1.
Client-responsive maize seed systems in
Eastern Africa: what do wo(men) farmers
want in their maize varieties?
Paswel Marenya
International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center
(CIMMYT),

2.
Outline
1. Society demands on crop
breeding programs
2. Decision making
3. Adoption
4. Maize trait preferences
5. Implications for seed systems
and breeding

3.
Farmer and society needs are numerous

4.
Household Head
Spouse
Jointly (Spouse and HH head)
Percent of
households where
variety choice was
made by:

5.
% households where
maize harvests were
controlled by
Household head
Spouse
Jointly (Spouse and HH head)

6.
% households where
land ownership was
by:
Household head
Spouse
Jointly (Spouse and HH head

7.
Gender of household head

8.
What do farmers want?
Willingness to pay experiments
Results of economic experiments

9.
Willingness to pay
• We use economic experiments common in
marketing and economics
– Choice experiments (CE)
– Becker-de Groot-Merschack (BDM) (1964)
• Data Analyzed using Mixed Logit Estimators
• Done in
– CRV/West Ethiopia 2017
– Western Kenya 2017, 2018

10.
Table 1: Comparison of WTP and WTSY between traits
Traits Observ1 Observ2 Mean1 Mean2 difference St-Err t-value
Cost variable: Seed price
Yield - Drought tolerant 1400 - .023 2.485 -2.462*** .001 -2289.55
Yield - Resistant to FAW 1400 - .023 .112 -.088*** .002 -48.35
Yield – Tolerant to low N 1400 - .023 .698 -.674*** .001 -645.7
Yield – Tolerant to striga 1400 - .023 1.632 -1.608*** .009 -180.75
Drought tolerant - Resistant to FAW 1400 - 2.485 .112 2.374*** .002 1721.95
Drought tolerant - Tolerant to low N 1400 - 2.485 .698 1.788*** .001 5128.35
Drought tolerant - Tolerant to striga 1400 - 2.485 1.632 .854*** .009 96.95
Resistant to FAW - Tolerant to low N 1400 - .112 .698 -.586*** .002 -470.3
Resistant to FAW - Tolerant to striga 1400 - .112 1.632 -1.52*** .009 -432.85
Resistant to low N - Tolerant to striga 1400 - .698 1.632 -.934*** .009 278.5
Yield (m/f) 668 732 .035 .03 .004* .003 1.8
Moderate drought tolerant (m/f) 668 732 2.807 2.164 .643*** .029 22.25
Drought tolerant (m/f) 668 732 2.933 2.365 .568*** .002 370.3
Slight res to FAW (m/f) 668 732 .466 .621 -.155*** .017 -9.1
Resistant to FAW (m/f) 668 732 .484 .526 -.043*** .004 -12.1
Slight res to low N (m/f) 668 732 1.343 .991 .352*** .005 73.5
Resistant to low N (m/f) 668 732 1.019 .752 .268*** .003 109.1
Moderate tol to striga (m/f) 668 732 .419 .6 -.18*** .002 -96.5
Tolerant to striga (m/f) 668 732 1.476 1.685 -.209*** .018 -11.35
Cost variable: Yield
Seed price - Drought tolerant 1400 - 39.828 93.055 -53.227*** .011 -4865.25
Seed price - Resistant to FAW 1400 - 39.828 5.099 34.73*** .007 4692.8
Seed price – Tolerant to low N 1400 - 39.828 24.743 15.086*** .002 11741.4
Seed price – Tolerant to striga 1400 - 39.828 63.377 -23.548*** .271 -86.85
Drought tolerant - Resistant to FAW 1400 - 93.055 5.099 87.957*** .014 6469.6
Drought tolerant - Tolerant to low N 1400 - 93.055 24.743 68.312*** .011 6133.7
Drought tolerant - Tolerant to striga 1400 - 93.055 63.377 29.679*** .271 109.45
Resistant to FAW - Tolerant to low N 1400 - 5.099 24.743 -19.644*** .007 -2613.7
Resistant to FAW - Tolerant to striga 1400 - 5.099 63.377 -58.278*** .272 -214.6
Resistant to low N - Tolerant to striga 1400 - 24.743 63.377 -38.633*** .271 -142.5
Price (m/f) 668 732 21.211 27.855 -6.645*** 0 -225000
Moderate drought tolerant (m/f) 668 732 50.843 54.783 -3.941*** .671 -5.85
Drought tolerant (m/f) 668 732 54.941 61.267 -6.326*** .1 -63.4
Slight res to FAW (m/f) 668 732 12.087 17.685 -5.598*** .343 -16.35
Resistant to FAW (m/f) 668 732 12.368 15.222 -2.854*** .051 -55.75
Slight res to low N (m/f) 668 732 24.903 25.444 -.541*** .074 -7.3
Resistant to low N (m/f) 668 732 18.911 19.044 -.133*** .012 -10.85
Moderate tolerance to striga (m/f) 668 732 12.643 18.519 -5.877*** .032 -185.2
Tolerant to striga (m/f) 668 732 32.03 46.035 -14.006*** .324 -43.2
Difference significant at: *** p<0.01, ** p<0.05, * p<0.1; FAW, fall army worm; N, nitrogen; WTP, willingness to pay; WTSY,
willingness to sacrifice yield; m/f, difference between male and female respondents.

