Farmers’ adoption of maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids and the persistence of landraces in Southwest China: implications for policy and breeding

Li, Jingsong; Bueren, E.T. Lammerts van; Jiggins, Janice; Leeuwis, C.

doi:10.1007/s10722-011-9750-1

Cited by 38 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…In China, Li et al (2012) found that farmers' perceived utilities of maize landraces included not only yields, but also traits such as particular tastes, household food requirements, and demands from specialised industries like wine-making. Tsegaye and Berg (2007) concluded that household culinary utilities were the vital drivers for the cultivation of durum wheat landraces in central Ethiopia.…”

Section: Analytical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why bother with Bere? An investigation into the drivers behind the cultivation of a landrace barley

Mahon

McGuire

Islam

2016

Journal of Rural Studies

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Why would the farmers in a developed, Western country, dominated by an industrialised agriculture, choose to grow a traditional crop variety? This study aimed to explore this question through an investigation of the reasons why a traditional landrace barley -known as Berewas still grown in the Scottish islands of Orkney and Shetland. Cultivated barley is one of the oldest and most widely grown cereals in the world and plays a significant role in global food security. However, since the beginning of the 20th century the genetic diversity in cultivated barley has been in decline as traditional varieties are replaced with modern cultivars. Traditional varieties, such as landraces, are an important genetic resource, and there is a growing interest in their in situ conservation, both in Europe and internationally. The success of such activities would benefit from a proper understanding of the factors that drive farmers' motivations to maintain barley landraces on their farms and this study intended to fill the knowledge gap that existed in this regard in a European context. Interviews were conducted with Bere growers and representatives of the food manufacturing industry on the islands to discover why they valued this crop. This was complemented by insights from agricultural calendars, preference ranking tasks and photographic data. Thematic analysis of the data yielded four broad drivers of Bere cultivation: market demand, cultural and traditional values, adaptation to conditions, and use as a low-input crop. Preference ranking of these drivers showed their perceived relative importance and the variations in such perceptions between Orkney and Shetland. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of the findings for devising more effective in situ conservation strategies for barley landraces in Europe and further afield.

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Section: Analytical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why bother with Bere? An investigation into the drivers behind the cultivation of a landrace barley

Mahon

McGuire

Islam

2016

Journal of Rural Studies

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“…Strikingly, in China, steadily fewer households use maize landraces [32]. In the two Chinese provinces Guangxi and Yunnan, the area cultivated with landraces decreased significantly from 65% to 7% and from 84% to 18%, respectively, between 1998 and 2008.…”

Section: (2) Findings From Farmer Surveysmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Li et al [32] and Knezevic-Jaric et al [51] compared via farmer interviews the yield of landraces with the yield of F1-hybrid varieties and concluded that F1-hybrids provide higher yield. Li et al [32] found that 71% of the respondents within their survey among small-scale farmers in China mentioned the yielding qualities of F1-hybrid varieties compared to landrace varieties, but only 4% of them increased their final income by adopting F1-hybrids due to additional costs for inputs such as pesticides and fertilizers. The farmers also reported that the maize F1-hybrids were not adapted to upland and infertile land and that weather variation as well as pest and diseases easily influenced the yield.…”

Section: ) Findings From Field Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Both landraces and modern varieties have merit, and the right variety choice depends on the site-specific conditions, since it is impossible to find all desired performances realized in a single variety [57]. Crop variety selection needs to take advantage of a portfolio of (agronomic) performances corresponding to different land qualities [32].…”

Section: Context Dependency Of Provisioning Ecosystem Servicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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More than Yield: Ecosystem Services of Traditional versus Modern Crop Varieties Revisited

et al. 2018

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Agricultural intensification with modern plant breeding focuses on few high-yielding crops and varieties. The loss of traditional crop species and variety diversity contributes to the current decline of provisioning, regulating, and cultural ecosystem services, as reported in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Access to local and adapted varieties is pivotal for resilient agroecosystems, in particular under current global change. We reviewed the scientific literature to understand the role of different crop varieties for ecosystem services, comparing the performance and perception of traditional landraces versus modern varieties and ask the following questions: 1. Do landraces and modern varieties differ in terms of provisioning and regulating ecosystem services? 2. When and why do farmers prefer cultural ecosystem services of landraces over high-yielding varieties? Based on 41 publications, our results document that modern varieties are preferred over landraces because of their typically higher provisioning services such as crop yield. However, landraces often guarantee higher provisioning services under non-optimal farming conditions. Landraces can show high resilience under harsh environmental conditions and are a trusted source achieving stable crop yield (e.g., under droughts stress). Regulating services such as resistance against pests and diseases appear to often become lost during breeding for high-yielding, modern varieties. Furthermore, small-scale farmers typically prefer local landraces due to regional cultural features such as family traditions and cooking characteristics for special dishes. In conclusion, both landraces and modern varieties have merit depending on the farmers' priorities and the social-ecological context. In any case, maintaining and restoring the huge diversity of landrace varieties is necessary for sustaining current and future needs.

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“…Thus, in our profiling analysis, we also included the perception towards improved seed and risk attitude. Risk attitudes and opinions toward improved seeds were assessed via two principal component analyses (PCA) following the previous studies (Asrat et al, 2010;Birol et al, 2012;Li et al, 2012;Valdivia et al, 2015). Table 6 shows the profiles of different segments.…”

Section: Profile Of Corn Farmer Segmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Farmer preference for improved corn seeds in Chiapas, Mexico: A choice experiment approach

Toledano¹,

Kallas

Gil

2017

Span. j. agric. res.

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Appropriate technologies must be developed for adoption of improved seeds based on the farmers' preferences and needs. Our research identified the farmers' willingness to pay (WTP) as a key determinant for selecting the improved varieties of maize seeds and landraces in Chiapas, Mexico. This work also analyzed the farmers' observed heterogeneity on the basis of their socio-economic characteristics. Data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire from 200 farmers. A proportional choice experiment approach was applied using a proportional choice variable, where farmers were asked to state the percentage of preference for different alternative varieties in a choice set. The generalized multinomial logit model in WTP-space approach was used. The results suggest that the improved seed varieties are preferred over the Creole alternatives, thereby ensuring higher yields, resistance to diseases, and larger ear size. For the preference heterogeneity analyses, a latent class model was applied. Three types of farmers were identified: innovators (60.5%), transition farmers (29.4%), and conservative farmers (10%). An understanding of farmers' preferences is useful in designing agricultural policies and creating pricing and marketing strategies for the dissemination of quality seeds.

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Farmers’ adoption of maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids and the persistence of landraces in Southwest China: implications for policy and breeding

Cited by 38 publications

References 9 publications

Why bother with Bere? An investigation into the drivers behind the cultivation of a landrace barley

Why bother with Bere? An investigation into the drivers behind the cultivation of a landrace barley

More than Yield: Ecosystem Services of Traditional versus Modern Crop Varieties Revisited

Farmer preference for improved corn seeds in Chiapas, Mexico: A choice experiment approach

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