Author: Admin

Week 128 – Research paper: Farmer participatory seed production: extending the Indian experience to Africa

Authors: Singh, Dheeraj; Choudhary, M.K.; Meena, M.L.; Kumar, Chandan
Keywords: seed production, participation, Africa, India, adoption

“Quality seed is the key input for realizing potential productivity. In most of the crops, the small and marginal farmers depend on their own farm saved seeds for crop production. Moreover the crops are raised for market and a small portion of the grains are separated, stored and used as seeds in the next season which may not meet the quality aspects as expected for a seed which results in poor field stand, and ultimately low yield. Despite implementation of the organized seed programme, there exists an alarming gap between the demand and supply of quality seeds. The immediate increase in the productivity and production of these crops can be
achieved by a higher distribution of quality seeds of new and high yielding varieties. In this context, the concept of seed village which advocates village self-sufficiency in multiplication and distribution of quality seeds is getting momentum. The paper deals with the concept of participatory seed production at farmer’s level under the guidance of scientist/agriculture department. Case study of seed village programme for different crops and spices in selected villages have been discussed in this paper. Under this, quality seeds of improved varieties of prominent crops of the area were distributed by the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), CAZRI, Pali to the identified farmers in the area as per annual programme. The farmers used these quality seeds and took their own seed multiplication in operational area which showed a considerable spread of improved variety in nearby villages. Thus there is vast scope to produce and distribute quality seed in most crops for which seed village concept is a novel and highly practical approach and needs to be promoted to facilitate production and timely distribution of quality seeds of desired varieties at village level” […]

Click on the following link to access the content: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/295948?ln=en&v=pdf
© AgEcon

Week 127 – Conference paper: Are seed distributions effective? Evidence from a randomly controlled experiment with improved bean seeds in rural Madagascar.

Authors: Bosch, Christine; Zeller, Manfred; Deffner, Domenica
Keywords: seed distribution, Madagascar

“This paper studies access to and adoption of improved seeds and the diffusion of this information in a remote area in central Madagascar. The analysis is based on panel data gathered from 2009 to 2014 for 390 households in three villages. In 2013 a randomized treatment control design was applied in which 50% randomly selected households from the panel received 1.5 kapoaka (0.6 kg) of improved bean seeds (Pois du Cap/Morombe/Phaseolus lunatus). The beans were especially bred for dry regions and purchased at Fofifa (National Center of Applied Research and Rural Development). Of those households receiving, 50% randomly selected households were given information on how to store, plant and cultivate the seeds, as the distributed variety was unknown in the region and not available in the villages. These three groups are compared with respect to baseline characteristics, bean adoption, cultivation, information exchange with other farmers and diet diversity. 55% of the households that received seeds cultivated them, with an average yield of 3 kg. As non-compliance and spillovers exist, next to the average treatment effect on the treated (ATT), intention-to-treat (ITT) and local average treatment effect (LATE) is estimated. Additionally, willingness to pay (WTP) for improved bean seeds is estimated via the contingent valuation method (CVM). In order to ask the WTP, households were explained the benefits of improved bean seeds, which resulted in a WTP of 171% of the price of beans purchased on the local market.” […]

Click on the following link to access the content: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/249286?v=pdf
© AgEcon

Week 126 – Discussion Paper: The impact of Ethiopia’s direct seed marketing approach on smallholders’ access to seeds, productivity, and commercialization

