b"ficiently considered. On the other hand,gain and creating a seed that is as profit-a variety might be considered suitableable and productive for farmers, as long for certain conditions or agroecology butas that seed reaches the correct farmers. assumed not a fit for elsewhere.The second part of Puertos research When selecting which varieties towas to go back after a season to offer give the farmers, Borman put aside sucheach farmer a single new variety for pur-assumptions and distributed varietieschase. One group was offered a variety outside the expected regions.they preferred in the first part of the trial. This release of assumptions alsoThe other group was offered a recom-addresses climate change, since geo- mended variety, analogous to the typi-graphical recommendations for a varietycal release of new seed varieties in the may no longer be accurate. What usedcountry. to be considered mid-altitude in EthiopiaPuerto found when farmers can adopt might now perform best at a lower alti- the variety they prefer, adoption rate was tude, or a high-altitude might perform likeabout 40% higher than when they were Puerto with a farmer, after Tricot collecteda mid-altitude variety.simply offered a recommended seed.information about their experience in theOn an aggregate level, (the tricotvan Etten expressed the importance trial.PHOTO: SERGIO PUERTO approach) was very effective at put- of studying the interaction between the ting novelty and diversity in the fields ofperson and the seed, and Puerto reflected farmers, Borman says. We also saw thatthat sentiment. These were developed throughfarmers saved and exchanged seed of theIf we want breeders to know what professional breeding programs with thevarieties that they preferred.farmers want, they need a lot more sup-intention to either increase productivityport, Puerto says. They are great scien-or resistance to certain abiotic and bioticTricot in Action in Costa Rica tists, but they are not economists, they stresses, Borman says. Without a profit- Sergio Puerto, a PhD candidate inare not social scientists.making mechanism to deploy these varie- Applied Economics at Cornell University, ties, and [given] a lack of public fundingutilized the tricot approach in a slightlyWhere to Next?to promote them, sometimes they remaindifferent way. He collaborated with theFirst and foremost, the tricot approach on the shelf and dont get into the handsNational Plant Breeding Program in Costais available to anyone wanting to use it. of farmers. Thats where seed systemsRica to examine how farmers trait prefer- While the concept is simple to under-work comes in. ences influence adoption rates of newstand, a key factor in its success depends Borman has spent significant timevarieties of beans.on the statistical method used to analyze exploring different mechanisms for get- He conducted his study with 400the gathered data. ting seeds into the hands of farmers.bean growers in two different regions ofWe've spent 10 years on refining the When he discovered the tricot approach,Costa Rica in 2021-2022. methodology, the software, the statistics, he saw its strong potential for successfullyWhat I did in my dissertation researchand implementing new statistical soft-increasing diversity in the fields. was to adapt tricot methodology toware, van Etten says.Using the tricot approach, he ran aanswer a more economic question thanThe resulting comprehensive online three-year experiment in Ethiopia toan agronomic one, Puerto says. I wantedplatform, ClimMob, is available free for determine which varieties farmers pre- to implement tricot to get to know farm- non-commercial use. This aids users with ferred and why. Ultimately, 350 uniqueers preferences and to estimate thesetting up a trial, gathering data and run-varieties of 20 crops were distributedperformance and adoption of new seedsning the statistics.three at a time to approximately 35,000in a systematic and objective way.The tricot approach has been adopted smallholder farmer participants.The key characteristic of the new seedby breeding programs in over 20 coun-The experiment was focused onwas drought resistance, but during the trialtries in the Global South. This includes deploying crop varieties already on theperiod in this population, drought was notmore than 30 crops spanning at least shelves of research institutes.especially relevant. When breeders dont150,000 plots. We tried to get our hands on what- target the characteristics farmers want,We do not always actively support the ever was available, Borman says. Thethe farmers dont adopt. This was intuitive,projects, van Etten explains. Some people strategy was no discrimination againstbut there was more to the story. do their own thing with the software, so crops or varietiesif it's out there, let'sI also found that farmers who adoptthese estimates are conservative. just take it. the seeds that they prefer the most areThe tricot approach empowers farm-Within the formal seed systems, somemore productive, Puerto says. Theirers and researchers alike, and the posi-traits like cookability or the ability to suc- seed is more productive, meaning thattive impact on food security and farming cessfully turn into usable flour arent suf- breeders are good at creating geneticlivelihoods is already evident.SW26/ SEEDWORLD.COMLATAM"