Building seed sustaining households: Defining seed security through informal seed systems and intraspecific diversity on semi-arid, resource poor farms in Kenya
Bibliographic record
Abstract
In resource poor farming systems, particularly those subject to environmental stress, crop biodiversity is an important aspect of local livelihoods, food security, and seed security. The objectives of this thesis focus on understanding how access to different types of crops and varieties, through informal and formal seed systems, can contribute to reversing chronic household seed insecurity and support food production in semi-arid Kenya. In doing so, the research also aims to highlight local crops, varieties, knowledge, management strategies, and social organizations related to seed systems in Tharaka-Nithi County. A quantitative study used a household survey and the polytomous Rasch model to measure household chronic seed insecurity in three semi-arid counties in Kenya. Households were sorted into four categories ranging from seed secure to severely seed insecure. There was no statistically significant difference between seed secure households and the other three categories of increasing seed insecurity for crop richness, variety richness, varieties per crop, and the Shannon-Wiener Index. A mixed methods study presents a detailed appraisal of local and regional seed exchange and seed saving that have contributed to seed security since time immemorial in Tharaka-Nithi County. Historical migrations to and from, and within, Tharaka have been key for introducing new seeds, establishing patterns of variety clustering, and mediating climatic stress. Over-time, local markets have replaced the need for long distance seed trade and are used by farmers to obtain lost or new varieties during times of acute stress, and are often relied on seasonally for legume seeds. A qualitative study of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.), an important traditional food preserved through the informal seed system in Tharaka, documented ten pearl millet varieties maintained by farmers and two extinct pearl millet varieties. Farmers in Tharaka manage risk of crop failure and heterogeneous rainfall patterns by mixing early and late maturing varieties of pearl millet, a practice followed since time immemorial. However, over time introduced varieties that mature earlier and introduced varieties that provide more yields have replaced the old indigenous varieties. Seed selection practices focus on long panicles and big seed as well as rogueing out off-types called mathara.A qualitative study identifies contemporary challenges of formal seed sector participation and access to seed of modern varieties in Tharaka. Results are discussed in relation to national seed policy, formal seed sector development, and seed system integration in Kenya. Thirty-nine percent of surveyed households reported that they had not grown seed of a modern variety originating from the formal seed sector in the last four seasons. The majority of modern varieties were accessed through reoccurring distribution of free seed, while maize seed was the only crop commonly accessed through agroshop purchase. Most farmers recycle seed that they receive from the formal seed sector. This research presented a novel measurement of chronic seed insecurity and documents important social aspects of seed systems which contribute to the conservation of crop biodiversity. The results will be useful to local and regional evaluations of seed security and national seed policies seeking to represent and integrate the challenges and realities of resource poor farmers. The results may also aid special efforts focused on in-situ conservation of the unique cultural and ecological diversity preserved by farmers in Tharaka.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.000 | 0.001 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.002 | 0.001 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Open science | 0.000 | 0.001 |
| Research integrity | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.002 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".