Popular barley varieties were tested to assess trait preferences among a group of women processors in Ethiopia. Credit: Dina Najjar, ICARDA
Initiative Result:

Breeders refocus products to serve multistakeholder needs

Market Intelligence refocused crop breeding in Africa by aligning products with farmer, processor, and consumer needs through transdisciplinary collaboration.

The CGIAR Research Initiative on Market Intelligence steered crop breeding by integrating market needs into target product profiles (TPPs). With 468 TPPs developed since 2022, this approach bridged social and biological sciences to address diverse stakeholder preferences, emphasizing traits beyond yield. Success stories include multistakeholder-driven sweet potato breeding in Nigeria, groundnut enhancement in Tanzania, and barley improvements in Ethiopia. These efforts prioritized inclusivity, nutrition, and economic growth, benefiting farmers, processors, and marginalized groups, while advancing sustainable and equitable agricultural outcomes globally.

The CGIAR Initiative on Market Intelligence (MI) steered product design in agricultural breeding to cater to stakeholders’ needs. However, coordination between social and biophysical scientists was challenged by (1) a lack of common language to integrate findings on market intelligence into product design, and (2) unclear roles and responsibilities of social scientists in priority setting in breeding. This led to limited consideration of traits beyond yield that are important to multiple stakeholders.

Since the start of the Initiative in 2022, 468 TPPs were developed or revised. TPPs are blueprints of the traits, including measurements and thresholds, that new seed products must include to meet the requirements of farmers, processors, and consumers. The design of TPPs requires reliable market intelligence on these stakeholder requirements. In some cases, TPP design teams did have access to institutionalized market intelligence, and thus designs incorporated best assumptions on the requirements. These success stories describe three cases of how MI steered breeding directions.

Case 1: CIP established transdisciplinary teams for conducting market intelligence research to inform sweet potato breeding prioritization. Social scientists from MI used GloMIP to identify geographies with the highest impact opportunities. The research identified West Africa as the world’s largest sweet potato production region, representing more than a third of global production. After revising the sweet potato market segmentation, 30 segments were identified, up from 14, with four of West Africa’s segments ranking among the largest globally. GloMIP analysis highlighted significant opportunities to improve nutrition and food security, and reduce poverty. Based on these findings, CIP’s sweet potato breeding team made an evidence-based decision to launch a breeding program in Nigeria, targeting the region’s largest impact opportunities.

Case 2: Fieldwork carried out by CIMMYT on groundnut in Tanzania led breeding priorities to be refocused. Market intelligence revealed that size and color were critical for both consumers and processors. Small-to-medium groundnuts, predominantly tan in color, were used for peanut butter production that required specific oil content, while large groundnuts were preferred for snacking. CIMMYT updated market segments and product profiles to reflect these preferences. The research also found limited use of groundnuts for oil production, suggesting it as a future market segment. Additionally, while there was debate about breeding for dual-purpose seeds (grain for food and biomass for fodder), CIMMYT showed that most farmers in Tanzania did not use groundnut biomass for fodder and advised against prioritizing it for breeding in the region.

Case 3: The barley breeding team at ICARDA implemented a multistakeholder approach in Ethiopia that focused on women and marginalized groups (such as landless populations) who play a key role in barley processing. Three key traits were incorporated into the breeding program: white grain color for a 20 percent increase in market value, higher zinc and iron content for improved nutrition, and lignin content for better livestock feed. The approach retained black barley, which is preferred by landless women for brewing local beverages. Two TPPs were developed—one for white barley and another for black barley—leading to more inclusive and sustainable agricultural outcomes, with greater adoption in Ethiopia’s highland regions, where barley is a staple crop, especially for making injera.

By working with transdisciplinary teams, the project aligned breeding goals with the needs of farmers and industry. The Swedish Research Council funded the development of these barley varieties through a participatory approach, focusing on diverse preferences beyond yield. National Agricultural Research and Extension Systems gained valuable insights into stakeholder engagement and ways to strengthen collaboration in inclusive agricultural development and prioritize the needs of underrepresented groups.

Working with interdisciplinary teams to better align breeding objectives with farmer and industry needs will result in better varieties and higher adoption. The gender research layer will ensure that we leave no one behind, especially women farmers, producers, and processors, whose needs have traditionally been overlooked.

Miguel Sanchez, Senior Scientist, Lead Barley Breeder, ICARDA, Rabat, Morocco

NARES ∙ Agricultural Research Institute – Tanzania ∙ Bonga ∙ Agricultural Research Center – Ethiopia.