eprintid: 11091
rev_number: 17
eprint_status: archive
userid: 1305
dir: disk0/00/01/10/91
datestamp: 2019-03-12 10:35:49
lastmod: 2019-09-09 05:56:33
status_changed: 2019-03-12 10:35:49
type: article
metadata_visibility: show
creators_name: Almekinders, C J M
creators_name: Beumer, K
creators_name: Hauser, M
creators_name: Misiko, M
creators_name: Gatto, M
creators_name: Nkurumwa, A O
creators_name: Erenstein, O
icrisatcreators_name: Hauser, M
affiliation: Centro Internacional de Maı´z y Trigo (CIMMYT) (Carretera)
affiliation: Universiteit Utrecht Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Vening Meineszgebouw A (Utrecht)
affiliation: ICRISAT (Nairobi)
affiliation: Centro Internacional de Maiz y Trigo (CIMMYT) (Nairobi)
affiliation: International Potato Center, Pham van Dong, Agricultural Genetics Institute, Tu Liem (Hanoi)
affiliation: Egerton University (Egerton)
affiliation: State of Mexico (Texcoco)
country: Mexico
country: Netherlands
country: Kenya
country: Vietnam
title: Understanding the relations between farmers’ seed demand and research methods: The challenge to do better
ispublished: pub
subjects: A1
subjects: sed1
divisions: CRPS4
crps: CG1
crps: crp1.7
crps: crp1.9
full_text_status: public
keywords: Agricultural technology, social life of methods, context, attractiveness
note: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This study was possible with the support from the Netherlands – CGIAR research programme ‘Seed Systems Development - Enabling and Scaling Genetic Improvement and Propagation Materials’ and the CGIAR Research Programs (CRP) on Maize agri-food systems (CRP MAIZE), Roots, Tubers and Bananas (CRP-RTB) and Grain legumes and dryland cereals (CRP-GLDC).
abstract: Although the development of improved seeds has witnessed significant advances over the last decades, the adoption of improved seeds and varieties by smallholder farmers is variable. This suggests that research methods for studying farmers’ seed demand are not yielding information that reflects the real-life decisions and behaviours of farmers in the choice and acquisition of their seeds. We suggest that research methods for analysing farmers’ seed demand shape seed availability. This is supported by the theory of social life of methods. We argue that access to and attractiveness of seed are highly context-specific for a farmer, for example, influenced by his/her social position, the role of the crop or variety in the farming system, the linkage to the market, agro-ecological conditions, and that context is highly variable. We also argue that many of our research methods are weak on capturing real-life context and provide fragmented snapshot-nature understanding and biases of farmers preferences and needs for seeds. We call for more integrated understanding of seed systems as a whole and a more holistic methodological research approach that better captures the variable real-life context of farmers while providing the metrics that are needed by seed actors and policymakers to enable informed decisions.
date: 2019
date_type: published
publication: Outlook on Agriculture (TSI)
volume: 48
number: 1
publisher: Sage
pagerange: 16-21
id_number: 10.1177/0030727019827028
refereed: TRUE
issn: 0030-7270
official_url: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0030727019827028
related_url_url: https://scholar.google.co.in/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=Understanding+the+relations+between+farmers%E2%80%99+seed+demand+and+research+methods%3A+The+challenge+to+do+better&btnG=
related_url_type: pub
citation:   Almekinders, C J M and Beumer, K and Hauser, M and Misiko, M and Gatto, M and Nkurumwa, A O and Erenstein, O  (2019) Understanding the relations between farmers’ seed demand and research methods: The challenge to do better.  Outlook on Agriculture (TSI), 48 (1).  pp. 16-21.  ISSN 0030-7270     
document_url: http://oar.icrisat.org/11091/1/0030727019827028.pdf