December 21, 2023
By Carol Waweru, Diana Machogu, Jean Eyase, Berber Kramer, and Benjamin Kivuva
THE CHALLENGE
Many nations in Africa South of the Sahara rely on agriculture for their livelihoods and their food security is threatened by climate change. Kenya, which has been experiencing an increased frequency of drought events - with the most recent drought (2020-2023) being the worst drought in four decades - is no exception. Given this increased frequency of extreme weather events, it is important that farmers use climate adaptative practices in their farming, such as the use of drought tolerant seeds. Although great strides have been made in breeding earlier maturing drought-tolerant varieties, a majority of farmers continue to grow older varieties. For instance, one of the common maize varieties grown in Kenya was released more than 30 years ago and the average varietal age continues to increase over time (Rutsaert & Donovan, 2020; De Groote & Omondi, 2023).
Most studies aiming to explain such low varietal turnover focus on a potential misalignment between the production attributes of a variety and a farmer’s preferred production traits, as well as barriers in accessing these varieties, for instance high costs or unavailability in the market. But farmers are often both producers and consumers, and perhaps they just want to grow what they prefer to eat (Thiele et al., 2021). When the decision what to grow is inseparable from the decision what to consume, possibly we can accelerate varietal turnover by increasing farmers’ interest in consuming the new variety, which indirectly might increase their interest in producing that variety. ACRE Africa, KALRO, IFPRI and seed companies teamed up to test this hypothesis.
THE INNOVATION
We increased farmers’ awareness of new varieties and experience with consumption traits by means of a cooking demonstration with commonly used versus new varieties, followed by blind tasting to see whether farmers could guess which dish was made with the new variety; and finally, households received a “consumer trial pack”, including the processed product of that new variety (for instance flour in the case of maize). By inviting both male and female household members to participate, we also aimed to create a dialogue between the person who decides what to plant (often a male) and the person who decides what to cook (often a female), and thereby give women a voice in the decision to adopt a new variety.
In previous seasons, the team had introduced new varieties in the study area by providing seed trial packs of new maize, sorghum, bean, green gram, and cowpea varieties, in such a way that we can test whether these trial packs influence adoption decisions in subsequent seasons. To test whether consumer awareness can influence production decisions as well, the team decided to focus on maize and beans, since from these crops, we could make a dish that is very common across the country: ugali combined with a beans stew. The consumer-targeted intervention allowed participating households to experience new maize and bean varieties’ taste, colour, cooking time, and grain size.
THE IMPLEMENTATION
The intervention was implemented in September 2023. First, we processed maize grain of selected varieties into flour suitable for cooking ugali, and we packaged beans of targeted varieties. These were then used for a cooking demonstration, blind tasting, and a consumer trial pack of maize flour and beans.
Figure 1: Cooking demonstration and blind tasting led by Silas, a champion farmer from Embu
The intervention was implemented by champion farmers, influential farmers who deliver ACRE Africa’s products and services in targeted communities. Out of 160 champions working in the study areas, we randomly selected 80 to deliver the intervention. They invited farming households, in groups of five households at a time, to their home for a cooking demonstration. To ensure fair comparisons between the common and new varieties, champions measured equal quantities of both varieties (for flour and beans) and labelled them A and B, without farmers knowing which variety had received which label. They cooked the varieties simultaneously, using equal water quantities so that farmers could observe which variety used less flour to prepare ugali. Participants took note of the differences in cooking time and stated their preferences for common versus new varieties. After that, farmers tested the dishes whilst blindfolded, and indicated whether they preferred variety A or B. Finally, champions revealed the names of the coded varieties, discussed their traits, and advised farmers on where to source them. Each household went home with a consumer trial pack of 2 kilograms of maize flour from a relatively new variety, and 1 kilogram of a new bean variety, so that they could prepare a meal with the new varieties at home.
