Institutional and farm-level challenges limiting the diffusion of new varieties from public and CGIAR centers: The case of wheat in Morocco

Yigezu A. Yigezu (), Zewdie Bishaw (), Abdoul Aziz Niane (), Jeffrey Alwang, Tamer El-Shater (), Mohamed Boughlala (), Aden Aw-Hassan (), Wuletaw Tadesse (), Filippo M. Bassi (), Ahmed Amri () and Michael Baum ()
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Yigezu A. Yigezu: International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA)
Zewdie Bishaw: International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA)
Abdoul Aziz Niane: International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA)
Tamer El-Shater: International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA)
Mohamed Boughlala: Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)
Aden Aw-Hassan: International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA)
Wuletaw Tadesse: International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA)
Filippo M. Bassi: International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA)
Ahmed Amri: International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA)
Michael Baum: International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA)

Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, 2021, vol. 13, issue 6, No 2, 1359-1377

Abstract: Abstract Low adoption of agricultural technologies slows efforts to increase agricultural productivity and enhance rural livelihoods in developing countries. A large body of literature has sought explanations for the problem, but the focus has been mainly on micro-level farm and community factors affecting adoption. Institutional factors such as policies and market conditions, which are also important, have been largely overlooked and, few, if any, studies combine the two levels of analysis. We use Morocco as a case study to analyze institutional and farm-level factors affecting diffusion and adoption of improved wheat varieties. Results show both sides to be important. Institutional factors such as overly stringent variety testing procedures, imbalance of power among actors in the seed sector and ill-conceived variety licensing contracts limit access to seeds of more recently released varieties. Adoption of older new varieties is found to be affected by farm and farmer characteristics, but imperfect access to new seeds, sometimes associated with the failings identified above, is also a constraint. Findings signal the need for increased private engagement in seed multiplication; revised variety testing procedures; alternative royalty mechanisms; and enhanced linkages between public research and private seed companies.

Keywords: Variety development; Variety release and acquisition; Seed production and commercialization; Institutional factors; Demand-side factors; Wheat; Morocco (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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DOI: 10.1007/s12571-021-01191-7

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