Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-4rdpn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T08:28:28.690Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Network analysis of barley seed flows in Tigray, Ethiopia: supporting the design of strategies that contribute to on-farm management of plant genetic resources

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 September 2011

Fetien Abay ,
Walter de Boef  and
Åsmund Bjørnstad
Fetien Abay*
Affiliation:
Department of Crop and Horticultural Sciences, Mekelle University, PO Box 231, Mekelle, Tigray, Ethiopia
Walter de Boef
Affiliation:
Post Graduate Programme on Plant Genetic Resources, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Rodovia Admar Gonzaga 1346, Itacorobi, Florianopolis, SC, Brazil
Åsmund Bjørnstad
Affiliation:
Department of Plant and Environment, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, PO Box 5003, Ås1432, Norway
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: fetien.abay@yahoo.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

For maintaining food security and livelihood, farmers in marginal areas of production environments make use of high levels of crop genetic diversity. The exchange of seed and varieties among villagers, and also the relative isolation of local varieties in their production environments, contributes to the continued existence of locally adapted genotypes. In Tigray, one of the major barley-growing regions of Ethiopia, local varieties and local seed systems are dominant. The annual barley seed requirement is met with seed produced, saved and exchanged by farmers. In order to understand the flows of seed and varieties within and between villages, a study was conducted using a survey to gather information from 130 respondents in seven villages. Seed network analysis was used as an analytical tool to assess flows of seed and varieties and to identify farmers who play different roles in the seed system. Within the major seed exchange network, nodal or connector farmers linked seed subnetworks. The flow within villages was much more dominant than beyond. Rare varieties appeared to be sourced from farms that maintain a broad variety portfolio. Varieties seemed to disseminate informally across farms, in their target environments, following participatory varietal selection. The methodology of social seed network analysis proved to be a powerful tool for monitoring seed and variety flows. Furthermore, it identified farmers as critical partners in the conservation and on-farm management of plant genetic resources, recognized the role of plant breeders in participatory varietal selection and that of seed experts, engaged in strengthening local seed supply and in disseminating quality seed of superior varieties.

