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Farmer decision making for hybrid maize seed purchases: Effects of brand loyalty, price discounts and product information
No full textCONTEXT: Each year public and private sector maize breeding programs in Kenya deliver high-yielding hybrids that are resistant to drought, pests, and diseases. Yet, most Kenyan maize farmers purchase older, well-known hybrids. While the ‘varietal turnover’ problem is well known, few solutions have emerged. OBJECTIVE: The potential for seed companies and retailers to influence farmers' product selection towards new products remains an open question. In-store marketing that induces farmers to experiment with new products may be a scalable and cost-effective way to advance seed systems development. METHODS: Our controlled field experiment with 600 farmers in Kenya comprised a mock agrodealer store stocked with locally available hybrids, where half the farmers who participated faced an out-of-stock situation for their preferred product. The influence of price promotions and product performance information on farmers' seed choice were assessed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: When a participant's preferred product was available, performance information and discounts had no effect on decisions. However, when the preferred product was unavailable, the treatments had limited effects on product selection. Prior experience and brand loyalty stood out as the strongest predictors of seed product selection. SIGNIFICANCE: Our work explored the potential for two interventions—information and price discounts—to influence farmers' product selection. While these interventions showed limited influence on selection, the study design provides a clear starting point for future related experiments. More public and private investments are required to generate timely, comparable, and reliable information on seed performance. The strong effect of brand loyalty favors larger-sized seed companies with sizable marketing budgets
AgTC and AgETL: open-source tools to enhance data collection and management for plant science research
No full textAdvancements in phenotyping technology have enabled plant science researchers to gather large volumes of information from their experiments, especially those that evaluate multiple genotypes. To fully leverage these complex and often heterogeneous data sets (i.e. those that differ in format and structure), scientists must invest considerable time in data processing, and data management has emerged as a considerable barrier for downstream application. Here, we propose a pipeline to enhance data collection, processing, and management from plant science studies comprising of two newly developed open-source programs. The first, called AgTC, is a series of programming functions that generates comma-separated values file templates to collect data in a standard format using either a lab-based computer or a mobile device. The second series of functions, AgETL, executes steps for an Extract-Transform-Load (ETL) data integration process where data are extracted from heterogeneously formatted files, transformed to meet standard criteria, and loaded into a database. There, data are stored and can be accessed for data analysis-related processes, including dynamic data visualization through web-based tools. Both AgTC and AgETL are flexible for application across plant science experiments without programming knowledge on the part of the domain scientist, and their functions are executed on Jupyter Notebook, a browser-based interactive development environment. Additionally, all parameters are easily customized from central configuration files written in the human-readable YAML format. Using three experiments from research laboratories in university and non-government organization (NGO) settings as test cases, we demonstrate the utility of AgTC and AgETL to streamline critical steps from data collection to analysis in the plant sciences
Menú tecnológico - Maiz y frijol en el Oriente de Guatemala
No full textLa región Oriente de Guatemala se caracteriza por la diversidad de sus ecosistemas, podemos encontrar desde bosques secos espinosos hasta bosques nubosos en un área relativamente pequeña, lo que permite que exista una gran biodiversidad de especies de flora y de fauna, con condiciones aptas para la producción de diversos cultivos tanto en zonas áridas como en zonas de mayor precipitación y mayor altitud. El sistema de agricultura es de subsistencia, normalmente se realiza en laderas que incluye prácticas agronómicas manuales que contribuyen a la degradación de los suelos (quema, movimiento de suelo con azadón) incrementando la vulnerabilidad en este sistema productivo, lo que hace necesario trabajar en sistemas de investigación aplicada que permita a los productores guatemaltecos de esta región implementar nuevas prácticas y/o tecnologías que contribuyan a la sostenibilidad de los sistemas agroalimentarios. A través de las acciones de la iniciativa AgriLAC Resiliente y ASORECH (Asociación Regional Campesina Ch’orti’) en 2023 se instaló la plataforma San Juan Ermita, Chiquimula donde se realiza investigación agronómica. La investigación que se desarrolla en la plataforma San Juan Ermita, Chiquimula y por otras instituciones como ICTA se ha generado el siguiente menú tecnológico con el objetivo de brindar una herramienta para la toma de decisiones informadas por parte de técnico y grupos de productores. Las tecnologías que no están incluidas en el menú tecnológico no han sido evaluadas de manera científica o práctica en el innovahub Occidente, Guatemala.9 page
