IDENTIFYING SEED UPTAKE PATHWAYS: THE SPREAD OF<i>AGYA AMOAH</i>RICE CULTIVAR IN SOUTHWESTERN GHANA

Marfo, K.A.; Dorward, Peter; Craufurd, Peter; Ansere-Bioh, F.; Haleegoah, J.; Bam, Ralph

doi:10.1017/s0014479708006170

Cited by 13 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 12 publications

(20 reference statements)

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“…Own stocks were also important, providing 1/3 of seed sown overall, varying between 28 and 45 % in all sites, with the exception of Haiti. The secondary rather than primary importance of use of own stocks challenges several common stereotypes: first, the notion that smallholder farmers will prioritize seed saving in times of stress (De Waal 1991) and, second, that own-saved seed provides the bulk of smallholder sowings (e.g., Bezner Kerr 2013; Cavatassi et al 2011;Guei et al 2011;Marfo et al 2008). Simply, overall data show that the locus of seed sources is off-farm, not within farm.…”

Section: Across Cropsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seed systems smallholder farmers use

2016

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Seed can be an important entry point for promoting productivity, nutrition and resilience among smallholder farmers. While investments have primarily focused on strengthening the formal sector, this article documents the degree to which the informal sector remains the core for seed acquisition, especially in Africa. Conclusions drawn from a uniquely comprehensive data set, 9660 observations across six countries and covering 40 crops, show that farmers access 90.2 % of their seed from informal systems with 50.9 % of that deriving from local markets. Further, 55 % of seed is paid for by cash, indicating that smallholders are already making important investments in this arena. Targeted interventions are proposed for rendering formal and informal seed sector more smallholder-responsive and for scaling up positive impacts.

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Section: Across Cropsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seed systems smallholder farmers use

2016

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“…For example, 3 years after the distribution of high-yielding Carioca bean seeds to 400 farmers in Zambia in 1986, 3.7 times as many farmers were estimated to be growing the new variety, although only about half of the farmers who originally received the seed were still sowing it (Grisley and Shamambo 1993). Fifteen years after the introduction of 0.5 kg of seed of a new rice variety to a single farmer in Ghana in 1987, about 73 % of farmers in the Western part of Ghana were believed to have grown the new variety (Marfo et al 2008). Such introductions of new varieties have occurred innumerable times over the last decades, but there has been little recording of if, how, and why they spread among farmers under various conditions (Witcombe et al 1999).…”

Section: Seed Release and Public Good Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seed exchange networks for agrobiodiversity conservation. A review

Pautasso

Aistara²,

Barnaud

et al. 2012

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

207

149

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The circulation of seed among farmers is central to agrobiodiversity conservation and dynamics. Agrobiodiversity, the diversity of agricultural systems from genes to varieties and crop species, from farming methods to landscape composition, is part of humanity's cultural heritage. Whereas agrobiodiversity conservation has received much attention from researchers and policy makers over the last decades, the methods available to study the role of seed exchange networks in preserving crop biodiversity have only recently begun to be considered. In this overview, we present key concepts, methods, and challenges to better understand seed exchange networks so as to improve the chances that traditional crop varieties (landraces) will be preserved and used sustainably around the world. The available literature suggests that there is insufficient knowledge about the social, cultural, and methodological dimensions of environmental change, including how seed exchange networks will cope with changes in climates, socio-economic factors, and family structures that have supported seed exchange systems to date. Methods available to study the role of seed exchange networks in the preservation and adaptation of crop specific and genetic diversity range from meta-analysis to modelling, from participatory approaches to the development of bio-indicators, from genetic to biogeographical studies, from anthropological and ethnographic research to the use of network theory. We advocate a diversity of approaches, so as to foster the creation of robust and policy-relevant knowledge. Open challenges in the study of the role of seed exchange networks in biodiversity conservation include the development of methods to (i) enhance farmers' participation to decision-making in agro-ecosystems, (ii) integrate ex situ and in situ approaches, (iii) achieve interdisciplinary research collaboration between social and natural scientists, and (iv) use network analysis as a conceptual framework to bridge boundaries among researchers, farmers and policy makers, as well as other stakeholders. (Résumé d'auteur

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“…Tripp and Rohrbach (2001) found that most smallholder farmers either give or receive seed each year, through gifts or barter and also sales. However, networks link relatives and friends more closely than neighbours (Marfo et al, 2008). Seed networks may be limited by class barriers, while migration and increased market production tend to fragment seed exchange networks (Almekinders et al, 2007).…”

Section: The Supply Of Common Seedmentioning

confidence: 99%

How seed works.

Bentley¹,

Mele²,

Reece³

et al. 2011

African Seed Enterprises: Sowing the Seeds of Food Security

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The purpose of this chapter is to compare formal and farmer seed systems, to describe the role of quality seed and to present the context in which small and medium-sized enterprises work in Africa, with a particular emphasis on the challenges of farmer seed enterprises. The demand for seed varies widely with the type of crop planted, and this influences which types of seed farmers want to buy. One of the most important reasons to buy formal seed is to acquire a new variety. The formal sector often ignores these reasons, and complains of how little seed farmers buy, especially smallholders in Africa and elsewhere in the tropics. Yet farmers can often obtain quite good seed from markets, their neighbours or their own farms. The formal seed system is actually a marriage between the government and the private sector, a marriage where communication and collaboration happen some of the time, but not always. While some have proposed encouraging groups of smallholders to produce formal seed for others, this has not been a success. Smallholder seed producer groups find it even more difficult than private seed companies to collaborate with the public sector for source seed supply and certification services. In light of these problems, the cases of functional African seed enterprises described in Chapters 3 to 11 seem even more remarkable. 2.1 Formal and Informal Systems Farmers get seed from 'formal' or 'informal' systems (Sperling et al., 1996; Sperling and Cooper, 2003). Formal systems are purposively composed of separate activities to provide new varieties, maintain their purity, certify the seeds and distribute them to farmers, usually through officially recognized seed outlets. De Schutter (2009) labels the formal sector the 'commercial seed system', which is not quite accurate, since there is much public sector involvement in it as well. An 'informal', 'traditional' or 'farmer' seed system lacks public sector regulation (Thiele, 1999). Farmers frequently exchange seeds among themselves, often for sale

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IDENTIFYING SEED UPTAKE PATHWAYS: THE SPREAD OFAGYA AMOAHRICE CULTIVAR IN SOUTHWESTERN GHANA

Cited by 13 publications

References 12 publications

Seed systems smallholder farmers use

Seed systems smallholder farmers use

Seed exchange networks for agrobiodiversity conservation. A review

How seed works.

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