Market Intelligence Brief 1 Market intelligence for informing crop-breeding decisions by CGIAR and NARES Jason Donovan, Peter Coaldrake, Pieter Rutsaert, Marianne Bänziger, Agnes Gitonga, Diego Naziri, Matty Demont, Jonathan Newby, Mike Ndegwa Abstract Crop breeding by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), in partnership with national agricultural research and extension systems (NARES) and privately owned seed companies, forms the backbone of the research and development (R&D) effort needed to ensure future food security in developing regions. Over the past decades, varieties derived from CGIAR germplasm have helped provide food for hundreds of millions living in harsh and vulnerable environments. However, the capacity to deliver increased benefits from crop breeding will depend on effective strategies to address the stubbornly slow rate of uptake of improved varieties. Meeting the challenge will require, among other inputs, deeper insights on the evolving preferences and requirements of farmers, processors and consumers. In short, breeding will need to be led more by demand. Key to the success of demand-led breeding will be the availability of reliable and timely intelligence on the current and future preferences and requirements of farmers, processors and consumers. Although ‘market intelligence’ has existed in various forms in CGIAR’s social science research agenda, an opportunity exists for increased relevance based on shared approaches and tools and new partnerships, both within CGIAR and between CGIAR and its partners. Beginning in 2022, a coordinated effort through the CGIAR Initiative on Market Intelligence looks to build cross-functional and transdisciplinary teams to provide market intelligence in support of crop- breeding and seed-system development. Key points • The CGIAR Initiative on Market Intelligence provides data, information and insights to inform decisions that will prioritize and align investment in breeding pipelines and seed systems. These investments aim to maximize contributions to the five CGIAR Impact Areas: poverty reduction, food and nutrition security, gender and youth inclusion, climate adaptation and environmental protection. • Critical to the success of the CGIAR and NARES approach to market intelligence will be a common understanding of key approaches, methods and definitions related to market segments and how they are operationalized to inform decisions and guide investments in crop breeding and seed systems development. • This brief provides an outline of the approach to market intelligence, covering key approaches, methods and definitions related to seed This Initiative aims to maximize CGIAR and partners’ returns on product market segmentation, opportunity for impact, future priorities, investment in breeding, seed product concepts and the way forward. systems and other Initiatives • Reliable processes are urgently needed within CGIAR and NARES based on reliable and timely to implement effective cross-functional teams, feedback loops and market intelligence that enables decision-making processes that will integrate market intelligence stronger demand orientation data, information and insights for decisions on breeding-pipeline and strengthens co-ownership investment, target product profile (TPP) design and seed systems and co-implementation by development. CGIAR and partners. 2 Market Intelligence Brief 1 Introduction Over the past 25 years, researchers have generated important insights on the traits and varieties farmers prefer. In response to climate change, population growth and These farmer preferences for traits and varieties have persistent rural poverty, crop-breeding teams are challenged been explored through household surveys, participatory to deliver improved varieties in less time and with fewer rural appraisals and participatory varietal selection (Smale, resources. Since the 1970s, researchers have captured Heisey and Leathers 1995; Harris et al. 2001; Ceccarelli the varietal preferences of farmers and documented the and Grando 2007; Witcombe et al. 2008; Singh, Nayak and opinions of seed-system actors, including extension agents Sharma 2014). More recently, economists have employed and policy makers, regarding varietal performance and tools such as choice experiments (e.g., Arora, Bansal and farmers’ needs. Nevertheless, more systematic, accurate, Ward 2018; Okello et al. 2022), experimental auctions (e.g. forward-looking and scalable approaches are necessary to Demont and Ndour 2015) and gamification of farmer priority capture the size and nature of current and future demand traits (Steinke and van Etten 2017; Maligalig et al. 2019, 2021). for varieties to inform decisions on varietal design and Studies have explored the differences in trait preferences public-sector investments. Future development strategies between men and women (Marimo et al. 2020). Other for breeding and seed systems will benefit from an ability to efforts have assessed the potential impact of specific traits better anticipate how farmers, processors and consumers (productivity, climate, disease or pest resilience, nutrition) may respond to emerging threats and opportunities in within a region. Overall, a large body of work has emerged, light of seed-sector and product-market evolution and the but variations in research questions, methodologies and changing environment in which farmers operate. interventions have contributed to disparate research findings and limited the opportunities for consolidation and Broad agreement exists that demand-led breeding is comparative analyses. essential to achieve more impact from investments in crop breeding (Anthony 2013). This recognizes a perceived Looking ahead, a strategic opportunity to guide more supply-side bias in how breeding pipelines have been impactful investments in crop breeding and seed systems designed and prioritized—with investments among crops development lies in and within pipelines tending to reflect strongly held breeder assumptions about current and future farmer requirements. • establishing a common set of terms and consistent The continued interest in a demand-led approach to approaches for generating and disseminating market the design of varieties and the prioritization of breeding intelligence that is relevant for guiding decisions