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Crowdsourcing Crop Improvement in Sub‐Saharan Africa: A Proposal for a Scalable and Inclusive Approach to Food Security

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  • Jacob van Etten

Abstract

In sub‐Saharan Africa, modern varieties released by the formal seed sector cover only a small part of the total crop acreage. Participatory approaches to crop improvement and seed production have been developed to overcome some of the barriers to modern variety development and seed distribution, but have not been widely scaled up. Crowdsourcing, such as seen in online citizen science projects, might inspire new approaches to upscale farmer‐participatory seed innovation, specifically aiming at household food production. Using mobile technology, African farmers may be engaged in massively evaluating and distributing seeds. It is argued that a crowdsourcing approach to seed innovation would not only be scalable, but also inclusive through the strengthening of crop diversity as an open informational resource.

Suggested Citation

  • Jacob van Etten, 2011. "Crowdsourcing Crop Improvement in Sub‐Saharan Africa: A Proposal for a Scalable and Inclusive Approach to Food Security," IDS Bulletin, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 42(4), pages 102-110, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:idsxxx:v:42:y:2011:i:4:p:102-110
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/idsb.2011.42.issue-4
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    Cited by:

    1. Hammond, James & Fraval, Simon & van Etten, Jacob & Suchini, Jose Gabriel & Mercado, Leida & Pagella, Tim & Frelat, Romain & Lannerstad, Mats & Douxchamps, Sabine & Teufel, Nils & Valbuena, Diego & va, 2017. "The Rural Household Multi-Indicator Survey (RHoMIS) for rapid characterisation of households to inform climate smart agriculture interventions: Description and applications in East Africa and Central ," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 225-233.
    2. Ola Tveitereid Westengen & Kristine Skarbø & Teshome Hunduma Mulesa & Trygve Berg, 2018. "Access to genes: linkages between genebanks and farmers’ seed systems," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 10(1), pages 9-25, February.
    3. Shawn McGuire & Louise Sperling, 2016. "Seed systems smallholder farmers use," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 8(1), pages 179-195, February.
    4. Ebitu, Larmbert & Avery, Helen & Mourad, Khaldoon A. & Enyetu, Joshua, 2021. "Citizen science for sustainable agriculture – A systematic literature review," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    5. Kanter, David R. & Musumba, Mark & Wood, Sylvia L.R. & Palm, Cheryl & Antle, John & Balvanera, Patricia & Dale, Virginia H. & Havlik, Petr & Kline, Keith L. & Scholes, R.J. & Thornton, Philip & Titton, 2018. "Evaluating agricultural trade-offs in the age of sustainable development," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 73-88.
    6. Shawn McGuire & Louise Sperling, 2016. "Seed systems smallholder farmers use," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 8(1), pages 179-195, February.

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