| Title: |
Increasing sorghum yields for smallholder farmers in Mali: the evolution towards a context-driven, on-farm, gender-responsive sorghum breeding program |
| Authors: |
Isaacs, Krista; Weltzien, Eva; Some, Hermann; Diallo, Abdoulaye; Diallo, Bocar; Sidibé, Mamourou; vom Brocke, Kirsten; Samake, Bakary; Nebié, Baloua; Rattunde, Fred, W. |
| Contributors: |
Michigan State University East Lansing; Michigan State University System; University of Wisconsin-Madison; Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research CGIAR (CGIAR); Institut d'Economie Rurale (IER); International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics Mali (ICRISAT); International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics Inde (ICRISAT); Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research CGIAR (CGIAR)-Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research CGIAR (CGIAR); Amélioration génétique et adaptation des plantes méditerranéennes et tropicales (UMR AGAP); Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Institut Agro Montpellier; Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Université de Montpellier (UM); Département Systèmes Biologiques (Cirad-BIOS); Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad); Centre d’Appui à la Biodiversité et aux Initiatives Agrosylvopastorales (CABIA); International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT); The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This case study was documented under the Non-CGIAR Center Program Participant Agreement N° 5701-CGIA-07. This research and outreach detailed was supported by Union Locale de Producteurs de Cereal de Dioila (ULPC), Association des Organisations Professionnelles Paysannes (AOPP), AMEDD, Helen Keller International, Collaborative Crops Research Program (CCRP) of The McKnight Foundation (An Be Jigi and Seed Systems projects) and the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ, Germany), and other CGIAR system donors, specifically for the CGIAR research program on Dryland Cereals.The authors are grateful to the CGIAR GENDER Impact Platform and the International Potato Center (CIP) all supported by the CGIAR Trust Fund Contributors https://www.cgiar.org/funders; and the Gender Researchers Equipped for Agricultural Transformation GREAT partners who supported the documentation of this experience. |
| Source: |
ISSN: 2571-581X ; Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems ; https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-04606304 ; Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 2024, 8, pp.1334385. ⟨10.3389/fsufs.2024.1334385⟩ ; https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2024.1334385/full. |
| Publisher Information: |
CCSD; Frontiers Media |
| Publication Year: |
2024 |
| Collection: |
Université de Montpellier: HAL |
| Subject Terms: |
gender; participatory plant breeding; sorghum; gender-responsive; seed; [SDV.SA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Agricultural sciences; [SDV.BV.AP]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Vegetal Biology/Plant breeding; [SDV.SA.AEP]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Agricultural sciences/Agriculture; economy and politics; [SDV.SA.AGRO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Agricultural sciences/Agronomy; [SHS]Humanities and Social Sciences; [SHS.GENRE]Humanities and Social Sciences/Gender studies |
| Description: |
International audience ; This case study explores a decades long evolution towards a gender-responsive sorghum breeding program in Mali. With known disparities in men and women's access to the resources that improve agricultural productivity and evidence that gender roles and responsibilities shape knowledge and preferences about varieties, there is need for methods that support gender-responsive processes in plant breeding programs. Gender-sensitive and gender-responsive approaches in plant breeding may increase varietal options available to diverse end-users, increase adoption, and limit negative impacts on vulnerable populations. We assess a participatory plant breeding program in Mali to identify determinants of gender-responsive breeding programs. The analysis uses a case study methodology that draws upon project reports, theses, articles, and experiential knowledge to understand how the sorghum breeding program transitioned over time. This case study details (a) more than a decade of sorghum breeding activities and research that led to (b) the inclusion of women in participatory plant breeding, culinary tests, and large-scale participatory selection in on-farm trials, reaching hundreds of women each year and (c) iterative co-learning processes to develop preferred sorghum varieties and increase sorghum yields on men and women's fields. Analyses indicated that collaborations among many institutions on-farm with community actors, research across various disciplines such as agronomy and social sciences, context-specific breeding, and long-term funding were essential to increasing gender sensitivity and responsive in the breeding efforts. |
| Document Type: |
article in journal/newspaper |
| Language: |
English |
| Relation: |
WOS: 001234094100001 |
| DOI: |
10.3389/fsufs.2024.1334385 |
| Availability: |
https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-04606304; https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-04606304v1/document; https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-04606304v1/file/fsufs-08-1334385.pdf; https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2024.1334385 |
| Rights: |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/ ; info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.E859352D |
| Database: |
BASE |