11.
Tradeoffs have to be made
❑ To help in prioritization
(breeding and market
segmentation and development)
❑ We implement Choice
Experiments to identify
potential tradeoffs
❑ We estimate willingness to pay
(willingness to sacrifice yield)
to get specific traits
❑ The results confirm general
patterns but also new insights
It is expected that: no one variety can
have all the desirable traits
1 2 3 4

12.
Willingness to Pay (WTP) for Maize Traits in Kenya
Base Model With interaction
Pooled Male Female Pooled Male Female
Matures in 3 months or less 1.54 1.76 1.51 4.84 1.40 2.47
Storability (3-4 months) 8.92 10.15 7.95 19.66 9.78 21.47
Medium grain size 0.77 1.37 0.35 -2.37 -1.35 0.23
Large grain size 1.12 1.76 0.75 0.04 3.15 -2.15
Closed tip 7.87 7.56 7.62 9.79 60.64 6.45
Heavy weight 3.96 3.30 4.47 7.48 4.31 5.87
Low top-dressing requirement 2.71 3.06 2.79 7.67 60.91 3.46
Drought tolerant 9.80 8.55 11.17 9.55 7.36 13.68
Lodging resistant 4.48 4.05 4.98 4.43 3.12 4.97
Striga resistant 8.23 7.96 8.38 8.29 6.17 12.51

13.
Willingness to Pay (WTP) for Maize Traits in Kenya
Base Model With interaction
Pooled Male Female Pooled Male Female
Matures in 3 months or less 1.54 1.76 1.51 4.84 1.40 2.47
Long shelf life (3-4 months) 8.92 10.15 7.95 19.66 9.78 21.47
Medium grain size 0.77 1.37 0.35 -2.37 -1.35 0.23
Large grain size 1.12 1.76 0.75 0.04 3.15 -2.15
Closed tip 7.87 7.56 7.62 9.79 60.64 6.45
Heavy weight 3.96 3.30 4.47 7.48 4.31 5.87
Low top-dressing requirement 2.71 3.06 2.79 7.67 60.91 3.46
Drought tolerant 9.80 8.55 11.17 9.55 7.36 13.68
Lodging resistant 4.48 4.05 4.98 4.43 3.12 4.97
Striga resistant 8.23 7.96 8.38 8.29 6.17 12.51
Women do not
seem to prefer
large grain size

14.
Willingness to Pay (WTP) for Maize Traits in Kenya
Base Model With interaction
Pooled Male Female Pooled Male Female
Matures in 3 months or less 1.54 1.76 1.51 4.84 1.40 2.47
Long shelf life (3-4 months) 8.92 10.15 7.95 19.66 9.78 21.47
Medium grain size 0.77 1.37 0.35 -2.37 -1.35 0.23
Large grain size 1.12 1.76 0.75 0.04 3.15 -2.15
Closed tip 7.87 7.56 7.62 9.79 60.64 6.45
Heavy weight 3.96 3.30 4.47 7.48 4.31 5.87
Low top-dressing requirement 2.71 3.06 2.79 7.67 60.91 3.46
Drought tolerant 9.80 8.55 11.17 9.55 7.36 13.68
Lodging resistant 4.48 4.05 4.98 4.43 3.12 4.97
Striga resistant 8.23 7.96 8.38 8.29 6.17 12.51
Storability is
highly valued
more by women
farmers

15.
Willingness to Pay (WTP) for Maize Traits in Kenya
Base Model
No Controls
With interaction
Socio-economic Controls
Pooled Male Female Pooled Male Female
Matures in 3 months or less 1.54 1.76 1.51 4.84 1.40 2.47
Long shelf life (3-4 months) 8.92 10.15 7.95 19.66 9.78 21.47
Medium grain size 0.77 1.37 0.35 -2.37 -1.35 0.23
Large grain size 1.12 1.76 0.75 0.04 3.15 -2.15
Closed tip 7.87 7.56 7.62 9.79 60.64 6.45
Heavy weight 3.96 3.30 4.47 7.48 4.31 5.87
Low top-dressing requirement 2.71 3.06 2.79 7.67 60.91 3.46
Drought tolerant 9.80 8.55 11.17 9.55 7.36 13.68
Lodging resistant 4.48 4.05 4.98 4.43 3.12 4.97
Striga resistant 8.23 7.96 8.38 8.29 6.17 12.51
When socioeconomic
factors are controlled for:
Male farmers had higher
WTP for closed tip

