Ethiopia is one of Africa's major wheat producing countries. But it might surprise you to learn that conventional bread wheat (Triticum aestivum, the most common species produced worldwide) only entered the country in the 1940s. For the previous 5,000 years, Ethiopian agriculture had counted on a myriad of durum wheat varieties (Triticum turgidum ssp. durum, the closely related species ideal for making pasta), which are still consumed in many ways.
Already grappling with drought and soil degradation, Ethiopian farmers know that they cannot rely on a single type of wheat, bred solely with productivity in mind. Matteo Dell'Acqua, a plant geneticist from the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, has been working with Ethiopian farmers to devise new ways to permanently integrate their knowledge in the agricultural innovation process. He says that farmers are searching at the varietal level for useful traits: "Farmers look at what they see in their own fields, which may be different from breeding programs' expectations due to specific environmental, cultural and management conditions. They select varieties with better adaptation to local uses and cropping."
Farmers selecting for the future