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Arcad Research projects Cereals in Africa News & events A new study on sorghum landraces in Kenya
A study on biological and cultural factors shaping sorghum landraces diversity in Kenya
In the framework of the ARCAD projet Cereals in Africa (WP2, Task4), Vanesse Labeyrie, a PhD student, has been recruited by CIRAD and started her doctoral project “Morphologic variability, classification and naming of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor ssp bicolor [L.] Moench) in Kenya: a comparative analysis of biological, cultural and social determinants” in October 2010.
In farmers’ fields, because of intensive gene flow, landraces usually display a wide range of morphological and genetic variability. Nevertheless, farmers identify distinct named categories. Because this classification system is involved in the selection process, it shapes the diversity of crops in situ . The PhD project will study how biological processes and farmers socio-cultural referential interact to shape the landraces classification system. Is there a cultural consensus on sorghum classification systems between farmers speaking different languages? Are classification systems stable and consistent enough over generations to allow transmission of agronomical knowledge to children and peers?
The first field session, carried-on in November 2010, aimed at defining the study site. Located on the eastern slope of Mount Kenya, it offers an interesting configuration with three distinct dialectal and socio-cultural groups sharing the same agro-ecologic zone, which enables to adopt a comparative approach.