Gender mainstreaming in sweetpotato breeding in Uganda: a case study

PurposeIn Uganda, sweetpotato [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam] is typically a “woman’s crop,” grown, processed, stored and also mainly consumed by smallholder farmers for food and income. Farmers value sweetpotato for its early maturity, resilience to stresses, and minimal input requirements. However, pro...

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Main Authors: Reuben T. Ssali, Sarah Mayanja, Mariam Nakitto, Janet Mwende, Samuel Edgar Tinyiro, Irene Bayiyana, Julius Okello, Lora Forsythe, Damalie Magala, Benard Yada, Robert O. M. Mwanga, Vivian Polar
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2023-12-01
Series:Frontiers in Sociology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2023.1233102/full
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author Reuben T. Ssali
Sarah Mayanja
Mariam Nakitto
Janet Mwende
Samuel Edgar Tinyiro
Irene Bayiyana
Julius Okello
Lora Forsythe
Damalie Magala
Benard Yada
Robert O. M. Mwanga
Vivian Polar
author_facet Reuben T. Ssali
Sarah Mayanja
Mariam Nakitto
Janet Mwende
Samuel Edgar Tinyiro
Irene Bayiyana
Julius Okello
Lora Forsythe
Damalie Magala
Benard Yada
Robert O. M. Mwanga
Vivian Polar
author_sort Reuben T. Ssali
collection DOAJ
description PurposeIn Uganda, sweetpotato [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam] is typically a “woman’s crop,” grown, processed, stored and also mainly consumed by smallholder farmers for food and income. Farmers value sweetpotato for its early maturity, resilience to stresses, and minimal input requirements. However, productivity remains low despite the effort of breeding programs to introduce new varieties. Low uptake of new varieties is partly attributed to previous focus by breeders on agronomic traits and much less on quality traits and the diverse preferences of men and women in sweetpotato value chains.MethodTo address this gap, breeders, food scientists, and social scientists (including gender specialists) systematically mainstreamed gender into the breeding program. This multidisciplinary approach, grounded in examining gender roles and their relationship with varietal and trait preferences, integrated important traits into product profiles.ResultsBuilding on earlier efforts of participatory plant breeding and participatory varietal selection, new interventions showed subtle but important gender differences in preferences. For instance, in a study for the RTBFoods project, women prioritized mealiness, sweetness, firmness and non-fibrous boiled roots. These were further subjected to a rigorous gender analysis using the G+ product profile query tool. The breeding pipelines then incorporated these gender-responsive priority quality traits, prompting the development of standard operating procedures to phenotype these traits.ConclusionFollowing an all-inclusive approach coupled with training of multidisciplinary teams involving food scientists, breeders, biochemists, gender specialists and social scientists, integration into participatory variety selection in Uganda enabled accentuation of women and men’s trait preferences, contributing to clearer breeding targets. The research has positioned sweetpotato breeding to better respond to the varying needs and preferences of the users.
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spelling doaj.art-a7bf97ad002a46c4b34a1f02c20d5d862023-12-15T11:04:10ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Sociology2297-77752023-12-01810.3389/fsoc.2023.12331021233102Gender mainstreaming in sweetpotato breeding in Uganda: a case studyReuben T. Ssali0Sarah Mayanja1Mariam Nakitto2Janet Mwende3Samuel Edgar Tinyiro4Irene Bayiyana5Julius Okello6Lora Forsythe7Damalie Magala8Benard Yada9Robert O. M. Mwanga10Vivian Polar11International Potato Center (CIP-SSA), Kampala, UgandaInternational Potato Center (CIP-SSA), Kampala, UgandaInternational Potato Center (CIP-SSA), Kampala, UgandaSchool of International Development, University of East Anglia, Norwich, United KingdomNational Agricultural Research Laboratories (NARL), National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO), Kampala, UgandaNational Crops Resources Research Institute (NaCRRI), National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO), Kampala, UgandaInternational Potato Center (CIP-SSA), Kampala, UgandaNatural Resources Institute (NRI), University of Greenwich, Chatham Maritime, United KingdomMukono Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MUZARDI), National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO), Kampala, UgandaNational Crops Resources Research Institute (NaCRRI), National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO), Kampala, UgandaInternational Potato Center (CIP-SSA), Kampala, UgandaInternational Potato Center (CIP), Lima, PeruPurposeIn Uganda, sweetpotato [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam] is typically a “woman’s crop,” grown, processed, stored and also mainly consumed by smallholder farmers for food and income. Farmers value sweetpotato for its early maturity, resilience to stresses, and minimal input requirements. However, productivity remains low despite the effort of breeding programs to introduce new varieties. Low uptake of new varieties is partly attributed to previous focus by breeders on agronomic traits and much less on quality traits and the diverse preferences of men and women in sweetpotato value chains.MethodTo address this gap, breeders, food scientists, and social scientists (including gender specialists) systematically mainstreamed gender into the breeding program. This multidisciplinary approach, grounded in examining gender roles and their relationship with varietal and trait preferences, integrated important traits into product profiles.ResultsBuilding on earlier efforts of participatory plant breeding and participatory varietal selection, new interventions showed subtle but important gender differences in preferences. For instance, in a study for the RTBFoods project, women prioritized mealiness, sweetness, firmness and non-fibrous boiled roots. These were further subjected to a rigorous gender analysis using the G+ product profile query tool. The breeding pipelines then incorporated these gender-responsive priority quality traits, prompting the development of standard operating procedures to phenotype these traits.ConclusionFollowing an all-inclusive approach coupled with training of multidisciplinary teams involving food scientists, breeders, biochemists, gender specialists and social scientists, integration into participatory variety selection in Uganda enabled accentuation of women and men’s trait preferences, contributing to clearer breeding targets. The research has positioned sweetpotato breeding to better respond to the varying needs and preferences of the users.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2023.1233102/fullsweetpotatoUgandagender mainstreamingplant breedingvalue chain actors
spellingShingle Reuben T. Ssali
Sarah Mayanja
Mariam Nakitto
Janet Mwende
Samuel Edgar Tinyiro
Irene Bayiyana
Julius Okello
Lora Forsythe
Damalie Magala
Benard Yada
Robert O. M. Mwanga
Vivian Polar
Gender mainstreaming in sweetpotato breeding in Uganda: a case study
Frontiers in Sociology
sweetpotato
Uganda
gender mainstreaming
plant breeding
value chain actors
title Gender mainstreaming in sweetpotato breeding in Uganda: a case study
title_full Gender mainstreaming in sweetpotato breeding in Uganda: a case study
title_fullStr Gender mainstreaming in sweetpotato breeding in Uganda: a case study
title_full_unstemmed Gender mainstreaming in sweetpotato breeding in Uganda: a case study
title_short Gender mainstreaming in sweetpotato breeding in Uganda: a case study
title_sort gender mainstreaming in sweetpotato breeding in uganda a case study
topic sweetpotato
Uganda
gender mainstreaming
plant breeding
value chain actors
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2023.1233102/full
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