A gendered assessment of crop traits to improve breeding product design and uptake: the case of potato in Kenya

The study assesses the gender implications of a target product profile for table potato in Kenya. Breeding programs mostly emphasize farmers’ trait requirements and rarely pay attention to other value chain actors’ preferences. This partially contributes to the low uptake of improved varieties. Ther...

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Main Authors: Mutiso, J.M., Mayanja, S., Nyaga, J., Sinelle, S., Renou, C., Onyango, C., Hareau, G., Polar, Vivian, Ashby, Jacqueline A., Okello, J.J.
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Frontiers Media 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/151522
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author Mutiso, J.M.
Mayanja, S.
Nyaga, J.
Sinelle, S.
Renou, C.
Onyango, C.
Hareau, G.
Polar, Vivian
Ashby, Jacqueline A.
Okello, J.J.
author_browse Ashby, Jacqueline A.
Hareau, G.
Mayanja, S.
Mutiso, J.M.
Nyaga, J.
Okello, J.J.
Onyango, C.
Polar, Vivian
Renou, C.
Sinelle, S.
author_facet Mutiso, J.M.
Mayanja, S.
Nyaga, J.
Sinelle, S.
Renou, C.
Onyango, C.
Hareau, G.
Polar, Vivian
Ashby, Jacqueline A.
Okello, J.J.
author_sort Mutiso, J.M.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description The study assesses the gender implications of a target product profile for table potato in Kenya. Breeding programs mostly emphasize farmers’ trait requirements and rarely pay attention to other value chain actors’ preferences. This partially contributes to the low uptake of improved varieties. Therefore, efforts are required to assess the gender implications of crop product profile proposals during development, testing, and dissemination. In this paper, we assess the gender implications of traits targeted by a potato breeding program in Kenya using the G+ tools. The study applies the G+ product profile tool to examine the instances the selected traits may exacerbate gender disparity along four domains: unpaid labor, access to employment opportunities, requiring extra inputs and control over benefits. We use mixed methods including a review by social scientists, key informant interviews and a multistakeholder workshop to gather insights from female and male farmers, breeders, and other stakeholders. Findings show that pest, disease resistance, and shelf-life traits benefit women and men in the target customer segments. On the other hand, earliness, dry matter, and yield could increase drudgery for women. The traits increase demand for women’s unpaid labor during harvesting, sorting and food preparation time while also displacing women from profitable nodes. We recommend that gender-responsive strategies accompany the release of the target variety to mitigate inequities and enhance adoption.
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language Inglés
publishDate 2024
publishDateRange 2024
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spelling CGSpace1515222025-12-08T10:29:22Z A gendered assessment of crop traits to improve breeding product design and uptake: the case of potato in Kenya Mutiso, J.M. Mayanja, S. Nyaga, J. Sinelle, S. Renou, C. Onyango, C. Hareau, G. Polar, Vivian Ashby, Jacqueline A. Okello, J.J. gender-responsive approaches breeding potatoes gender value chains labour The study assesses the gender implications of a target product profile for table potato in Kenya. Breeding programs mostly emphasize farmers’ trait requirements and rarely pay attention to other value chain actors’ preferences. This partially contributes to the low uptake of improved varieties. Therefore, efforts are required to assess the gender implications of crop product profile proposals during development, testing, and dissemination. In this paper, we assess the gender implications of traits targeted by a potato breeding program in Kenya using the G+ tools. The study applies the G+ product profile tool to examine the instances the selected traits may exacerbate gender disparity along four domains: unpaid labor, access to employment opportunities, requiring extra inputs and control over benefits. We use mixed methods including a review by social scientists, key informant interviews and a multistakeholder workshop to gather insights from female and male farmers, breeders, and other stakeholders. Findings show that pest, disease resistance, and shelf-life traits benefit women and men in the target customer segments. On the other hand, earliness, dry matter, and yield could increase drudgery for women. The traits increase demand for women’s unpaid labor during harvesting, sorting and food preparation time while also displacing women from profitable nodes. We recommend that gender-responsive strategies accompany the release of the target variety to mitigate inequities and enhance adoption. 2024-07-10 2024-08-02T18:28:26Z 2024-08-02T18:28:26Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/151522 en Open Access Frontiers Media Mutiso, J.M.; Mayanja, S.; Nyaga, J.; Sinelle, S.; Renou, C.; Onyango, C.; Hareau, G.; Polar, V.; Ashby, J.; Okello, J.J. 2024. A gendered assessment of crop traits to improve breeding product design and uptake: the case of potato in Kenya. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems. ISSN 2571-581X. 8. 15 p. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2024.1331198
spellingShingle gender-responsive approaches
breeding
potatoes
gender
value chains
labour
Mutiso, J.M.
Mayanja, S.
Nyaga, J.
Sinelle, S.
Renou, C.
Onyango, C.
Hareau, G.
Polar, Vivian
Ashby, Jacqueline A.
Okello, J.J.
A gendered assessment of crop traits to improve breeding product design and uptake: the case of potato in Kenya
title A gendered assessment of crop traits to improve breeding product design and uptake: the case of potato in Kenya
title_full A gendered assessment of crop traits to improve breeding product design and uptake: the case of potato in Kenya
title_fullStr A gendered assessment of crop traits to improve breeding product design and uptake: the case of potato in Kenya
title_full_unstemmed A gendered assessment of crop traits to improve breeding product design and uptake: the case of potato in Kenya
title_short A gendered assessment of crop traits to improve breeding product design and uptake: the case of potato in Kenya
title_sort gendered assessment of crop traits to improve breeding product design and uptake the case of potato in kenya
topic gender-responsive approaches
breeding
potatoes
gender
value chains
labour
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/151522
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