on pipelines requires reliable, comparable and timely market program design and implementation at multiple levels intelligence. It also requires new mechanisms for how (national, (sub)regional and global); market intelligence is collected, shared and discussed • coordinating research across CGIAR and NARES to deliver with those engaged in the design and funding of breeding timely market intelligence across regions and crops; pipelines and seed systems. • establishing processes and structures for coordination and engagement across social science teams and among social science, crop modelers, CGIAR-NARES networks and the private sector. Acronyms used in this brief The CGIAR Initiative on Market Intelligence (‘Market CIAT International Center for Tropical Intelligence’ for brevity) represents a new effort to engage Agriculture social scientists, crop breeding teams and others to work CIMMYT International Maize and Wheat together toward the design and implementation of a Improvement Center demand-led breeding approach. CIP International Potato Center CGIAR Consultative Group on International This brief defines several important concepts that, when Agricultural Research taken together, form the basic framework used by the Initiative to generate comparable and useful market EiB Excellence in Breeding Platform intelligence. Some of the definitions are inspired by previous IFPRI International Food Policy Research work on demand-led breeding (Persley and Anthony Institute 2017), while others build on work by CGIAR’s Excellence IITA International Institute of Tropical in Breeding Platform (EiB). A confusing set of terms and Agriculture definitions has emerged around market intelligence—a IRRI International Rice Research Institute field rooted in commercial product innovation—with NARES National agricultural research and different terms and definitions for similar concepts. In the extension systems interest of clear communication and understanding among those engaged in crop breeding, seed systems and social SPMS Seed product market segment science, this brief presents key concepts and definitions SPMSD Seed Product Market Segment Database that have been discussed extensively during the initial TPP Target Product Profile months of implementation of Market Intelligence. We conclude the brief with reflections on the way forward for implementation. Market Intelligence Brief 1 3 Core concepts and definitions recognizes the variation in natural environments—climate, diseases and production systems. The subregion level strikes Market intelligence research a balance between the lower country level (where various Market intelligence research in the context of crop small countries may share similar natural environments) and breeding and seed systems is the practice of gathering the higher regional level (where regions may hide important and analysing data to identify and describe opportunities variations in natural environments). Two or more subregions for increased positive outcomes and impacts derived from can be combined to reach the regional level, while subregions innovation in product design and delivery. CGIAR uses can be separated into countries for discussions with NARES and enhances the use of market intelligence research to and other country-level stakeholders. maximize contribution to the five Impact Areas addressing poverty reduction, improved nutrition, gender equality, climate change and environment. In this context, market The remaining five criteria further refine the segmentation intelligence research seeks to based on grower, processor and consumer requirements. They are considered in terms of the production environment— • identify and describe current seed product market the biophysical conditions under which the crop is grown segments (as defined in the following subsection) as (elevation, rainfall), the production system employed by the the basis for discussions on relative opportunities for farmer and farmers’ requirements for the seed maturity class increased impact; (extra early, early, mid and late). One example of production • assess the opportunities for impact across the CGIAR system is the farmers’ use of direct seeded rice—this is how Impact Areas from different types of investments (e.g. the crop is grown, which drives a unique SPMS and requires crop breeding, agronomy and seed systems) and within varieties with specific traits, captured in a TPP for that market seed product market segments; segment. End-user requirements distinguish the product’s • identify future requirements for varieties by farmers, use, for example, as input for a particular process or as an processors and consumers in response to external trends ingredient in a particular type of food, as well as the color of and assess the contribution to the CGIAR Impact Areas; the grain or flesh. • estimate the potential for crop breeding to drive value chain development—for example, new cereal varieties For a given crop and region combination, multiple segments that allow for increased commercial production of flours will emerge that are driven by a particular combination of with longer shelf life. farmer, processor and consumer requirements. Hybrid maize in East Africa provides an illustrative example where Seed product market segment farming requirements play a strong role in determining the A seed product market segment (SPMS) is a group of market segments: all segments include white grain, grown farmers with common variety requirements. In the context under rainfed conditions and used for human consumption. of CGIAR and NARES crop breeding, these segments are It is maturity that plays the key role in determining multiple defined based on grower requirements (where and how the segments: some maize farmers in this region require early crop is grown) and end-user requirements (what the crop maturing varieties while others require intermediate or is used for). A consistently defined and described set of late maturing varieties, depending on the respective agro- SPMSs provides the basis for ecological zone and personal preferences. A farmer in East Africa falls in the early maturity segment if he or she • setting priorities based on comparisons of market prefers early hybrid white maize to provide grain earlier in segment data and information (e.g. area, rural