Why This Leaf, And Not That One? A Photo Story About Choice
07 January 2026, Tanzania: In the hands of farmers, crop diversity becomes a series of decisions shaped by big things like culture, taste, tradition, climate, and markets, but also, more simply, by how much land, money and time they have. Why does a farmer choose to plant one variety over another? Is it because one grows or cooks quicker? Or because it can be harvested more than once over a season? Why this leaf, and not that one? These judgments reveal what truly matters for farmers when putting a crop to use.
Understanding what matters to farmers clearly matters to the researchers trying to help them. So, across Tanzania and Benin, farmers are making – and recording – these decisions together with researchers as they test diverse lines of amaranth and jute mallow as part of the Crop Trust’s BOLDER initiative. Through the tricot approach used by the project, farmers act as citizen scientists. They generate practical insights into how different varieties perform – what works and what does not – in real field conditions and for their particular situation.
BOLDER is active across several African countries. In Benin and Tanzania, this work is carried out together with the World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg), the Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI), the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, and the Genetics, Biotechnology and Seed Science Unit (GBioS) at the University of Abomey-Calavi.
These photos capture the living link between conservation and use – how crop diversity is tested in farmers’ fields and how farmers choose varieties that belong in their production systems. Their insights enrich genebank data, guide future users and strengthen the livelihoods of farming communities.
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