#worldvegetablecenter — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #worldvegetablecenter, aggregated by home.social.
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BOLDER’s #CitizenScience Approach Unlocks New Opportunities for #Underutilized #Crops in #Benin and #Tanzania
By Neil Palmer, #CropDiversity Digest Contributor
30 June 2025"During the first few hours of daylight – before the sun gets high and it’s too hot outside – experimental fields at the #WorldVegetableCenter ( #WorldVeg ) research station in Cotonou, #Benin, are buzzing with activity. #SolarPowered irrigation systems pump water to stands of #jute #mallow, #eggplant and #ChiliPepper, while field workers patrol the plots.
"These kinds of experiments are crucial to understanding how the crops perform. But they only tell part of the story. Conditions at research stations tend to be closely controlled, while in farmers’ fields, where in the end the crops will have to prove themselves, things can be more varied and challenging. Also, a crucial component is missing from the on-station trials – the farmers themselves. Their preferences are critical in determining whether a crop succeeds or fails in the real world.
"To overcome these shortcomings of research station experiments, the Crop Trust’s BOLDER project uses a novel approach: triadic comparison of technologies, or tricot for short. That’s a complicated name for a simple concept that has nothing to do with highly stretchy fabric: engaging farmers as 'citizen scientists' to conduct trials on their own farms, under local conditions, and report the results. The technologies in this case? #VegetableSeeds.
"In Benin and #Tanzania, the vegetables undergoing tricot trials are #JuteMallow and #amaranth. These are generally overlooked species that haven’t received the scientific attention given to staples like rice or maize. But they hold great promise as climate-resilient, nutritious, and profitable options for farmers in many parts of Africa. That’s why they are often referred to as opportunity crops.
"Tricot trials help scientists test these crops with lots and lots of farmers under diverse, real-world conditions. In addition to giving farmers a first and close look at #CropDiversity that may be unfamiliar to them, the trials provide scientists with insights into plant performance and farmer preferences, which can then feed into breeding and other research efforts."
#BOLDER #BOLDERInitiative #SolarPunkSunday #FoodSecurity
#BuildingResilience #ClimateResiliency
#ClimateChange #AlternativeCrops -
BOLDER’s #CitizenScience Approach Unlocks New Opportunities for #Underutilized #Crops in #Benin and #Tanzania
By Neil Palmer, #CropDiversity Digest Contributor
30 June 2025"During the first few hours of daylight – before the sun gets high and it’s too hot outside – experimental fields at the #WorldVegetableCenter ( #WorldVeg ) research station in Cotonou, #Benin, are buzzing with activity. #SolarPowered irrigation systems pump water to stands of #jute #mallow, #eggplant and #ChiliPepper, while field workers patrol the plots.
"These kinds of experiments are crucial to understanding how the crops perform. But they only tell part of the story. Conditions at research stations tend to be closely controlled, while in farmers’ fields, where in the end the crops will have to prove themselves, things can be more varied and challenging. Also, a crucial component is missing from the on-station trials – the farmers themselves. Their preferences are critical in determining whether a crop succeeds or fails in the real world.
"To overcome these shortcomings of research station experiments, the Crop Trust’s BOLDER project uses a novel approach: triadic comparison of technologies, or tricot for short. That’s a complicated name for a simple concept that has nothing to do with highly stretchy fabric: engaging farmers as 'citizen scientists' to conduct trials on their own farms, under local conditions, and report the results. The technologies in this case? #VegetableSeeds.
"In Benin and #Tanzania, the vegetables undergoing tricot trials are #JuteMallow and #amaranth. These are generally overlooked species that haven’t received the scientific attention given to staples like rice or maize. But they hold great promise as climate-resilient, nutritious, and profitable options for farmers in many parts of Africa. That’s why they are often referred to as opportunity crops.
"Tricot trials help scientists test these crops with lots and lots of farmers under diverse, real-world conditions. In addition to giving farmers a first and close look at #CropDiversity that may be unfamiliar to them, the trials provide scientists with insights into plant performance and farmer preferences, which can then feed into breeding and other research efforts."
#BOLDER #BOLDERInitiative #SolarPunkSunday #FoodSecurity
#BuildingResilience #ClimateResiliency
#ClimateChange #AlternativeCrops -
BOLDER’s #CitizenScience Approach Unlocks New Opportunities for #Underutilized #Crops in #Benin and #Tanzania
By Neil Palmer, #CropDiversity Digest Contributor
30 June 2025"During the first few hours of daylight – before the sun gets high and it’s too hot outside – experimental fields at the #WorldVegetableCenter ( #WorldVeg ) research station in Cotonou, #Benin, are buzzing with activity. #SolarPowered irrigation systems pump water to stands of #jute #mallow, #eggplant and #ChiliPepper, while field workers patrol the plots.
"These kinds of experiments are crucial to understanding how the crops perform. But they only tell part of the story. Conditions at research stations tend to be closely controlled, while in farmers’ fields, where in the end the crops will have to prove themselves, things can be more varied and challenging. Also, a crucial component is missing from the on-station trials – the farmers themselves. Their preferences are critical in determining whether a crop succeeds or fails in the real world.