16.
Willingness to Pay (WTP) for Maize Traits in Kenya
Base Model
No Controls
With interaction
Socio-economic Controls
Pooled Male Female Pooled Male Female
Matures in 3 months or less 1.54 1.76 1.51 4.84 1.40 2.47
Long shelf life (3-4 months) 8.92 10.15 7.95 19.66 9.78 21.47
Medium grain size 0.77 1.37 0.35 -2.37 -1.35 0.23
Large grain size 1.12 1.76 0.75 0.04 3.15 -2.15
Closed tip 7.87 7.56 7.62 9.79 60.64 6.45
Heavy weight 3.96 3.30 4.47 7.48 4.31 5.87
Low top-dressing requirement 2.71 3.06 2.79 7.67 60.91 3.46
Drought tolerant 9.80 8.55 11.17 9.55 7.36 13.68
Striga resistant 8.23 7.96 8.38 8.29 6.17 12.51
Lodging resistant 4.48 4.05 4.98 4.43 3.12 4.97
Women valued
Drought and Striga
tolerance twice more
than male farmers

17.
Willingness to Pay (WTP) for Maize Traits in Kenya
Base Model
No Controls
With interaction
Socio-economic Controls
Pooled Male Female Pooled Male Female
Matures in 3 months or less 1.54 1.76 1.51 4.84 1.40 2.47
Long shelf life (3-4 months) 8.92 10.15 7.95 19.66 9.78 21.47
Medium grain size 0.77 1.37 0.35 -2.37 -1.35 0.23
Large grain size 1.12 1.76 0.75 0.04 3.15 -2.15
Closed tip 7.87 7.56 7.62 9.79 60.64 6.45
Heavy weight 3.96 3.30 4.47 7.48 4.31 5.87
Low N tolerance 2.71 3.06 2.79 7.67 60.91 3.46
Drought tolerant 9.80 8.55 11.17 9.55 7.36 13.68
Striga resistant 8.23 7.96 8.38 8.29 6.17 12.51
Lodging resistant 4.48 4.05 4.98 4.43 3.12 4.97
With Socioeconomic controls
male farmers WTP for low N
tolerance was nearly 20 times
that of female farmers

18.
Top traits
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Big grains
Earliness
Low N requirement
Heavy grain
Drought tolerance
Lodging resistant
Closed tip
Storability
Striga resistant
Preference for maize traits in western Kenya, 2017
BDM Method
-5.0 0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0
Medium size grains
Large grains
Lodging resistant
Early maturity
Low top-dressing
Heavy grain
Striga resistant
Closed tip
Drought tolerant
Storability
Prefeerence for maize traits in western Kenya, 2017
CE Method

19.
Top Traits in Ethiopia
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5
Sweet taste
Matures in maximum 3 months
Closed tip
Lodging resistant
Tolerant to foliar diseases
Drought tolerant
BDM Method
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0
Matures in maximum 3 months
Tolerant to foliar diseases
Drought tolerant
Sweet taste
Lodging resistant
Closed tip CE
CE Method

20.
Although seed price was lowest priority women were sensitive to seed
price
(Kenya, 2018)
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Seed price
Tolerant to striga
Moderate drought tolerant
Drought tolerant
Women
Men

21.
Summary
• Women valued on storability (3.6 times than
males)
• Women valued storability about 5 times than
90-day maturity
• Male farmers valued closed tip (10 times) than
female farmers
• Women valued drought and striga tolerance
twice more than male farmers
• Male famers valued closed tip and low top-
dressing nearly equally
• Nitrogen efficiency was valued about 20 times
among men than women
• Women seem not prefer large grain size (given
the negative coefficient)

22.
Variety (Product) differentiation
1 2 3 4

23.
Market Segmentation

24.
Product
Differentiation
What to breed for?
Market
Segmentation
For whom?
Take home Messages
A tale of two principles

25.
Take home Messages
A tale of two principles
Product
Differentiation
What to breed for?
Market
Segmentation
For whom?
1. Breeding programs focus on a set of manageable traits per product
2. Guided by market segmentation based on client needs

26.
Thank you
for your
interest!