Context-dependent agricultural intensification pathways to increase rice production in India
No full textYield gap analysis is used to characterize the untapped production potential of cropping systems. With emerging large-n agronomic datasets and data science methods, pathways for narrowing yield gaps can be identified that provide actionable insights into where and how cropping systems can be sustainably intensified. Here we characterize the contributing factors to rice yield gaps across seven Indian states, with a case study region used to assess the power of intervention targeting. Primary yield constraints in the case study region were nitrogen and irrigation, but scenario analysis suggests modest average yield gains with universal adoption of higher nitrogen rates. When nitrogen limited fields are targeted for practice change (47% of the sample), yield gains are predicted to double. When nitrogen and irrigation co-limitations are targeted (20% of the sample), yield gains more than tripled. Results suggest that analytics-led strategies for crop intensification can generate transformative advances in productivity, profitability, and environmental outcomes
Genome-wide association mapping revealed SNP alleles associated with resistance to cereal cyst nematode (Heterodera filipjevi) in wheat
No full textResistance traits are economically important in crops in terms of accessibility to promising resistant germplasm. This study was conducted to evaluate SNP marker-trait association for Cereal Cyst Nematode (CCN), Heterodera filipjevi, in a large number of natural bread wheat populations. Phenotypic data analyzed using GLM (Generalized Linear Model) indicated significant differences among the landrace accessions for resistance to H. filipjevi. The genotyping was performed by 152K SNP chip on 188 accessions. After filtering, 10,471 polymorphic SNPs were employed for Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS). Population structure among the wheat genotypes were investigated using 840 well distinct SNP markers. Two sub-populations were revealed by structure software, and eleven markers were found to be significantly (P-value< 0.001) associated with resistance to H. filipjevi on chromosomes 2A, 3B, 4A, 4B, 5A, 5B, 5D, and 6B. The linkage disequilibrium analysis for all significantly associated SNPs showed that markers on chromosomes 4A and 4B were in high intra-chromosomal linkage disequilibrium, and, consequently, eight markers were recommended as strongly associated with resistance to H. filipjevi. The present study demonstrated valuable sources of resistance in the studied wheat genotypes against a widespread and important species of CCNs. The associated markers could be used in molecular breeding programs of bread wheat.861-87
Impacts of Climate Smart Agriculture on livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa: A Meta-analysis
No full textSub-Saharan Africa is grappling with surging food demand amid a growing population and challenges of climate change. Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) emerges as a holistic solution, aiming to counter these complexities and enhance livelihoods. However, the evidence remains thin and mixed. We used a meta-analysis with 18 studies to assess the impacts of climate smart agricultural practices on livelihood indicators in sub-Saharan Africa. We find that adoption of climate smart agriculture is positively correlated with crop and household income and food security in sub-Saharan Africa. We found that the adoption of climate smart agriculture is associated with reduced incidences of poverty on average and improved food security outcomes. These last two findings are, however, only statistically significant at 10%, signifying the need to integrate CSA with other measures to improve food security and to reduce poverty. We can conjecture that the positive effects on incomes are not sufficient to significantly drive-up food security and poverty alleviation.Discussion paper17 page
Supporting a systems approach to scaling for all; insights from using the Scaling Scan tool
No full textCONTEXT: Approaches to scaling are persistently linear and focus on a single innovation, an innovator to control the scaling process, and a purpose driven by donor accountability. Alternative approaches that better reflect the complexity involved in sustainable development draw on systems thinking theory, but are hardly used. The Scaling Scan tool facilitates the integration of a systems approach to scaling to a broad public. OBJECTIVE: This study draws from almost six years of experience using and adapting the Scaling Scan tool to deepen the theoretical and empirical understanding of what a systems approach to scaling is and what challenges project teams and organizations face to embrace this. METHODS: This study uses data retrieved between 2017 and 2023 from 54 workshops where the Scaling Scan was used to scale innovations for sustainable development. Data were complemented with a literature study and SWOT analysis to understand the use, users, and user adaptations of the Scaling Scan tool. