Emerging seed markets, substantive seed economies and integrated seed systems in West Africa: A mixed methods analysis
Open Access
- Author:
- Jones, Kristal
- Graduate Program:
- Rural Sociology
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- December 04, 2013
- Committee Members:
- Leland Luther Glenna, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Carolyn Elizabeth Sachs, Committee Member
Anouk Patel, Committee Member
Karl Stephen Zimmerer, Committee Member
Jill Leslie Findeis, Special Member
Melinda Smale, Special Member - Keywords:
- agriculture
international development
West Africa
seeds
economies - Abstract:
- Current approaches to the second Green Revolution in sub-Saharan Africa focus on incorporating the needs of smallholder farmers and environmental concerns into a market-based approach to technology development and diffusion. This dissertation analyzes the experiences of farmers in the West African countries of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger with the recent creation of input markets for improved variety seeds, as a specific example of the interactions between market-oriented agricultural development activities and traditional agricultural production systems. Sahelian West Africa presents a particularly timely example of the initial changes and impacts associated with the establishment of markets for agricultural inputs not previously considered something to be sold. Sorghum and pearl millet are native grain crops integral to the cropping systems of the Sahel, and are crop species that have not been emphasized by private agricultural research. Public national and international agricultural research centers in the region have ongoing research projects to identify, breed and select improved varieties of sorghum and pearl millet, activities into which farmers have been incorporated through participatory plant breeding approaches. With an influx of interest and resources in promoting technology diffusion through market-oriented development approaches, there is now a push to create the formal systems and structures necessary to diffuse these seeds through input markets. These efforts have included establishing seed certification laws to ensure quality at the national level, support for farmer organizations and seed producer unions at the regional level, and the establishment of points of sale through agro-dealers and other local input sellers. The dissertation uses a theoretical framework of substantive economies and economic habitus, which understands economic actions and institutions as conditioned by their specific social motivations and natural context, to characterize the distinct seed systems present in Sahelian West Africa. Mixed methods, including thematic analysis of qualitative data, growth curve modeling of a panel data set and visual representation of seed diffusion, are used to analyze seed access activities at different scales, from individual actions to community and regional systems. Themes emerging from qualitative data analysis suggest that there are exchange-based and provisioning-based seed systems present in the region, and that these systems are based on distinct organizing principles but are connected by individual seed access actions. Statistical analysis shows that characteristics of the social and natural context condition individuals’ seed access decision making over time, with significant differences in seed access decisions between men and women, as well as among individuals with different spatial relationships to social infrastructure like weekly markets. Visual data, both digital maps and those drawn by research participants, depict the scale and points of connection of seed systems in the region. By providing mixed methods analysis of which individuals are engaged with which seed systems, and how connections among those systems support seed diffusion, this dissertation project contributes to sociological literature on substantive economies and international agricultural development, and provides feedback for future program development. In addition, the application of critical social science theory to impact assessment data highlights the limitations of market-oriented agricultural development, with the goal of mitigating the potential exclusionary effects of the second Green Revolution.