Transforming a traditional commons-based seed system through collaborative networks of farmer seed-cooperatives and public breeding programs: the case of sorghum in Mali

Rattunde, F and Weltzien, E and Sidibé, M and Diallo, A and Diallo, B and vom Brocke, K and Nebié, B and Touré, A and Traoré, Y and Sidibé, A and Diallo, C and Diakité, S and Bretaudeau, A and Christinck, A (2020) Transforming a traditional commons-based seed system through collaborative networks of farmer seed-cooperatives and public breeding programs: the case of sorghum in Mali. Agriculture and Human Values (TSI). ISSN 0889-048X

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Abstract

Malian farmers’ traditional system for managing seed of sorghum, an indigenous crop of vital importance for food security and survival, can be conceptualized as a commons. Although this system maintains a wide range of varieties and helps ensure access to seed, its ability to create and widely disseminate new varieties to meet evolving opportunities and challenges is limited. A network of farmer groups, public breeding programs, and development organizations collaborating in decentralized creation and dissemination of sorghum varieties in Mali is examined regarding (1) how the network developed and what activities it conducts; (2) the resulting varietal diversity, varietal performance and organizational models; and (3) the elements of the traditional seed system that were maintained, strengthened or transformed. A single-case study approach was used that relies on published literature, official catalogues of released varieties and a database of farmer seed-cooperative requests for foundation seed. The functioning of the network and its varietal-, seed-, and organizational- outcomes are documented and the elements of the traditional sorghum seed system that are maintained or strengthened are analyzed. The evolution of the network’s reliance on commoning as a social process and its strengthening of core Seed Commons features are discussed with a view to the network’s contributions to targeted development outcomes and potential replicability. The case demonstrates how creating a framework for collaboration, enabling actors and organizations to take on collective responsibility while maintaining distributed decision-making at local level, opens opportunities for transforming farming- and food-systems towards sustainability and resilience.

Item Type:	Article
Divisions:	Research Program : West & Central Africa
CRP:	CGIAR Research Program on Grain Legumes and Dryland Cereals (GLDC)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Commons, Commoning, Seed systems, Plant breeding, Farmer cooperatives, Mali
Subjects:	Others > Plant Breeding Mandate crops > Sorghum Others > Legume Crops Others > Mali Others > Seed Systems
Depositing User:	Mr Arun S
Date Deposited:	15 Nov 2020 04:40
Last Modified:	19 Feb 2021 09:38
URI:	http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/11656
Official URL:	https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-020-10170-1
Projects:	UNSPECIFIED
Funders:	UNSPECIFIED
Acknowledgement:	The authors appreciate the contributions of Willmar Leiser and Stephan von Borstel for preparing and editing the map of sorghum network partners and the IER and ICRISAT sorghum breeding programs for providing the coordinates. Helpful comments and suggestions made by Stefanie Sievers-Glotzbach and Julia Tschersich at Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg on earlier versions of this paper are gratefully acknowledged.
Links:	Google Scholar

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