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Same Disease—different research strategies: Bananas and B lack S igatoka in B razil and C olombia
Author(s) -
Cordoba Diana,
Jansen Kees
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
singapore journal of tropical geography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.538
H-Index - 42
eISSN - 1467-9493
pISSN - 0129-7619
DOI - 10.1111/sjtg.12072
Subject(s) - agriculture , agrarian society , commodity , business , crop , perspective (graphical) , control (management) , state (computer science) , disease control , agricultural science , microbiology and biotechnology , marketing , biology , economics , agronomy , ecology , management , finance , algorithm , artificial intelligence , computer science
Fungal disease epidemics have the potential to bring about drastic innovations. However, in the case of the B lack S igatoka ( M ycosphaerella fijiensis ) fungus in bananas, producers and international traders are still awaiting a breakthrough in crop protection research. Using the cases of B razil and C olombia, this paper examines different agricultural research responses to the disease. B razil opted to replace susceptible varieties with resistant ones, whereas in C olombia chemical control by private actors dominated. We argue that these different responses result from at least three interrelated factors. First, producer type—smallholder farmers or larger export‐oriented plantations—influences the setting of crop protection research priorities. Second, a central, state‐led role versus a private sector response influences the size and time perspective of research activities. Third, domestic markets with multiple crop varieties versus C avendish‐only export markets leads to differences in control practices and research responses. From this case study, we argue that the currently proposed innovation systems approaches in international agricultural research should adopt a broader perspective that assesses how research is interwoven with agrarian dynamics, commodity chains and particular state roles to elucidate how state–producer–researcher networks perform disease control and where and how to find new solutions.