lower diversity. Choosing populations based solely on either perspective involves a social cost-either in terms of diversity or in terms of farmer welfare. Although our approach has limitations, many of which are common to participatory research, it represents a systematic method for meeting one of the important challenges of participatory plant breeding.Mexico, Oaxaca, Maize, Zea mays, Land race, Germplasm conservation, Plant breeding, Selecting, Innovation adoption, Social welfare, Welfare economics, On farm research, Participatory research, Farm Management,

The impact of improved maize germplasm on poverty alleviation

"This study documents how poor small-scale farmers in lowland tropical Mexico use improved maize germplasm and how this contributes to their well-being. It does this by assessing both the direct adoption of improved varieties and examining the process of their "creolization." By exposing improved varieties to their conditions and management, continually selecting seed of these varieties for replanting, and in some cases promoting their hybridization with landraces, either by design or by accident, farmers produce what they recognize as "creolized" varieties. Our key hypothesis is that poor farmers benefit from improved germplasm through creolization. Creolization provides farmers with new options, as they deliberately modify an improved technology generated by the formal research system to suit their own circumstances and needs. Different methodologies such as participatory methods, ethnography, household case studies, a household sample survey, and a collection and agronomic evaluation of maize samples were used. This study was carried out in two regions: the coast of Oaxaca and the Frailesca in the states of Oaxaca and Chiapas, two of the poorest in Mexico. While one study area is subsistence-oriented and the other commercial, in both, extreme poverty is pervasive. Maize continues to play a key role in the livelihoods of the poor in both study areas. Authors' AbstractSustainable livelihoods ,plant breeding ,Hybrid maize Mexico ,Agricultural innovations ,