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The Scaling Scans’ focus on context, unintended consequences and the facilitation of collective understanding and collective action are important components of a systems approach to scaling. Multiple adaptations to the tools have been made by users to facilitate even more collective understanding. However, the early focus on “the” innovation to scale and the intrinsic assumption that this innovation addresses a key root cause or leverage point in the system risks to perpetuate a linear approach to scaling. The scoring of the scaling ingredients show a tendency to focus on familiar disciplines (mostly technical), limiting progression beyond a “bigger pilot” and engage with what or who is required for innovations to contribute to large scale change, such as market and public support. Transitioning from a linear to a systems approach to scaling is challenging because business models of research organizations depend on high adoption of “their” innovations. We find that, there are far-reaching implications of embracing a systems approach to scaling which not everyone may want or can accept. SIGNIFICANCE: We can no longer assume that complex systemic problems such as hunger and poverty will be solved by having more of an innovation. Yet this is still the dominant approach for research for development organizations to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals. The experience with the Scaling Scan contributes to a deeper understanding of the role of tools to facilitate the integration of systems thinking in innovation and scaling initiatives aimed at sustainable development
Does trust in the extension source improve learning outcomes? Experimental evidence from Southern Africa
No full textDoes it matter who trains farmers? We use an artefactual field experiment that includes training on conservation agriculture to test whether trust in the source of extension advice enhances learning outcomes in Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. We measure trust in public, private, and farmer-to-farmer extension agents using a standard trust game, and link trust to test scores from farmers randomly assigned to participate in training sessions facilitated by each agent. We find higher trust levels in the public extension agents, especially in Zimbabwe. Training increased knowledge outcomes by 7 percentage points (pp), public extension agents increased test scores by 9 pp, and farmer-to-farmer agents reduced scores by 11 pp in the pooled treated sample. At country level, farmer-to-farmer extension agents increased test scores by 19 pp in Zambia and reduced scores by 10 pp in Zimbabwe. Public extension agents increased test scores by 12 pp in Zimbabwe. Trust in the public and farmer-to-farmer extension agents increased test scores by 3 pp. These findings underscore the importance of training and trust in the source of extension in improving knowledge outcomes. Contrary to popular opinion, both public and farmer-to-farmer extensions have a role to play, signifying the need to retool, strengthen, and support both extension systems to enhance service delivery and to build farmer trust. Embracing different information communication technologies (ICTs) and digital advisories could help in this regard.40 page
Gender, social, household, and ecological factors influencing wheat trait preferences among the women and men farmers in India
No full textThe goal of public breeding programs is to develop and disseminate improved varieties to farmers. This strategy aims at providing farming communities with superior crop varieties than they are growing. However, the strategy rarely considers the needs and preferences of farmers, especially gendered preferences, failing to solve real field problems by addressing the differences and inequalities prevalent in the farming communities. Our research examines how personal, household, agronomic and ecological characteristics of wheat growers in Bihar, India's eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains, affect women and men's wheat trait choices. Data were obtained from 1,003 households where both male and female respondents from the same household were interviewed. We accounted for 23 traits of wheat from a careful assessment of production, environment, cooking quality, market demand, and esthetic criteria. Binomial logistic regression was used to determine women's and men's trait preferences. The results imply that gender influences the preferences of wheat traits. Some traits are favored by both women and men, however, in other instances, there are striking disparities. For example, men choose wheat varieties that are well adapted to extreme climate conditions, have a higher grain yield, and produce chapati with a superior taste, while women prefer wheat types with superior chapati making quality, higher grain yield, and high market prices. Other socioeconomic, agronomic, cultural, and geolocational factors have a considerable impact on trait preferences. These human dimensions of traits preferred by women and men farmers are important for trait combinations to develop breeding product profiles for certain market segments
