Blog by Adam Ahmed, Aidid Hassan, Ronnie Vernooy and Arnab Gupta
Strengthening farmers’ adaptive capacity
Under ISSD Africa ALP-1 on Resilient and Diverse Seed Systems, the Alliance of Bioversity International & CIAT and WUR are partnering with Sanaag University in Somaliland to pilot participatory crop improvement for the first time in this fragile region.
Sanaag is Somaliland’s largest region, situation in the country’s northeast. Poor infrastructure and rugged terrain mean smallholders and communities are isolated and disconnected from existing agricultural research and development initiatives. Conflict, instability and enforced migration have been a fact of life for decades, putting farming systems under continuous stress.
In Erigavo district, however, there is an abundance of natural resources and fertile soil, with 50% of the population directly engaged in agricultural production. Farming families cultivate different varieties of vegetables, cereals and fruits. Yet seed quality and availability are increasingly problematic, as is water supply.
Sanaag University has been working to address seed access and availability – often with international partners. The Sanaag team, working with the Alliance of Bioversity & CIAT and WUR as part of ISSD Africa, decided to explore how to bring new bean varieties to local farmers. Increasing crop variety diversity is an effective way to increase farmers’ adaptative capacity to deal with disruptions caused by weather, markets or conflict.
Sourcing across borders
The first step was to discuss preferred varieties and priority traits. Farmers detailed the need for drought tolerance, early maturing varieties and disease resistance. The team then reached out to the CIAT Genebank in Uganda, holding the largest collection of bean varieties on the continent, with their wish-list.
Discussions between the partners elaborated the necessary process and suitable varieties to import. In total, 9 varieties were evaluated: 5 from the CIAT Genebank (NAB-17, NABE-4, NERD-1, K4T 82-1, NAB-15), and 4 local varieties (Cado, Caso, Cawlo and Filsan). Farmers evaluated each variety across ten critical traits in their own fields under real conditions.
The process would see a lot of energy invested on import permits, shipment management, proper handling and additional biosecurity considerations. This process had never happened before between Uganda and Somaliland and due to the potential challenges of moving seed across borders, it was decided to keep the quantity of seed small.
PVS in a fragile context
Participatory variety selection (PVS) is not new but remains novel in some contexts, including Somaliland. PVS allows farmers to be researchers on their own plots, cultivating, learning about and reporting on the performance of samples of specific varieties. Commonly, PVS initiatives sees farmers come together at multiple moments to discuss the process, receive training from plant breeders and agronomists and compare results.
In fragile and conflict-affected contexts however, PVS is not a common activity at all, and comes with some risks. Yet the empowerment of farmers through PVS was motivation enough for the Sanaag team to trial the process.
And despite the potential challenges, a diverse grouping of some 20 female and male farmers opted to participate. Farmers were of different ages, from different communities and some played important ‘lead farmer’ roles in their communities. Consent letters were signed with participating farmers as well as local community seed banks, enabling their active participation in the initiative.
The approach had to be practical; as the quantity of seed for the trials was small, the plots used for farmer evaluation also functioned as seed multiplication sites, enabling seed to be available for the following season. This thinking is essential in a resource-constrained and fragile location where accessing seeds is not easy. Participating farmers received not just seed for the trials, but also tools to support the valid testing of the varieties, including hoes, shovels, forks, wheelbarrows and spades. The team also invested in installing drop irrigation at the mother trial site.
Dealing with conflict
Despite the solid preparations however, the trials were delayed due to an eruption of fighting. The clashes caused displacement and it was decided to delay the engagement of stakeholders. When the security situation calmed and the safety of participants could be assured, the trials begun immediately. The experience exemplified the challenges of collaboratively strengthening seed systems and the cooperation needed to ensure safety.
Key lessons learned
- Just as in more stable contexts, farmers in fragile regions are the best experts of what they need. Perhaps even more in these contexts, it is essential to provide farmers the varieties they can trust and which have traits they prioritise.
- Even where conflict and fragility are rife, good documentation is essential. The initiative saw the creation of a plant record/register which enabled crucial performance data to be stored.
- The case shows, for the first time, that it is possible to import germplasm into Somaliland’s fragile areas form neighbouring countries. The experience of managing the documentation and bureaucratic process was navigated successfully and serves as a template for repeated engagement.
- Doing this for the first time also enabled learning as to the vital next steps the region’s seed sector needs to take. For example, the urgent need for seed storage infrastructure and capacity building was highlighted in the process.
- Challenges can be overcome. Participating farmers encountered a number of challenges, ranging from high prevalence of pests and weeds, uneven germination, and of course security considerations. Yet the farmers universally were glad to participate and impressed with the varieties as detailed on their scorecards.
| 🗣️ VOICES FROM THE FIELD What did farmers say when they evaluated the varieties? Here’s what they wrote on their scorecards: “High yield potential, problems well under dry conditions” — Farmer evaluating NAB-17 variety “Best drought tolerance, high number of pods” — Feedback on NABE-4 “Good yield, attractive pods length, large seed size, tolerance to drought and pests” — On NAB-15 variety “Very low yield, small seed size with poor marketable, poor tolerance to drought and disease” — Honest assessment of underperforming local variety, “Filsan” |
In conclusion, the case shows that engaging in collaborative seed sector development activities in fragile regions is more complex than in stable contexts. Yet the work also shows that farmers and partner organisations remain highly motivated and committed to work collaboratively to build knowledge and improve the access and use of quality seed. The case reinforces the need for partners to ‘think outside of the box’, to not be constrained by fragility but rather manage adaptively, and to support innovative pathways to strengthen local seed systems.
For more information or to explore collaboration opportunities, please contact:
Aidid Hassan Abdi, Dean of Faculty of Agriculture and Animal Science, Sanaag University, Haji Aadan Erigavo, Somaliland, caydiid744@gmail.com