b"farmer and get a lot of data in a very short period without driving around.While optimal management, reproducible trials at research stations are still important, citizen science results in diverse condi-tions. Rather than being a negative, that diversity can be a welcome benefit.Climate change is real, says Stephen Angudubo, the on-farm trial network coordinator with Alliance BioversityCIAT. In Uganda, the intensity of its effects is varied across regions. Some closer to South Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya are arid and face more of the adverse effects of climate change. As such, localized trials are critical.The wetter areas can face challenges, too, as excessive rain can result in the rotting of crops. Finding varieties that allow for resilience through these and other challenges helps increase food security. We want to look at this diversity and how (the varieties) work when you apply it in practice, van Etten says. We're not breeding for the station. We're breeding for real farming systems.With [conventional] on-farm testing approaches, there might be six groups across the nation and each group might have 20-30 trials, Angudubo adds. With the tricot approach, we have hun-dreds of farmers evaluating these in smaller gardens, which are manageable by the farmer. They evaluate these varieties throughout the growing season up to harvest. THE POWER OF THREEConsistency is a challenge with citizen science data collection.Puerto with a farmer, after Tricot collected information about their experience Direct measurements may be taken accurately, but collecting qual- in the trial. Photo: Sergio Puertoitative data requires training and usually results in errors. To avoid this, van Etten turned to ranking.Ranking is a robust way of converting an observation into something that can be analyzed statistically, he explains. For the tricot trials, farmers across a range of locations are given three seed varieties to grow on their land. They then report their preferences and observations of any variables the researchers want to examine using a very simple three option ranking system. Why three? Results are simply a ranking of first, second, or third, usually by using easily qualified terms like best, mid, worst, or tallest, mid, shortest. Van Etten says while nearly anyone can efficiently rank using a three-choice system, adding a fourth choice immediately adds a level of difficulty and confusion that hinders results and sometimes makes reporting impossible. The tricot approach also allows for inclusion of smaller farmers in the research process. This is critical in regions where a vast major-ity of farmland is managed by small subsistence farmers. The bigger the plots, the more you exclude farmers who have small farms and small plots, van Etten says. Frequently that's women but it also excludes any poor households.The tricot approach is used beyond harvest as well. The product is taken to the kitchen and tested for how well it cooks or converts to flour and flour products. Regional preferences for colour, taste and texture can all be assessed when deciding if a variety suits a particular growing region. Researchers can get input from all family members who interact with the crop from seed to table, allowing information to be gathered on how gender or task division affects variety preference. Participating farmers are encouraged to share their favourite varieties with others. In most cases, adding these new varieties to a communitys farming toolkit results in increased yields, which means increased food security and additional income for farmersA farmer from southern Costa Rica checking the bags of seed as part of who sell rather than consuming all of their product. Together, thesePuertos experiment. The farmer is comparing two seed varieties, with the result not only in economic and social benefit, but genuine excite- evaluation score card from the Tricot trial on the floor. Photo: Sergio Puertoment.NOVEMBER 2024|SEEDWORLD.COM/EUROPEISEED WORLD EUROPE I 33"