Maize from Push-Pull Technology (PPT): Can the produce be differentiated?

Maize is a staple food in East Africa with the potential to solve the region's food security and nutrition challenges. The crop is faced with several biotic and abiotic stressors that lead to pre and post-harvest losses. Striga weed is a critical biotic stressor that is associated with poor soils that lead to stunted growth, phytotoxicity, and reduced grain yields. Several solutions have been proffered. However, push-pull technology (PPT) stands out to be agroecologically beneficial for smallholder farmers. With UPSCALE, a Horizon 2020 project whose aim is to promote widespread adoption of Push-Pull technology through the trans-disciplinary engagement of multi-actors’ communities of practice. This will ensure all relevant stakeholders are on board, ultimately enabling smallholder farmers to realize its associated benefits. This paper aims to review existing scholarly literature, evaluating information from multi-actor communities (MACs) of practice constituted under the UPSCALE project in East Africa, and the authors’ experiences over time. To promote widespread adoption of PPT, it was established that MAC involvement in the maize value chain has achieved mapping and tracing of PPT maize produce, certifying and Eco-labeling the produce to distinguish it from the rest, and collaboratively pricing the produce at a premium to offer incentives towards realizing a transformative potential of PPT among farmers. However, this requires lobbying governments to ease the transfer of desmodium seeds in the region, waive duty, and sign common protocols on desmodium Quality Declared Seed (QDS) systems. The potential spinoffs identified are women and youth involvement as desmodium community seed merchants and seedling nurseries; SMEs trading in differentiated PPT maize in the region; and farmers trading carbon credits with widespread adoption. It is therefore recommended that PPT maize be differentiated and promoted when stakeholders begin to reflect on its potential in the region. This will enable stakeholders to find adaptive and alternative PPT adoption pathways.玉米是东非地区的主食，具备解决该区域粮食安全与营养挑战的潜力。该作物面临多种生物胁迫与非生物胁迫，易引发收获前及收获后的产量损失。独脚金杂草（Striga weed）是关键生物胁迫因子之一，常与土壤贫瘠相伴，会造成作物生长受阻、产生植物毒性反应并降低籽粒产量。目前已有多种解决方案被提出，其中推挽技术（Push-Pull Technology, PPT）对小农而言具有显著的农业生态效益。欧盟地平线2020（Horizon 2020）项目‘UPSCALE’即旨在通过多行动者实践共同体的跨学科参与，推动推挽技术的广泛落地应用。该模式将确保所有相关利益相关方参与其中，最终助力小农切实享受到推挽技术带来的各项益处。本综述旨在梳理现有学术文献，评估东非地区UPSCALE项目下属多行动者实践共同体（Multi-Actor Communities, MACs）所积累的相关信息，以及作者团队长期的实践经验。研究表明，为推动推挽技术的广泛应用，多行动者共同体参与玉米价值链建设已取得三项核心成果：一是对推挽技术种植的玉米产品开展溯源与信息映射；二是对该类产品进行认证并施加生态标签，以实现与其他同类产品的区分；三是通过协同定价实施溢价策略，为农户提供激励，以充分挖掘推挽技术在农户群体中的变革性应用潜力。不过，要实现这一目标，需游说各国政府放宽该区域内山蚂蝗（Desmodium）种子的流通限制、豁免相关关税，并就山蚂蝗质量声明种子（Quality Declared Seed, QDS）体系签署通用协作协议。研究识别出的潜在衍生效益包括：推动妇女与青年群体参与成为山蚂蝗社区种子经销商与育苗圃经营者；支持中小企业（Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, SMEs）在该区域开展差异化推挽技术玉米产品贸易；以及在推挽技术广泛应用后，帮助农户交易碳信用额。因此，建议相关利益相关方在考量推挽技术在该区域的应用潜力时，应对推挽技术种植的玉米产品进行差异化定位并加大推广力度，以助力各方探索适应性及替代性的推挽技术应用路径。