Missing the bigger picture? Integrating supply chains, consumers and agro-processors into crop improvement strategies in sub-Saharan Africa

ABSTRACT Determining how crop improvements like biofortification are integrated into agri-food supply chains across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is a growing focus in food security frameworks. Nevertheless, improved crop traits meant to address food insecurity are often developed well before practical concerns of adoption are considered. Improved crop varieties such as orange-fleshed sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) and vitamin A cassava (Manihot esculenta) have gained wider acceptance among producers, but other factors along the supply chain inhibit rates of diffusion and adoption. This article reviews how socioeconomic and logistical factors interact at multiple stages of crop improvement strategies. We examine the challenges associated with “top-down,” siloed models of food security frameworks, and then discuss how information flows among stakeholders significantly influence adoption decisions. We conclude by examining how market structures and institutions act as gatekeepers to the successful diffusion of improved crops across SSA.