We assessed the interplay of artificial and natural selection in rice adaptation in low-input farming systems in West Africa. Using 20 morphological traits and 176 molecular markers, 182 farmer varieties of rice (Oryza spp.) from 6 West African countries were characterized. Principal component analysis showed that the four botanical groups (Oryza sativa ssp. indica, O. sativa ssp. japonica, O. ...

(eds M.C.S. Wopereis et al.) 355 and innovation, and ways to build upon these processes or to integrate them with scientific technology development. Farmer technologies, such as farmer varieties, are the result of long innovation trajectories. These trajectories are shaped by interactions among agroecological, socio-economic and cultural factors and it is therefore essential to understand such ...

South African agriculture is comprised of mainly two categories of farmers -the subsistence farmers in the former homeland areas and the large-scale commercial (mainly white) farmers. This is in contrast with the situation in many other countries in the world where one would find a whole range of farm sizes, ranging from the very small or subsistence farmer to the very large farmer/agribusiness...

Cassava genetic transformation capacity is still mostly restricted to advanced laboratories in the USA, Europe and China; and its implementation and maintenance in African laboratories has remained scarce. The impact of transgenic technologies for genetic improvement of cassava will depend largely on the transfer of such capabilities to researchers in Africa, where cassava has an important soci...