2023/01/01 by Laurent Hazard, Hazard, Laurent, Frédéric Rey +1
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Agroecology #Agroécologie #Amélioration des plantes #Crop Yield and Soil Fertility #Genetics and Plant Breeding #Gestion de la biodiversité cultivée #Management of cultivated biodiversity #Participatory research #Plant breeding #Pragmatism #Pragmatisme #Recherche participative
paper · pdf · doi:10.17180/ciag-2023-vol88-art05
openalex publication_date 2023/01/01 · openalex created_date 2024/04/23 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/25
Building diversity-based agriculture requires a change in farmers' thinking and values. According to a pragmatic perspective, these are revealed and transformed in action. We studied these transformations by questioning the practice of participatory selection of maize population. Besides the hybrid creation chosen by breeding companies, breeding on-farm population varieties is possible. It is part of a quest for autonomy which is specific to agroecological systems that value biodiversity. The Covalience project was co-designed with five groups of farmers selecting their maize populations and questioning the relevance of their practices and the future of corn in their systems. We used different methods (video, interviews, participatory workshops, experimentation) to confront the actors of participatory plant breeding with what they are doing and to help them improving their practices and reasons for the place of maize in their farming systems transitioning towards agroecology. With more than 40 deliverables, videos viewed by a wide audience and highly committed partners, Covalience is a successful collaborative project, with its results directly implemented in farmers' collectives.