Keywords

informal seed systemson-farm managementparticipatory varietal selectionplant genetic resourcessocial seed network analysis
Type
Research Article
Information
Plant Genetic Resources , Volume 9 , Issue 4 , December 2011 , pp. 495 - 505
Copyright
Copyright © NIAB 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abay, F and Bjørnstad, A (2009) Specific adaptation of barley varieties in different locations in Ethiopia. Euphytica 167: 181–195.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Abay, F and Fitiwy, I (2010) Specific pathways to LSB development in semi-arid agriculture in Tigray. LSB Newsletter 4: 8.Google Scholar
Abay, F, Waters-Bayer, A, Bjørnstad, A, et al. , (2008) Farmers' seed management and innovation in varietal selection: implications for barley breeding in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia. Ambio 37: 312–320.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Almekinders, CJM and Louwaars, NP (1999) Farmers' Seed Production. New Approaches and Practices. London: Intermediate Technology Publications.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Almekinders, CJM, Louwaars, NP and De Bruijn, GH (1994) Local seed systems and their importance for an improved seed supply in developing countries. Euphytica 78: 207–216.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Almekinders, CJM, Thiele, G and Daniel, DL (2006) Can cultivars from participatory plant breeding improve seed provision to small-scale farmers? Euphytica 153: 363–372.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ashby, JA (2009) The impact of participatory plant breeding. In: Ceccarelli, S, Guimarães, EP and Weltzien, E (eds) Plant Breeding and Farmer Participation. Rome: FAO, pp. 649–671.Google Scholar
Atlin, G, Paris, T and Courtois, B (2002) Sources of variation in participatory varietal selection trials with rainfed rice: implications for design of mother–baby trial networks. In: Bellon, MR and Reeves, J (eds) Quantitative Analysis of Data from Participatory Methods in Plant Breeding. Mexico: CIMMYT, pp. 36–43.Google Scholar
Badstue, LB, Bellon, MR, Berthaud, J, Juárez, X, Manuel Rosas, I, Solano, AM and Ramírez, A (2006) Examining the role of collective action in an informal seed system: a case study from the Central Valleys of Oaxaca, Mexico. Human Ecology 34: 249–273.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bänziger, M and De Meyer, J (2002) Collaborative maize variety development for stress-prone environments in southern Africa. In: Cleveland, DA and Soleri, D (eds) Farmers, Scientists and Plant Breeding: Integrating Knowledge and Practice. Wallingford: CABI, pp. 269–296.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bellon, M (2004) Conceptualizing interventions to support on-farm genetic resource conservation. World Development 32: 159–172.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bellon, MR, Berthaud, J, Smale, M, Aguirre, JA, Taba, A, Aragón, F, Díaz, JJ and Castro, H (1997) Participatory landrace selection for on-farm conservation: an example from the Central Valleys of Oaxaca, Mexico. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 50: 401–416.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bishaw, Z and Turner, M (2008) Linking participatory plant breeding to the seed supply system. Euphytica 163: 31–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bishaw, Z, Sahlu, Y and Simane, B (2008) The status of the Ethiopian seed industry and the role of the Ethiopian Seed Enterprise. In: Thijssen, MH, Bishaw, Z, Beshir, A and De Boef, WS (eds) Farmers' Seeds and Varieties: Supporting Informal Seed Supply in Ethiopia. Wageningen: Wageningen International, pp. 23–33.Google Scholar
Borgatti, SP (2005) NetDraw Network Visualization. Harvard, MA: Analytic Technologies.Google Scholar
David, S and Sperling, L (1999) Improving technology delivery mechanisms: lessons from bean seed systems research in eastern and central Africa. Agriculture and Human Values 16: 381–388.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Boef, WS and Bishaw, Z (2008) A system perspective for linking farmers and professionals supporting farmers' practices in seed supply. In: Thijssen, MH, Bishaw, Z, Beshir, A and De Boef, WS (eds) Farmers' Seeds and Varieties: Supporting Informal Seed Supply in Ethiopia. Wageningen: Wageningen International, pp. 47–53.Google Scholar
De Boef, WS and Thijssen, MH (2007) Participatory Tools Working with Crops, Varieties and Seeds. A Guide for Professionals Applying Participatory Approaches in Agrobiodiversity Management, Crop Improvement and Seed Sector Development. Wageningen: Wageningen International.Google Scholar
De Boef, WS, Dempewolf, H, Byakweli, JM and Engels, JMM (2010) Integrating genetic resource conservation and sustainable development into strategies to increase the robustness of seed systems. Journal of Sustainable Agriculture 34: 1–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
FAO (1996) Report on the State of the World's Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture Prepared for the International Technical Conference on Plant Genetic Resources Leipzig, Germany, 17–23 June, 1996. Rome: FAO.Google Scholar
FAO (2010) The Second Report on the State of the World's Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: FAO.Google Scholar
Hardon, JJ and De Boef, WS (1993) Linking farmers and plant breeders in local crop development. In: De Boef, WS, Amanor, K, Wellard, K and Bebbington, A (eds) Cultivating Knowledge. Genetic Diversity, Farmer Experimentation and Crop Research. London: Intermediate Technology Publications, pp. 64–71.Google Scholar
Hodgkin, T, Rana, R, Tuxill, J, Balma, D, Subedi, A, Mar, I, Karamura, D, Valdivia, R, Collado, L, Latournerie, L, Sadiki, M, Sawadogo, M, Brown, AHD and Jarvis, DI (2007) Seed systems and crop genetic diversity in agro-ecosystems. In: Jarvis, DI, Padoch, C and Cooper, HD (eds) Managing Biodiversity in Agricultural Ecosystems. New York, NY: Columbia University Press, pp. 77–116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kassa, N, Gessesse, BT and Muruts, G (2010) LSB project in Tigray. LSB Newsletter 4: 9–10.Google Scholar
Louette, D, Charrier, A and Berthaud, J (1997) In situ conservation of maize in Mexico: genetic diversity and maize seed management in a traditional community. Economic Botany 51: 20–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McQuire, SJ (2007) Vulnerability in farmer seed systems: farmer practices for coping with seed insecurity for sorghum in Eastern Ethiopia. Economic Botany 61: 221–222.Google Scholar
Poudel, D, Sthapit, B and Shrestha, P (2009) Application of social network analysis to understand on farm agro biodiversity conservation: case study from Nepal. Paper Presented at 6th Conference on Applications of Social Network Analysis 2009, University of Zurich, 27–28 August 2009. Zurich: University of Zurich.Google Scholar
Smale, M and Bellon, MR (1999) A conceptual framework for valuing on-farm genetic resources. In: Wood, D and Lenné, JM (eds) Agrobiodiversity: Characterization, Utilization and Management. Wallingford: CABI Publishing, pp. 387–408.Google Scholar
Snapp, S (1999) Mother and baby trials: a novel trial design being tried out in Malawi. TARGET – The Newsletter of the Soil Fertility Research Network for Maize-Based Cropping Systems in Malawi and Zimbabwe January 1999 issue. Harare: CIMMYT.Google Scholar
Sthapit, BR, Shrestha, P, Subedi, A, Shrestha, P, Upadhyay, M and Eyzaguirre, P (2008) Mobilizing and empowering communities in biodiversity management. In: Thijssen, MH, Bishaw, Z, Beshir, A and De Boef, WS (eds) Farmers' Seeds and Varieties: Supporting Informal Seed Supply in Ethiopia. Wageningen: Wageningen International, pp. 160–165.Google Scholar
Subedi, A, Chaudhary, P, Baniya, B, Rana, R, Tiwari, R, Rijal, D, Sthapit, B and Jarvis, D (2003) Who maintains crop genetic diversity and how: implication for on farm conservation and utilization? Culture and Agriculture 25: 14–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tripp, R (2001) Seed Provision and Agricultural Development: The Institutions of Rural Change. London, Portsmouth: James Currey.Google Scholar
Wasserman, S and Faust, K (1994) Social Network Analysis: Method and Application. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Witcombe, JR, Joshi, A and Joshi, KD (1996) Farmer participatory crop improvement 1. Varietal selection and breeding methods and their impact on biodiversity. Experimental Agriculture 32: 445–460.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Abay Supplementary Table 1

Table S1 Demand for specific barley varieties as seed sources, as expressed by farmer households in social seed network analysis, in three barley growing zones in Tigray, Ethiopia, 2008 (n = 130)

Download Abay Supplementary Table 1(File)
File 41.5 KB
Supplementary material: File

Abay Supplementary Table 2

Table S2 Supply of specific barley varieties, as seed sources, according to farmer households in social seed network analysis in three barley growing zones in Tigray, Ethiopia, 2008 (n=130)

Download Abay Supplementary Table 2(File)
File 35.3 KB