Where does agriculture’s value chain begin?
If you pick up a book or journal article or, these days, ask AI to tell you where agriculture’s value chain begins, you’ll discover that the answer always comes back the same: it begins with the seed. The logic is simple. In order to grow a crop, you must first plant a seed, which sets the chain in motion.
It strikes me as odd that the authors of that information never seem to consider that a critical link in the value chain comes before a seed is ever planted. It begins instead with the people who develop the seed. Without plant breeders, farmers would not have access to the seeds they need to successfully grow crops in their region and on their land.
Many years ago, when I was working on the dissertation for my MBA, I found myself focusing on how farmers select the varieties they grow. It’s a key decision — one that will feed their families — so how do they go about making it? I went around Almeria, where I was living at the time, asking growers that question and listening to their answers. When it came time to connect their answers back to the beginning of the value chain, I discovered that I couldn’t find a single article where the value chain included us (breeders). By writing about seed breeding, I was writing about the missing link in that chain.
I was surprised to find that seed breeders are invisible, at least for the academics who mark the beginning of the value chain after our work has been accomplished and the varieties we create are already on the market. Farmers, on the other hand, are very aware that our work is the reason why they have a range of seed varieties to choose from.
I think it’s important to acknowledge that before seed becomes available to farmers, there is a whole process that takes several years to reach the point where a specific seed can be reproduced and sold. I’d like to see that reflected in available information. Instead of seeing an image of a tractor in a field or someone sowing seeds in a row, I’d like to see a picture of a seed breeder hard at work. That’s where agriculture’s value chain truly begins.
