Determinants of cereal diversity in villages of northern Ethiopia.

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AbstractThis chapter compares factors explaining the inter- (interspecific) and intracrop (infraspecific diversity) of cereals grown by villages in Peasant Associations (PAs) of the northern Ethiopian highlands of Amhara and Tigray, building on the household-level analysis presented for the same sites in Chapter 6 [Explaining the diversity of cereal crops and varieties grown on household farms in the highlands of northern Ethiopia by S. Benin, M. Smale and J. Pender, pp. 78-96]. The village is the smallest social unit for policy interventions targeted at sustainable management of crop biodiversity on farms. Villages have the capacity to govern the utilization and conservation of genetic resources, reconciling private and social objectives. Econometric analysis indicates that a combination of factors related to the agroecology of a village, proximity to markets and the characteristics of households and farms within the village influence the level of inter- and intracrop diversity of cereals. Determinants differ between Amhara and Tigray regions. There are no apparent trade-offs between policies seeking to enhance the richness or the equitability among cereal crops or within any single crop grown in villages. Trade-offs may occur among crops, however. Growing modern varieties of maize has a positive effect on the evenness of maize types grown within communities, although modern varieties of wheat have no observable effect. At the village level, markets appear to introduce cereal crop diversity in some cases, while in others, they reduce it. Ambiguity of market effects could reflect local demand relative to local seed supply, or different phases of seed and product market development.