6
risks to productivity. Taken together, these chapters illustrate why this type of
research is critical in moving beyond projections of the future to concrete action that
can be taken today. Nonetheless, commissioning this section of the book was not
unproblematic, pointing to an urgent need for more information around climate
change impacts and risks—detail that is instrumental for initiating meaningful conversations on CSA.
The next set of chapters describe the challenges and opportunities around
improving the delivery of quality crop germplasm to farmers. Improved planting
materials are typically among the first suggested responses to climate variability—
whether today’s or tomorrow’s—and this section explores some of the limits of this
conventional wisdom. Das et al. open with a private-sector perspective on seed systems. The authors describe bottlenecks in the delivery of cereal seeds along with the
necessary changes—such as public–private partnerships—they feel are needed to
make investment opportunities more conducive to the private sector. Ertiro et al.
bring fresh evidence in support of the development of drought-tolerant maize in
Ethiopia. Droughts are already an every-year occurrence in the country under climate change, and this case highlights a suite of actions needed to move from breeding to widespread use of new varieties. Cramer focuses on one specific link in the
seed system chain—early generation seeds. By comparing a successful case with an
unsuccessful one, the author identifies a few key stumbling blocks that extend the
time taken in breeding, delivery and adoption. Parker et al. illustrate that many of
the issues presented for cereal crops are also applicable to roots, tubers and banana—
staples for 300 million people in the humid tropics of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
However, the solutions recommended by the authors differ markedly to those of
previous chapters due to the structure and development of the system that delivers
vegetable planting-materials. Many of the challenges discussed—e.g. the lack of
development and long generation time—are also presented in Dawson et al. In this
chapter, authors discuss the contributions of trees and orphan crops to resilient food
systems and make recommendations for investments that develop this system in
future. Faddha and van Etten close this section by presenting a cost-effective participatory approach to evaluate varieties under farm conditions using novel material
from national gene banks or plant breeding. Using a case study, the authors argue
that this triadic comparisons of technologies (tricot) approach has the potential to
contribute to making seed systems more dynamic when demand and supply are
linked and more diversified, as more varieties per crop will be delivered in a locationspecific way. Together, the chapters in this section of the book present a sobering
picture of the current germplasm delivery systems; with a low penetration of
improved varieties within agricultural systems (20%), even for most well-developed
breeding programmes, and a long development time (13–30 years). This may signal
a massive development opportunity for the seed sector within CSA.
Subsequent chapters present perspectives on the climate-smartness of various
technologies and management practices. In particular, they unpack the evidence and
lessons learned on what makes a technology climate-smart. Rosenstock et al. conduct a systematic map —a rigorous and structured analysis of the available data—to
examine the impact of 73 technologies on indicators of productivity, resilience and
T. S. Rosenstock et al.
risks to productivity. Taken together, these chapters illustrate why this type of
research is critical in moving beyond projections of the future to concrete action that
can be taken today. Nonetheless, commissioning this section of the book was not
unproblematic, pointing to an urgent need for more information around climate
change impacts and risks—detail that is instrumental for initiating meaningful conversations on CSA.
The next set of chapters describe the challenges and opportunities around
improving the delivery of quality crop germplasm to farmers. Improved planting
materials are typically among the first suggested responses to climate variability—
whether today’s or tomorrow’s—and this section explores some of the limits of this
conventional wisdom. Das et al. open with a private-sector perspective on seed systems. The authors describe bottlenecks in the delivery of cereal seeds along with the
necessary changes—such as public–private partnerships—they feel are needed to
make investment opportunities more conducive to the private sector. Ertiro et al.
bring fresh evidence in support of the development of drought-tolerant maize in
Ethiopia. Droughts are already an every-year occurrence in the country under climate change, and this case highlights a suite of actions needed to move from breeding to widespread use of new varieties. Cramer focuses on one specific link in the
seed system chain—early generation seeds. By comparing a successful case with an
unsuccessful one, the author identifies a few key stumbling blocks that extend the
time taken in breeding, delivery and adoption. Parker et al. illustrate that many of
the issues presented for cereal crops are also applicable to roots, tubers and banana—
staples for 300 million people in the humid tropics of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
However, the solutions recommended by the authors differ markedly to those of
previous chapters due to the structure and development of the system that delivers
vegetable planting-materials. Many of the challenges discussed—e.g. the lack of
development and long generation time—are also presented in Dawson et al. In this
chapter, authors discuss the contributions of trees and orphan crops to resilient food
systems and make recommendations for investments that develop this system in
future. Faddha and van Etten close this section by presenting a cost-effective participatory approach to evaluate varieties under farm conditions using novel material
from national gene banks or plant breeding. Using a case study, the authors argue
that this triadic comparisons of technologies (tricot) approach has the potential to
contribute to making seed systems more dynamic when demand and supply are
linked and more diversified, as more varieties per crop will be delivered in a locationspecific way. Together, the chapters in this section of the book present a sobering
picture of the current germplasm delivery systems; with a low penetration of
improved varieties within agricultural systems (20%), even for most well-developed
breeding programmes, and a long development time (13–30 years). This may signal
a massive development opportunity for the seed sector within CSA.
Subsequent chapters present perspectives on the climate-smartness of various
technologies and management practices. In particular, they unpack the evidence and
lessons learned on what makes a technology climate-smart. Rosenstock et al. conduct a systematic map —a rigorous and structured analysis of the available data—to
examine the impact of 73 technologies on indicators of productivity, resilience and
T. S. Rosenstock et al.