Authors: Mekonnen, Dawit Kelemework; Abate, Gashaw Tadesse; Yimam, Seid; Benfica, Rui; Spielman, David J.; Place, Frank
Keywords: maize, wheat, teff, smallholders, Ethiopia, DSM
“Several factors contribute to the low level of improved variety use in Ethiopia. Among those, on the supply side, is the limited availability of seed in the volumes, quality, and timeliness required by farmers, which is partly a result of limited public and private investment in the sector. Beginning in 2011, the Government of Ethiopia introduced a novel experiment-the Direct Seed Marketing (DSM) approach-to reduce some of the centralized, state-run attributes of the country’s seed market and rationalize the use of public resources. DSM was designed to incentivize private and public seed producers to sell seed directly to farmers rather than through the state apparatus. This study is the first quantitative evaluation of DSM’s impact on indicators of a healthy seed system: access to quality seeds, on-farm productivity, and market participation of smallholders. Using a quasi-experimental difference-in-differences approach, the study finds that DSM led to a 26 percent increase in maize yields and a 5 percent increase in the share of maize harvest sold. DSM also led to improvements in seed availability for all three of Ethiopia’s major cereals: maize, wheat, and teff. However, DSM’s effects on yields and share of harvest sold are not statistically significant for wheat and teff. These crop-specific differences in performance are likely explainable by biological differences between hybrid maize and openly pollinated varieties of wheat and teff that incentivize private sector participation in maize seed markets over wheat and teff seed markets. These differences demand different policies and perhaps even institutional approaches to accelerating adoption between hybrids and OPVs.” […]

Click on the following link to access the content: https://ebrary.ifpri.org/digital/collection/p15738coll2/id/134247
© CGIAR

Week 125 – Discussion Paper: Miracle seeds: Biased expectations, complementary input use, and the dynamics of smallholder technology adoption

Authors: BY CAROLINE MIEHE, BJORN VAN CAMPENHOUT, LEOCARDIA NABWIRE, ROBERT SPARROW AND DAVID J. SPIELMAN
Keywords: maize, smallholders, Uganda, bias

“To fully benefit from new agricultural technologies like improved seed varieties, significant investment in complementary inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides, and practices such as systematic planting, irrigation, and weeding are also required. Farmers may fail to recognize the importance of these complements, leading to unsatisfactory crop yields and outputs and, eventually, dis-adoption of the variety. We provide a simple model of biased expectations, complementary input use and technology adoption and test its predictions using a field experiment among smallholder maize farmers in eastern Uganda. We find that pointing out the importance of complementary investments using a short, engaging video effectively deters some farmers from using commercial improved varieties. Consistent with the theoretical model, we find some evidence that this behavior change emanates from increased knowledge and expectations that are more in line with realized outcomes.” […]

Click on the following link to access the content: https://ebrary.ifpri.org/digital/collection/p15738coll2/id/136700
© CGIAR

Week 124 – Journal Article: Women’s seed entrepreneurship in aquaculture, maize, and poultry value chains in Ghana, Kenya, and Tanzania

Authors: by CATHY ROZEL FARNWORTH, ALESSANDRA GALIÈ, TATIANA GUMUCIO, HUMPHREY JUMBA, BERBER KRAMER AND CATHERINE RAGASA, IFPRI
Keywords: gender, entrepreneurship, maize, sotghum Ghana, Kenya, and Tanzania

“Seed systems are essential to bring good genetic material to farmers. Women farmers, however, have benefited less than men farmers from seed systems in low and middle income countries. We identify factors that inhibit and promote women’s success in seed businesses through three case studies of women’s and men’s entrepreneurship across seed-related value chains and country contexts: tilapia seed production in Ghana, marketing and trading of improved maize and sorghum seeds in Kenya, and chicken seed dissemination in Tanzania. Applying a gender lens, we use key informant interviews and focus group discussions to analyze women’s and men’s motivations to engage in seed businesses, the challenges they confront to start and build their enterprises, and prospects for sustainability and continued success. We use quantitative data to characterize the levels of empowerment of the agripreneurs sampled. For women, the results show that the social normative context of the sector is critical. Time flexibility and profitability are important considerations for women’s engagement. Furthermore, across all three country cases, family and external support are frequently key to women’s participation and success in seed agripreneurship. The article discusses the importance of government bodies, NGOs, and donors in challenging the normative context around gender resource gaps, as well as provide technical packages and training to develop business acumen. Supporting change of restrictive gender norms in non-threatening ways – such as ICTs – is key.”