CHALLENGES
This was a complicated experiment to implement because we had to mill different varieties, package them into assorted sizes, and distribute them to different regions without contamination. First, it was difficult sourcing the targeted varieties, as farmers were hoarding grains waiting for market prices to increase, and on top of that, we needed true-to-type varieties, not contaminated by other varieties. Fortunately, partnering seed companies linked us to farmers who had cultivated true-to-type varieties of interest, and we leveraged on the trust that the farmers had in these seed companies to source for the grain in time. Second, for quality control, we milled and packaged the grain at a central location, far away from the areas where the varieties were grown. Finding reliable transportation services that could be trusted with tons of delicate grains was a major challenge, and once in the central location, we needed storage facilities, since not all grain from one variety arrived at the same time but needed to be milled and packaged in one go.
We then had to identify a budget friendly large-scale miller with the capacity to store, mill, and package the flour within the expected time. Since this was an experiment, we used labelling codes unknown by farmers, working with a single miller to prevent disparities in packaging and labeling (for this, we are grateful for the exceptional service of Sopa flour millers and grain handlers). Once the milling and packaging was complete, the maize flour and beans were transported to central locations in each county where the study was implemented, from where they were dispatched to farmers.
It would have been easier to scale this type of intervention for a seed systems actor such as a seed company, with only one variety involved, and already having farmers contracted to plant the true-to-type improved variety, whilst milling and packaging the grain at a central location closer to the production area.
LESSONS LEARNED
Despite these challenges, the effort was worth it. Research on varietal turnover typically focuses on production-related barriers to adoption, such as efficiency and input. During the cooking demonstrations and blind tastings, farmers did confirm our hypothesis: they keep using older varieties because they grow the food they consume, and the local varieties are more familiar to their palate.
Some of this we were able to shift. Women preferred the improved maize varieties because of the shorter cooking time and because they use less flour to prepare a similar amount. Men preferred the taste of local maize varieties, but the cooking demonstrations sparked dialogues between men and women on the need to switch to the improved varieties. Both women and men indicated after the blind tasting that they preferred the improved bean varieties, and particularly women were more appreciative of the shorter cooking time for the new bean varieties.
More work needs to be done, though. The controversial statement, “women belong in the kitchen” was evident, as women were the ones cooking the food to be tasted. Even in instances where the champion farmer was male, their wives took up the cooking roles. Changing these strong gender roles will require more deliberate gender messaging.
REFERENCES
De Groote H., Omondi, L.B. (2023). Varietal turn-over and their effect on yield and food security - Evidence from 20 years of household surveys in Kenya. Global Food Security, 36:100676.
Rutsaert, P., & Donovan, J. (2020). Sticking with the old seed: Input value chains and the challenges to deliver genetic gains to smallholder maize farmers. Outlook on Agriculture, 49(1), 39-49.
Thiele, G., Dufour, D., Vernier, P., Mwanga, R. O. M., Parker, M. L., Schulte Geldermann, E., Teeken, B., Wossen, T., Gotor, E., Kikulwe, E., Tufan, H., Sinelle, S., Kouakou, A. M., Friedmann, M., Polar, V., & Hershey, C. (2021). A review of varietal change in roots, tubers and bananas: consumer preferences and other drivers of adoption and implications for breeding. International Journal of Food Science and Technology, 56(3).
About the Authors
Carol Waweru is a Research Associate in the Markets, Trade, and Institutions Division of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
Diana Machogu is a Business Development officer at Agriculture and Climate Risk Enterprise Ltd. (ACRE).
Jean Eyase is a Communications and Project Associate at Agriculture and Climate Risk Enterprise Ltd. (ACRE)
Berber Kramer is a Senior Research Fellow in the Markets, Trade, and Institutions Division of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
Benjamin Kivuva is a senior research scientist and plant breeder at Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO)
This work is part of the CGIAR Research Initiative on Market Intelligence. We would like to thank all funders, including those who support our research through their contributions to the CGIAR Trust Fund: https://www.cgiar.org/funders/
