Joining smallholder farmers’ traditional knowledge with metric traits to select better varieties of Ethiopian wheat

The unique diversity of Ethiopian durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. subsp. durum) is the result of thousands of years of selection exerted by smallholder farmers. Still today, more than 80% of the Ethiopian population of approximately 100 million people is engaged in agriculture. Eight out of ten Ethiopian farmers are smallholders, often conducting subsistence agriculture based on landraces selected for their adaptive traits to local conditions. A better understanding of the traditional knowledge guiding smallholder farmers’ choice of wheat genotypes may help in identifying and disseminating genetic materials aimed at addressing the requirements of local agriculture. In this study, 60 smallholder farmers from two highland communities evaluated 400 Ethiopian wheat accessions for traits of their interest. The collected information was coupled with metric measurements of 10 agronomic traits, breaking down farmers’ preferences for wheat phenotypes and identifying trait combinations contributing to farmer choice. A ranking identifying the best wheat varieties was produced upon trait values provided by farmers. In this paper, the role of farmers’ traditional knowledge to identify farmer varieties to be prioritized for local breeding and distribution is discussed.