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

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cg.authorship.typesCGIAR single centreen_US
cg.contributor.affiliationInternational Potato Centeren_US
cg.contributor.initiativeSeed Equalen_US
cg.creator.identifierMarcel Gatto: 0000-0002-0108-3296en_US
cg.creator.identifierDinah Borus: 0000-0001-8352-2901en_US
cg.creator.identifierIan Barker: 0000-0003-0243-8420en_US
cg.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.4160/cip.2025.02.001en_US
cg.subject.actionAreaGenetic Innovationen_US
cg.subject.actionAreaResilient Agrifood Systemsen_US
cg.subject.cipBREEDINGen_US
cg.subject.cipCROP AND SYSTEMS SCIENCES CSSen_US
cg.subject.cipGENEBANKen_US
cg.subject.cipPOTATOESen_US
cg.subject.impactAreaNutrition, health and food securityen_US
cg.subject.impactAreaClimate adaptation and mitigationen_US
cg.subject.sdgSDG 2 - Zero hungeren_US
cg.subject.sdgSDG 9 - Industry, innovation and infrastructureen_US
cg.subject.sdgSDG 12 - Responsible consumption and productionen_US
dc.contributor.authorGatto, M.en_US
dc.contributor.authorBorus, D.en_US
dc.contributor.authorMalit, J.en_US
dc.contributor.authorKihiu, E.en_US
dc.contributor.authorBarker, I.en_US
dc.contributor.authorEchessa, L.en_US
dc.contributor.authorSoto-Torres, J.en_US
dc.contributor.authorMeyer, A.en_US
dc.date.accessioned2025-02-06T19:32:49Zen_US
dc.date.available2025-02-06T19:32:49Zen_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/172869en_US
dc.titleDigital Revolution in Farmer Fields: VarScout Unveils Kenya's Varietal Landscape – The Case of Potatoen_US
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_US
dcterms.accessRightsOpen Accessen_US
dcterms.audienceAcademicsen_US
dcterms.audienceCGIARen_US
dcterms.audienceDevelopment Practitionersen_US
dcterms.audienceDonorsen_US
dcterms.audienceExtensionen_US
dcterms.audienceFarmersen_US
dcterms.audienceGeneral Publicen_US
dcterms.audienceNGOsen_US
dcterms.audiencePolicy Makersen_US
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_US
dcterms.extent24 p.en_US
dcterms.issued2025-01en_US
dcterms.languageenen_US
dcterms.licenseCC-BY-4.0en_US
dcterms.subjectseed systemsen_US
dcterms.subjectpotatoesen_US
dcterms.subjectyieldsen_US
dcterms.subjectDigital agricultureen_US
dcterms.typeWorking Paperen_US

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