Cassava farmers’ preferences for varieties and seed dissemination system in Nigeria: Gender and regional perspectives Jeffrey Bentley, Adetunji Olanrewaju, Tessy Madu, Olamide Olaosebikan, Tahirou Abdoulaye, Tesfamichael Wossen, Victor Manyong, Peter Kulakow, Bamikole Ayedun, Makuachukwu Ojide, Gezahegn Girma, Ismail Rabbi, Godwin Asumugha, and Mark Tokula www.iita.org i ii Cassava farmers’ preferences for varieties and seed dissemination system in Nigeria: Gender and regional perspectives J. Bentley, A. Olanrewaju, T. Madu, O. Olaosebikan, T. Abdoulaye, T. Wossen, V. Manyong, P. Kulakow, B. Ayedun, M. Ojide, G. Girma, I. Rabbi, G. Asumugha, and M. Tokula International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan February 2017 IITA Monograph i Published by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Ibadan, Nigeria. 2017 IITA is a non-profit institution that generates agricultural innovations to meet Africa’s most pressing challenges of hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and natural resource degradation. Working with various partners across sub-Saharan Africa, we improve livelihoods, enhance food and nutrition security, increase employment, and preserve natural resource integrity. It is a member of the CGIAR System Organization, a global research partnership for a food secure future. International address: IITA, Grosvenor House, 125 High Street Croydon CR0 9XP, UK Headquarters: PMB 5320, Oyo Road Ibadan, Oyo State ISBN 978-978-8444-82-4 Correct citation: Bentley, J., A. Olanrewaju, T. Madu, O. Olaosebikan, T. Abdoulaye, T. Wossen, V. Manyong, P. Kulakow, B. Ayedun, M. Ojide, G. Girma, I. Rabbi, G. Asumugha, and M. Tokula. 2017. Cassava farmers’ preferences for varieties and seed dissemination system in Nigeria: Gender and regional perspectives. IITA Monograph, IITA, Ibadan, Nigeria. ISBN 978-978-8444-82-4. 90 pp. Printed in Nigeria by IITA Cover photo: Harvesting a few roots from old cassava in Erin Oke village. Cassava that stays in the ground for a long time is important for securing food and income. ii Contents Acknowledgements .........................................................................................................v Acronyms and abbreviations .......................................................................................... vi Executive summary ....................................................................................................... vii Introduction .....................................................................................................................1 Materials and methods ...................................................................................................3 Results and discussion ....................................................................................................6 What farmers like about the varieties they grow..............................................................6 Contemporary cassava varieties .............................................................................6 The meanings of varietal names ........................................................................... 11 What farmers like in specific varieties ...................................................................17 Improvements expressed for varieties currently grown .........................................33 Regional preferences for cassava traits ........................................................................43 Gender differences ........................................................................................................53 Gender and preferred traits ...................................................................................53 Processing traits are more important for women than for men ..............................55 Planting materials and seed dissemination pathways ...................................................64 Access to improved cassava varieties...........................................................................64 Access to cassava seeds ......................................................................................72 Dis-adoption of cassava varieties ................................................................................77 Adoption and dis-adoption of improved cassava varieties ....................................77 Improved varieties are rarely dis-adopted .............................................................79 Improved varieties rank fairly high .........................................................................84 Conclusion .....................................................................................................................88 Recommendations.........................................................................................................90 Breeding objectives .......................................................................................................90 Seed systems ................................................................................................................90 References ...................................................................................................................92 Annexes .......................................................................................................................93 Tables 1. Cassava varieties by village, as mentioned by women and men in the Southwest. ...7 2. Cassava varieties by village, as mentioned by women and men in the North. ...........8 3. Cassava varieties by village, as mentioned by women and men in the South-South. 9 4. Cassava varieties by village, as mentioned by women and men in the Southeast. ..10 5. Meanings of the names of cassava varieties in the Southwest. ................................ 11 6. Meanings of the names of cassava varieties in the North. ........................................12 7. Meanings of the names of cassava varieties in the South-South. ............................13 8. Meanings of the names of cassava varieties in the Southeast. ...............................16 9. Traits preferred by women and men in the Southwest, variety by variety. ...............14 10: Traits preferred by women and men in the North, variety by variety. ......................21 11: Traits preferred by women and men in the South-South, variety by variety. ...........25 iii 12: Traits preferred by women and men in the Southeast, variety by variety. ...............29 13: Improvements that women and men in the Southwest suggest for varieties. .........34 14: Improvements that women and men in the North suggest for varieties. .................35 15: Improvements that women and men in the South-South suggest for varieties. ......37 16: Improvements that women and men in the Southeast suggest for varieties. ..........40 17: Trait preferences by women and men in Nigeria. ....................................................43 18: Traits preferred by women farmers in Southwest Nigeria........................................44 19: Traits preferred by men farmers in Southwest Nigeria. ...........................................45 20: Traits preferred by women farmers in Northern Nigeria. .........................................46 21: Traits preferred by men farmers in Northern Nigeria ...............................................47 22: Traits preferred by women farmers in South-South Nigeria. ...................................48 23: Traits preferred by men farmers in South-South Nigeria. ........................................50 24: Traits preferred by women farmers in Southeast Nigeria. ......................................51 25: Traits preferred by men farmers in Southeast Nigeria. ............................................52 26: Access to cassava seeds by women and men in Nigeria. .......................................68 27: Access to improved cassava varieties by women and men in the Southwest. .......69 28: Access to improved cassava varieties by women and men in the North. ...............69 29: Access to improved cassava varieties by women and men in the South-South. ....70 30: Access to improved cassava varieties by women and men in the Southeast. ......71 31: Access to seeds by women and men in the Southwest...........................................74 32: Access to seeds by women and men in the North...................................................75 33: Access to seeds by women and men in the South-South. ......................................76 34: Access to seeds by women and men in the Southeast. .........................................76 35: Adoption and dis-adoption of improved cassava varieties by gender and region. .77 36: Adoption and dis-adoption of improved varieties by gender in the Southwest. .......77 37: Adoption and dis-adoption of improved cassava varieties by gender in the North ..78 38: Adoption and dis-adoption of improved varieties by gender in the South-South. ....78 39: Adoption and dis-adoption of improved varieties by gender in the Southeast. ........79 40: Dis-adopted cassava varieties in the Southwest. ...................................................80 41: Dis-adopted cassava varieties in the North .............................................................81 42: Dis-adopted cassava varieties in the South-South. .................................................82 43: Dis-adopted cassava varieties in the Southeast .....................................................83 44: Ranking of cassava varieties by women in the Southwest. .....................................84 45: Ranking of cassava varieties by men in