Project description DEENESFRITPL Smallholder farmers’ access to crop diversity Crop diversity is pivotal for smallholder farmers in drylands. However, the processes driving access to crop diversity are not entirely understood. Previous research suggests it may rely on the social networks associated with seeds and information distribution. Nevertheless, these networks expose several patterns. The EU-funded ARISER project will identify the most critical network patterns to maintain high crop diversity on farms over time or to change crops, assess the relationships between the network patterns and the temporal stability of crop production, as well as the impact of socioeconomic characteristics. ARISER will design a standardised protocol to collect longitudinal and panel data across three dryland areas in Africa, build an innovative simulation model and develop new statistical methods for network analysis. Show the project objective Hide the project objective Objective Crop diversity is a key resource for smallholder farmers in drylands, as it plays a major role in their resilience by stabilizing crop production in the face of climate variability. Although access to crop diversity is pivotal for these farmers, the processes driving access are not fully understood. Previous research indicates that access to crop diversity may rely on the social networks through which crop seeds and information are diffused. These networks display a wide diversity of patterns, including differences in the composition of the actors involved and in the structure of the pathways through which seeds and information diffuse. Understanding the consequences of these different network patterns for crop diversity and their implication for farm resilience is a crucial and timely challenge. In this project, I will address this challenge by combining theory and methods from agroecology and social network research to tackle three objectives: (1) identify the most critical network patterns to maintain high crop diversity on farms over time or to change crops, (2) assess the relation between network patterns and temporal stability of crop production at the farm level, and (3) assess how farmers socioeconomic characteristics affect their access to seed and information. To reach these objectives, I will (i) design a standardized protocol to collect longitudinal and panel data across three dryland areas in Africa, which could serve as a reference for future studies, (ii) build an innovative simulation model combining agent-based and network approaches, and (iii) develop new statistical methods for network analysis. This project will enable a major advance in our understanding of the processes driving farmers access to crop diversity and their resilience. By doing so, it will contribute to improve decision-making for smallholder farmers adaptation to increased climate variability in drylands. Fields of science agricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesagriculturenatural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesclimatologyclimatic changes Keywords crop diversity social networks adaptation drylands small-scale farming complex systems modeling seed systems climate variability Africa Programme(s) HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme Topic(s) ERC-2021-STG - ERC STARTING GRANTS Call for proposal ERC-2021-STG See other projects for this call Funding Scheme ERC - Support for frontier research (ERC) Host institution CENTRE DE COOPERATION INTERNATIONALE EN RECHERCHE AGRONOMIQUE POUR LEDEVELOPPEMENT - C.I.R.A.D. EPIC Net EU contribution € 1 500 000,00 Address RUE SCHEFFER 42 75016 Paris France See on map Region Ile-de-France Ile-de-France Paris Activity type Research Organisations Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 1 500 000,00 Beneficiaries (1) Sort alphabetically Sort by Net EU contribution Expand all Collapse all CENTRE DE COOPERATION INTERNATIONALE EN RECHERCHE AGRONOMIQUE POUR LEDEVELOPPEMENT - C.I.R.A.D. EPIC France Net EU contribution € 1 500 000,00 Address RUE SCHEFFER 42 75016 Paris See on map Region Ile-de-France Ile-de-France Paris Activity type Research Organisations Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 1 500 000,00