"To overcome these shortcomings of research station experiments, the Crop Trust’s BOLDER project uses a novel approach: triadic comparison of technologies, or tricot for short. That’s a complicated name for a simple concept that has nothing to do with highly stretchy fabric: engaging farmers as 'citizen scientists' to conduct trials on their own farms, under local conditions, and report the results. The technologies in this case? #VegetableSeeds.
"In Benin and #Tanzania, the vegetables undergoing tricot trials are #JuteMallow and #amaranth. These are generally overlooked species that haven’t received the scientific attention given to staples like rice or maize. But they hold great promise as climate-resilient, nutritious, and profitable options for farmers in many parts of Africa. That’s why they are often referred to as opportunity crops.
"Tricot trials help scientists test these crops with lots and lots of farmers under diverse, real-world conditions. In addition to giving farmers a first and close look at #CropDiversity that may be unfamiliar to them, the trials provide scientists with insights into plant performance and farmer preferences, which can then feed into breeding and other research efforts."
#BOLDER #BOLDERInitiative #SolarPunkSunday #FoodSecurity
#BuildingResilience #ClimateResiliency
#ClimateChange #AlternativeCrops -
BOLDER’s #CitizenScience Approach Unlocks New Opportunities for #Underutilized #Crops in #Benin and #Tanzania
By Neil Palmer, #CropDiversity Digest Contributor
30 June 2025"During the first few hours of daylight – before the sun gets high and it’s too hot outside – experimental fields at the #WorldVegetableCenter ( #WorldVeg ) research station in Cotonou, #Benin, are buzzing with activity. #SolarPowered irrigation systems pump water to stands of #jute #mallow, #eggplant and #ChiliPepper, while field workers patrol the plots.
"These kinds of experiments are crucial to understanding how the crops perform. But they only tell part of the story. Conditions at research stations tend to be closely controlled, while in farmers’ fields, where in the end the crops will have to prove themselves, things can be more varied and challenging. Also, a crucial component is missing from the on-station trials – the farmers themselves. Their preferences are critical in determining whether a crop succeeds or fails in the real world.
"To overcome these shortcomings of research station experiments, the Crop Trust’s BOLDER project uses a novel approach: triadic comparison of technologies, or tricot for short. That’s a complicated name for a simple concept that has nothing to do with highly stretchy fabric: engaging farmers as 'citizen scientists' to conduct trials on their own farms, under local conditions, and report the results. The technologies in this case? #VegetableSeeds.
"In Benin and #Tanzania, the vegetables undergoing tricot trials are #JuteMallow and #amaranth. These are generally overlooked species that haven’t received the scientific attention given to staples like rice or maize. But they hold great promise as climate-resilient, nutritious, and profitable options for farmers in many parts of Africa. That’s why they are often referred to as opportunity crops.
"Tricot trials help scientists test these crops with lots and lots of farmers under diverse, real-world conditions. In addition to giving farmers a first and close look at #CropDiversity that may be unfamiliar to them, the trials provide scientists with insights into plant performance and farmer preferences, which can then feed into breeding and other research efforts."
#BOLDER #BOLDERInitiative #SolarPunkSunday #FoodSecurity
#BuildingResilience #ClimateResiliency
#ClimateChange #AlternativeCrops -
BOLDER’s #CitizenScience Approach Unlocks New Opportunities for #Underutilized #Crops in #Benin and #Tanzania
By Neil Palmer, #CropDiversity Digest Contributor
30 June 2025"During the first few hours of daylight – before the sun gets high and it’s too hot outside – experimental fields at the #WorldVegetableCenter ( #WorldVeg ) research station in Cotonou, #Benin, are buzzing with activity. #SolarPowered irrigation systems pump water to stands of #jute #mallow, #eggplant and #ChiliPepper, while field workers patrol the plots.
"These kinds of experiments are crucial to understanding how the crops perform. But they only tell part of the story. Conditions at research stations tend to be closely controlled, while in farmers’ fields, where in the end the crops will have to prove themselves, things can be more varied and challenging. Also, a crucial component is missing from the on-station trials – the farmers themselves. Their preferences are critical in determining whether a crop succeeds or fails in the real world.
"To overcome these shortcomings of research station experiments, the Crop Trust’s BOLDER project uses a novel approach: triadic comparison of technologies, or tricot for short. That’s a complicated name for a simple concept that has nothing to do with highly stretchy fabric: engaging farmers as 'citizen scientists' to conduct trials on their own farms, under local conditions, and report the results. The technologies in this case? #VegetableSeeds.
"In Benin and #Tanzania, the vegetables undergoing tricot trials are #JuteMallow and #amaranth. These are generally overlooked species that haven’t received the scientific attention given to staples like rice or maize. But they hold great promise as climate-resilient, nutritious, and profitable options for farmers in many parts of Africa. That’s why they are often referred to as opportunity crops.
"Tricot trials help scientists test these crops with lots and lots of farmers under diverse, real-world conditions. In addition to giving farmers a first and close look at #CropDiversity that may be unfamiliar to them, the trials provide scientists with insights into plant performance and farmer preferences, which can then feed into breeding and other research efforts."
#BOLDER #BOLDERInitiative #SolarPunkSunday #FoodSecurity
#BuildingResilience #ClimateResiliency
#ClimateChange #AlternativeCrops