Upscaling of crowdsourced winner crop varieties in Ethiopia improved farmers’ varietal portfolio, farm resilience, and livelihoods

Background Improving farmers’ access to improved crop varieties lays fertile ground for enhancing agricultural
production and livelihoods during the era of climate change. In recent years, however, farm diversification tends
to decrease following the introduction of cluster farming system and the inclination towards growing commercial
crop varieties. Farm diversification is key to attain diverse and nutritious diet as well as adapting to climate change.
Purpose In response to climate change impacts and less efficient seed systems, farmers in the target regions should
access diverse, adaptive, productive, and resilient crop varieties. This study was conducted to explore the potential
of crowdsourced winner crop varieties in increasing farmers’ varietal portfolios, enhance production and productivity,
and improvement of livelihood and farm resilience.
Design/methodology/approach: The upscaling of crowdsourcing winner varieties was conducted from 2020
to 2023 main cropping seasons in ten districts of two regions of Ethiopia: Amhara and Oromia. Eighteen varieties: six
durum wheat (DW), three finger millet (FM), seven faba bean (FB), and five chickpea (CP), were upscaled. Grain yield
(GY) data were collected from sampled farms, and household surveys were conducted to assess the performance
of the varieties and their impact on improving farmers’ seed portfolios, farm resilience, and livelihoods.
Results: This upscaling intervention has directly benefited over 4500 households and many more indirectly. Among
the upscaled varieties, Mangudo from DW, Gora from FB, and Ejere from CP were adopted by 89%, 70%, and 67%
of direct beneficiaries, respectively. The mean varietal portfolio was increased by 2.67, 2.43 and 2.67 for DW, FB, and CP,
irrespectively, in the intervention districts. The highest GY was obtained from Mangudo (8.30 ton ha−1), Numan
(3.20 ton ha−1), Ejere (2.57 ton ha−1), and Jabi (3.80 ton ha−1) from DW, FB, CP, and FM, respectively; each crop had
a higher mean GY than the national average (3.11 ton ha−1 for wheat, 2.09 ton ha−1 for FB, 1.94 ton ha−1 for CP ton
ha−1 and 2.57 ton ha−1 for FM for the year 2022). Participant farmers claimed that growing the upscaled varieties has improved farm productivity, reduce dependence on agrochemicals and consequently increased farm household income. The annual income of 40% of the beneficiary farmers accessed seeds of the three crops, was increased by 361.30–722.60 USD, with the majority earning between 310.00 and 930.00 USD. Overall, the livelihoods of beneficiary farmers improved, their farm resilience to biotic (diseases) and abiotic (drought and frost) stresses was enhanced, and the environmental impact of agrochemicals was reduced by growing varieties suitable for low input agriculture.