Click on the following link to access the content: https://www.ifpri.org/publication/womens-seed-entrepreneurship-aquaculture-maize-and-poultry-value-chains-ghana-kenya-and
© CGIAR

Week 123 – Working Paper: Impact of the Ongoing Conflict on Smallholder Farmers in Sudan

Authors: by Oliver Kirui, Khalid Siddig, Mosab Ahmed, Hala Abushama, and Alemayehu Seyoum Taffesse
Keywords: Sudan, conflict, smallholders, seed delivery

“This study addresses the impact of the ongoing conflict in Sudan on smallholder farmers’ intentions and challenges during the 2023 summer agricultural season. A nationally representative survey of 3,284 smallholder farmers was conducted. Due to the security hazards and connectivity challenges, we used a combination of three interview types, Interactive Voice Recording (IVR), Computer-Assisted-Telephone-Interviews (CATI) and face-to-face (in-person) interviews. Key findings are that close to a third of the farmers were displaced from their farms’ locations and 40 percent were unable to prepare for planting season because of the conflict. Most of the farmers who did not prepare for the summer season at the time of the interview were not intending to plant later in the season.” […]

Click on the following link to access the content: https://ebrary.ifpri.org/utils/getfile/collection/p15738coll2/id/137064/filename/137277.pdf
© CGIAR

Week 122 – Discussion Paper: The role of gender in bargaining: Evidence for selling seed to smallholders in Uganda

Authors: Van Campenhout, Bjorn; Nabwire, Leocardia
Keywords: gender; seed policies; marketing; Uganda

“In rural societies with strong gender norms and customs, small informal agribusinesses may often be one of the few ways in which women can independently generate revenue. However, previous research has indicated that female run business may be perceived less favorably compared to their male counterparts. In this paper, we examine potential consequences of these
biased perceptions on business transactions.[…]”

Click on the following link to access the content: https://ebrary.ifpri.org/utils/getfile/collection/p15738coll2/id/137074/filename/137285.pdf

© CGIAR

Week 121 – Discussion Paper: Seed Certification and Maize, Rice and Cowpea Productivity in Nigeria

Authors: Hiroyuki Takeshima; Tahirou Abdoulaye; Kwaw S. Andam; Hyacinth O. Edeh; Adetunji Fasoranti; Beliyou Haile; P. Lava Kumar; Chibuzo Nwagboso; Catherine Ragasa; David Spielman; Tesfamichael Wossen
Keywords: seed policies; quality seeds; quality assurance; Nigeria

“Despite the potential importance of seed quality to agricultural productivity growth, many governments in sub-Saharan Africa lack the capacity to expand quality assurance systems even where there is expressed interest. This study aims to evidence the value of quality assurance systems with an analysis of efforts to produce and distribute certified seed in Nigeria. […]”

Click on the following link to access the content: https://ebrary.ifpri.org/utils/getfile/collection/p15738coll2/id/136474/filename/136684.pdf

© 2024 CGIAR

Week 119 – Workshop Proceedings: Gender Dynamics in Seed Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa and Worldwide Lessons Workshop

Authors: Adam, R. I. and Muindi, P.
Keywords: gender; seed policies; quality seeds

“Seed is life. Seed systems are complex and multilayered, involving diverse interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral actors in multiple fronts, from seed conservation to multiplication; improved breeding; regulatory sanitary and phytosanitary measures (for safety and quality assurance); and distribution and sale. Seed systems are also highly dynamic,constantly forming and reforming. The gender challenge then is to first clearly understand how these dynamics affect women, youth, men and other marginalized groups, and then to ensure that these shifting dynamics and end-results do not however widen the gaps, especially by gender. Thus, the Gender Dynamics in Seed Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa and Worldwide Lessons Workshop was convened on 2nd December 2019 in Nairobi, Kenya, to examine this challenge, and how to address it. […]”

Click on the following link to access the content: https://repository.cimmyt.org/bitstream/handle/10883/20702/61357.pdf?sequence=6

© CIMMYT