Revisiting strategies to incorporate gender-responsiveness into maize breeding in southern Africa

Summary

This paper challenges the assumption that trait-specific breeding alone can achieve gender-responsive maize development in southern Africa. Through a survey of 306 farmers, the authors demonstrate that maize variety choice differs significantly by plot manager and household head gender, and that female farmers employ distinct agronomic practices that current researcher-led on-farm trials may not adequately capture. The work proposes expanding gender-intentionality in maize breeding by incorporating selection environments that reflect the actual agronomic management practices of female farmers, rather than relying solely on trait preferences expressed at harvest.

UK applicability

This study's findings on gender-responsive crop breeding have limited direct applicability to UK cereal production, where gender disparities in farm management differ markedly from southern African contexts. However, the methodological approach—using farmer surveys to identify gender-specific management practices and embedding these into breeding selection environments—may inform inclusive breeding approaches in UK horticulture or heritage cereal programmes.

Key measures

Gender of plot manager and household head as predicted by maize variety; agronomic practices used by female and male plot managers; varietal preferences and trait preferences associated with gender

Outcomes reported

The study surveyed 306 farmers to identify gender differences in maize variety choice and agronomic practices, finding that maize variety was a significant predictor of plot manager and household head gender. The research proposes incorporating selection environments aligned with female farmers' agronomic management practices into breeding pipelines as a pathway to gender-responsive maize development.

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