Tailoring legume seed markets for smallholder farmers in Africa

Sperling, Louise; Gallagher, Patrick; McGuire, Shawn; March, Julie

doi:10.1080/14735903.2020.1822640

Cited by 16 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…The uniquely high degree of dependence on the private sector for maize seed delivery means that the release, production, marketing, and distribution of improved maize seeds are rarely pro-poor or gender-responsive ( Access to Seeds Foundation, 2019 ; Brearley and Kramer, 2020 ). Research across crops has generated suggestions for more gender-responsive seed marketing and distribution systems ( Adam et al, 2019 ; Audi et al, 2015 ; Kandiwa et al, 2018 ; Louwaars et al, 2013 ; Sperling et al, 2021 ; Sperling and Boettiger, 2013 ). However, most of these approaches have yet to be rigorously evaluated, so the business case for private sector investment in these areas is not yet clear.…”

Section: Gender-related Constraints In Maize Seed Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender inclusivity through maize breeding in Africa: A review of the issues and options for future engagement

et al. 2021

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With the prioritization of social inclusion in agricultural development, donors and research centers have shown growing interest in gender-intentional varietal development and delivery. Breeding maize varieties that respond to gender-based differences in trait preferences now represents a central objective of maize R&D in the CGIAR and elsewhere. Drawing on literature on gender and maize seed adoption, variety preferences, and seed system constraints, we take stock of knowns and unknowns related to gender-responsive and gender-intentional maize breeding. While recent research on farmers’ variety preferences across crops has yielded insights into gender-based differences, we find that evidence of gender-differentiated preferences for maize varieties remains inconclusive. Ultimately, we identify several research priorities to support gender-intentional maize breeding, including a more nuanced understanding of gender relations in maize production and maize seed decision-making, new and more gender-responsive approaches to measuring farmer preferences and seed demand more broadly, and research to address operational challenges in gender-intentional breeding. We close by identifying some institutional constraints to achieving impact through gender-intentional maize breeding.

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Section: Gender-related Constraints In Maize Seed Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender inclusivity through maize breeding in Africa: A review of the issues and options for future engagement

et al. 2021

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“…Much has been written about seed sector development in Africa but the literature focuses almost exclusively on the staple food crops and makes little or no mention of vegetables. Sperling et al (2020) pointed out that strategies for seed sector development in Africa are often modeled on the maize seed sector but do not recognize that other crops are very different in terms of seed production and commercialization. This is also the argument of Louwaars and de Boef (2012) who warned against a linear approach to seed sector development in Africa and assuming that improved varieties produced by the formal sector will progressively replace farmers' seed systems of the informal sector.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Africa’s evolving vegetable seed sector: status, policy options and lessons from Asia

Schreinemachers¹,

Howard

Turner

et al. 2021

Food Sec.

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Fostering better access to more nutritious foods across sub-Saharan Africa will be critical to ending hunger and malnutrition. In Asia, vegetable production and consumption have grown rapidly since the 1990s and the development of a dynamic vegetable seed industry, led by the private sector, played a pivotal role in this process. The availability of locally-bred and adapted varieties facilitated the rapid expansion of production and increased the supply of affordable vegetables to consumers. In contrast, the vegetable seed sector in sub-Saharan Africa has been slow to develop and has received little attention in the development agenda. Drawing from Asia’s experience, this paper outlines a four-point strategy to accelerate the vegetable seed sector in sub-Saharan Africa. First, there is a need to strengthen the technical capacity of African seed companies to allow them to develop varieties that are well-adapted to local conditions and consumer preferences. Second, seed regulations, originally designed with food grains in mind, should be reviewed and revised to facilitate domestic vegetable breeding research and seed production. Third, more farmer extension is needed to exploit improved varieties together with good management practices. Fourth, vegetable marketing systems should be strengthened to reduce risks to farmers and traders. Investment in these four areas will help energize private sector investment in the vegetable seed sector. Asian experience suggests that investment in locally adapted vegetable varieties is a critical step in improving productivity, availability and ultimately consumption of nutritious vegetables.

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“…This characteristic is not unique to Myanmar. A recent study in African countries also found that more than 50% of legume seeds were purchased and majority of those purchases were from the informal sector (McGuire & Sperling, 2016;Sperling et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Farmer demand for certified legume seeds and the viability of farmer seed enterprises: Evidence from Myanmar

2022

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Legume seed systems in many developing countries are characterized by low availability of certified seeds because the private sector is often absent, and the public sector has limited capacity to produce such seeds. Farmer seed enterprises (FSEs) are therefore increasingly promoted as alternative suppliers of certified and in some instances, quality declared and truthfully labelled seeds. In this study, we assess the commercial viability of FSEs that produce chickpea and green gram certified seeds by comparing average seed production cost, inclusive of opportunity costs and expected profits, with consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) price. The cost of seed production data come from a survey of 63 FSEs and the data on WTP are from the Becker, DeGroot, Marschak (BDM) bidding experiments conducted with 512 farmers from the Central Dry Zone of Myanmar. We find that the post-harvest storage cost during the 7–8 months between harvest and the next planting season contributes significantly to the total cost of producing seeds. Forty-seven percent of chickpea farmers and 53% of green gram farmers were willing to pay equal to or higher than the average minimum cost of producing certified seeds. which is as an upper bound estimate of potential market share for FSEs’ certified seeds. This potential customer base of FSEs can be further increased by reducing the cost, especially post-harvest and labor costs. What role government, private companies, and NGOs could play in reducing the cost and increasing the demand for certified seed are important policy research questions discussed in the paper.

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Tailoring legume seed markets for smallholder farmers in Africa

Cited by 16 publications

References 28 publications

Gender inclusivity through maize breeding in Africa: A review of the issues and options for future engagement

Gender inclusivity through maize breeding in Africa: A review of the issues and options for future engagement

Africa’s evolving vegetable seed sector: status, policy options and lessons from Asia

Farmer demand for certified legume seeds and the viability of farmer seed enterprises: Evidence from Myanmar

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