Digital Revolution in Farmer Fields: VarScout Unveils Kenya's Varietal Landscape – The Case of Potato

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cg.authorship.typesCGIAR single centreen
cg.contributor.affiliationInternational Potato Centeren
cg.contributor.initiativeSeed Equal
cg.creator.identifierMarcel Gatto: 0000-0002-0108-3296en
cg.creator.identifierDinah Borus: 0000-0001-8352-2901en
cg.creator.identifierIan Barker: 0000-0003-0243-8420en
cg.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.4160/cip.2025.02.001en
cg.subject.actionAreaGenetic Innovation
cg.subject.actionAreaResilient Agrifood Systems
cg.subject.cipBREEDINGen
cg.subject.cipCROP AND SYSTEMS SCIENCES CSSen
cg.subject.cipGENEBANKen
cg.subject.cipPOTATOESen
cg.subject.impactAreaNutrition, health and food security
cg.subject.impactAreaClimate adaptation and mitigation
cg.subject.sdgSDG 2 - Zero hungeren
cg.subject.sdgSDG 9 - Industry, innovation and infrastructureen
cg.subject.sdgSDG 12 - Responsible consumption and productionen
dc.contributor.authorGatto, M.en
dc.contributor.authorBorus, D.en
dc.contributor.authorMalit, J.en
dc.contributor.authorKihiu, E.en
dc.contributor.authorBarker, I.en
dc.contributor.authorEchessa, L.en
dc.contributor.authorSoto-Torres, J.en
dc.contributor.authorMeyer, A.en
dc.date.accessioned2025-02-06T19:32:49Zen
dc.date.available2025-02-06T19:32:49Zen
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/172869
dc.titleDigital Revolution in Farmer Fields: VarScout Unveils Kenya's Varietal Landscape – The Case of Potatoen
dcterms.abstractThis paper reports on data collected through VarScout, a digital crowdsourcing tool, to monitor varietal adoption, turnover, seed use, and yields. Key findings for the case of potato in Kenya include: (1) Shangi is the dominant variety, covering 73% of the area, followed by Steven (7%) and Sherekea (6%); (2) the weighted average varietal age is 9.3 years, with newer varieties performing better; (3) 19.5% of farmers use clean seed, with higher adoption in Nakuru (21.5%) compared to Bungoma (1.5%); (4) farmers using clean seed achieve 1.5 t/ha higher yields than those using saved seed. The study demonstrates the utility of VarScout for cost-effective data collection, while highlighting the need for further methodological improvements and ground-truthing. The findings underscore the significant impact of CIP's breeding efforts, with over 50% of the pedigree of key popular varieties linked to CIP's genebank. The paper provides insights to inform seed system interventions and guide future breeding priorities in Kenya.en
dcterms.accessRightsOpen Access
dcterms.audienceAcademicsen
dcterms.audienceCGIARen
dcterms.audienceDevelopment Practitionersen
dcterms.audienceDonorsen
dcterms.audienceExtensionen
dcterms.audienceFarmersen
dcterms.audienceGeneral Publicen
dcterms.audienceNGOsen
dcterms.audiencePolicy Makersen
dcterms.bibliographicCitationGatto, M.; Borus, D.; Malit, J.; Kihiu, E.; Barker, I.; Echessa, L.; Soto-Torres, J.; Meyer, A. 2025. Digital Revolution in Farmer Fields: VarScout Unveils Kenya's Varietal Landscape – The Case of Potato. Working paper. Lima, Peru: International Potato Center. p. 24. DOI: 10.4160/cip.2025.02.001en
dcterms.extent24 p.en
dcterms.issued2025-01en
dcterms.languageen
dcterms.licenseCC-BY-4.0
dcterms.subjectseed systemsen
dcterms.subjectpotatoesen
dcterms.subjectyieldsen
dcterms.subjectDigital agricultureen
dcterms.typeWorking Paper

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