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Edward Banfield was one of the first scholars clearly to describe the condition of peasant isolate social ordering, problematically terming it 'amoral familism'. James Scott offered a more positive framing by referring to the potential of 'escape agriculture' to sustain political autonomy. The present paper returns to these debates about peasant moral economy. Norms concerning production and distribution are not exogenous givens but products of communal organization and social context. Banfield's mistake was to refer to peasant autonomy as 'amoral'. Here, isolate ordering has a positive moral valency, and that public authority in zones of war or disaster recovery should seek to accommodate it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We assessed the interplay of artificial and natural selection in rice adaptation in low-input farming systems in West Africa. Using 20 morphological traits and 176 molecular markers, 182 farmer varieties of rice (Oryza spp.) from 6 West African countries were characterized. Principal component analysis showed that the four botanical groups (Oryza sativa ssp. indica, O. sativa ssp. japonica, O. glaberrima, and interspecific farmer hybrids) exhibited different patterns of morphological diversity. Regarding O. glaberrima, morphological and molecular data were in greater conformity than for the other botanical groups. A clear difference in morphological features was observed between O. glaberrima rices from the Togo hills and those from the Upper Guinea Coast, and among O. glaberrima rices from the Upper Guinea Coast. For the other three groups such clear patterns were not observed. We argue that this is because genetic diversity is shaped by different environmental and socio-cultural selection pressures. For O. glaberrima, recent socio-cultural selection pressures seemed to restrict genetic diversity while this was not observed for the other botanical groups. We also show that O. glaberrima still plays an important role in the selection practices of farmers and resulting variety development pathways. This is particularly apparent in the case of interspecific farmer hybrids where a relationship was found between pericarp colour, panicle attitude and genetic diversity. Farmer varieties are the product of long and complex trajectories of selection governed by local human agency. In effect, rice varieties have emerged that are adapted to West African farming conditions through genotype × environment × society interactions. The diversity farmers maintain in their rice varieties is understood to be part of a risk-spreading strategy that also facilitates successful and often serendipitous variety innovations. We advocate, therefore, that farmers and farmer varieties should be more effectively involved in crop development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study offers evidence of the robustness of farmer rice varieties (Oryza glaberrima and O. sativa) in West Africa. Our experiments in five West African countries showed that farmer varieties were tolerant of sub-optimal conditions, but employed a range of strategies to cope with stress. Varieties belonging to the species Oryza glaberrima – solely the product of farmer agency – were the most successful in adapting to a range of adverse conditions. Some of the farmer selections from within the indica and japonica subspecies of O. sativa also performed well in a range of conditions, but other farmer selections from within these two subspecies were mainly limited to more specific niches. The results contradict the rather common belief that farmer varieties are only of local value. Farmer varieties should be considered by breeding programmes and used (alongside improved varieties) in dissemination projects for rural food security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice breeding and crop research predominantly emphasize adaptation to ecological conditions. Based on qualitative and quantitative research conducted between 2000 and 2012 we show how ecological factors, combined with socioeconomic variables, cultural norms and values, shape the use and development of local technologies related to the cultivation of African rice ( Oryza glaberrima Steud.) in seven West African countries (Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, Sierra Leone, The Gambia and Togo). In this region the role of African rice is diverse across ethnic groups. Findings suggest that farmers, through various pathways, are active in the development of promising new varieties based on genetic resources of Asian rice, African rice, or both, as well as in the adoption of modern varieties. These findings require further research into interactions among ecological, genetic, socioeconomic and cultural factors within farmers' innovation systems and recognition of emergent knowledge and technologies resulting from such interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In West Africa two rice species (Oryza glaberrima Steud. and Oryza sativa L.) co-exist. Although originally it was thought that interspecific hybridization is impossible without biotechnological methods, progenies of hybridization appear to occur in farmer fields. AFLP analysis was used to assess genetic diversity in West Africa (including the countries The Gambia, Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry, Sierra Leone, Ghana and Togo) using 315 rice samples morphologically classified prior to analysis. We show evidence for farmer interspecific hybrids of African and Asian rice, resulting in a group of novel genotypes, and identify possible mechanisms for in-field hybridization. Spontaneous back-crossing events play a crucial role, resulting in different groups of genetic diversity in different regions developed by natural and cultural selection, often under adverse conditions. These new groups of genotypes may have potential relevance for exploitation by plant breeders. Future advances in crop development could be achieved through co-operation between scientists and marginalized farmer groups in order to address challenges of rapid adaptation in a world of increasing socio-political and climatic uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A challenge for African countries is how to integrate new sources of knowledge on plant genetics with knowledge from farmer practice to help improve food security. This paper considers the knowledge content of farmer seed systems in the light of a distinction drawn in artificial intelligence research between supervised and unsupervised learning. Supervised learning applied to seed systems performance has a poor record in Africa. The paper discusses an alternative - unsupervised learning supported by functional genomic analysis. Recent work in West Africa on sorghum, African rice and white yam is described. Requirements for laboratory-based analytical support are outlined. A science-backed 'farmer first' approach - while feasible - will require a shift in policy and funding by major investors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines agrarian issues in civil wars in Côte d’Ivoire and Sierra Leone. Attention is paid to two different ways in which lineage society evolved during the colonial and post-colonial periods. The motivations of fighters are related to these different trajectories of agrarian social change. In Côte d’Ivoire youth militia fought to uphold a lineage-based social order, but in Sierra Leone a comparable group of young fighters sought to overturn it. Large migrant populations on a forest frontier are an important factor in Côte d’Ivoire, while in Sierra Leone significance attaches to an excluded agrarian underclass. Not all African conflicts are ethnic conflicts; autochthony is shown to be a factor in one conflict and class in the other. Approaches to post-war reconstruction based on undifferentiated notions of community should be resisted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]