population the season to meet family needs and/or to sell at a higher in poverty, yield and yield potential, value of crop); price before a bumper harvest. The targeted varieties for • informing the design of a TPP—a blueprint for the design these market segments would need to be different in of new varieties tailored to the requirements of a given terms of maturity. In crops such as groundnuts, potatoes market segment; and cassava, consumer requirements play a strong role in • using a common language for discussions with NARES, determining the market segments. breeders, social scientists, seed companies and CGIAR leadership and funders on prioritization and investment Seed Product Segment Database levels. Version 1.0 of the Seed Product Market Segment Database (SPMSD) contains more than 400 SPMSs identified using Market segmentation criteria the criteria presented in Table 1. The database covers crops Table 1 presents the eight criteria used to define the SPMSs. and subregions where CGIAR and NARES currently target The first three criteria (crop, material type and subregion) investments in crop breeding and seed systems.1 For form the basic building blocks of the segmentation. Twenty- each market segment in the database, data are presented five crops are considered, some of which are specified by to describe the segment (segment descriptors). These germplasm (e.g. spring and durum wheat). These are listed descriptors provide an understanding of the size and at the bottom of table 1. Material type distinguishes crops relevance of each segment. Examples of descriptors are that are hybrid (hybrid maize, sorghum and rice, for example). area under production, production volume, value, total The 10 subregions were derived from the seven CGIAR and rural population, population in the market segment recognized regions. The inclusion of a geographical criterion footprint (total, in poverty and undernourished). These data 1 Version 1.0 of the SPMSD evolved from a previous version that was designed to classify segments according to CGIAR center, crop and subregion. As a result, version 1.0, which dropped ‘CGIAR center’ as a classifier, contains duplicity of market segments where two or more centers have pipelines for the same crop that feed the subregion (e.g. rice and cassava in East Africa). Future versions of SPMSD will strive for a ‘one crop’ focus. 4 Market Intelligence Brief 1 Table 1: Criteria for identification of seed product market segments Criteria Description Examples and notes Crop* Crops in the CGIAR crop In some instances, the criterion is further specified by germplasm (e.g. breeding portfolio banana and plantain, spring, durum and winter wheat, pearl and finger millet) Material type Hybrid seed production • yes or no, where no implies the traditional material type (open-pollinated system variety, inbreed variety or clone) • examples of hybrid crops in the CGIAR breeding portfolio include maize, sorghum, rice and millet Subregion Subregion(s) where the One of the following: crop is grown (subregions • Central Asia • Central Africa • Southern Africa derived from the seven • South Asia • East Africa • West Africa regions recognized by • West Asia • North Africa • Latin America CGIAR**) • South-East Asia End use Use of the product by Examples include: processors and consumers • food, human consumption, with variation in size and hardness (e.g. long (on farm, off farm) soft rice, large bean) • feed, animal feed and fodder • food processing, with specific raw material requirements (e.g. potato chips and crisps) Color Description of the color of Examples include: the grain, skin or flesh • grain color: white or yellow maize, brown or white cowpea • skin or flesh color: orange or white sweet potato, yellow or white cassava Production Where the crop is grown Examples include: environment (climate, elevation) • lowlands or uplands for rice • drought-prone or high-temperature regions for spring wheat Production How the crop is grown Examples include: system • rainfed or irrigated • direct seeded or transplanted • solid stand or intercropped Maturity*** Length of time from One of the following: planting to harvest • extra early • early • mid • late * Rice, maize, sorghum, spring wheat, durum wheat, winter wheat, cassava, cowpea, groundnut, soybean, sweet potato, chickpea, barley, finger millet, pearl millet, pigeon pea, potato, common bean, faba bean, forages (Bracharia and Penisetum), lentil, banana, yam, plantain, grass pea. ** For list of regions recognized by CGIAR, see https://www.cgiar.org/research/cgiar-regions/. *** May not apply in all cases were collected from available sources including FAO Stat current investments targeted toward those segments and geospatial data. Current estimates on the size of the where the potential for impact is greatest? Which (sub) market segment (acres under production) per country were regions present the greatest opportunity? What are derived from extensive consultations with CGIAR breeding potential barriers to impact in those segments where the teams in 2022 by Module One of the CGIAR EiB. need is greatest? Macro-level analysis also highlights those segments that need deeper dives to better understand Investment opportunity: macro view the realities on the ground and the implications for greater impact from crop breeding and seed systems development. Having defined market segments, the primary question becomes: What opportunities exist within a market segment or set of segments to achieve greater impact from Investment opportunity: micro view future investments in crop breeding? Insights come from Informed investment prioritization discussions will also considering two perspectives: a macro view and a micro require deeper, more context-specific analysis. Through view. The macro view utilizes the segment descriptors from case studies, field experiments, surveys and other means, the SPMSD to highlight variation between segments and Market Intelligence looks to understand the needs, potential impact of breeding investments for a respective strategies and challenges faced by participants in seed market segment. The dashboard feature of the database systems and the implications for crop breeding and seed allows for easy comparisons of descriptors across segments systems interventions. Attention may be directed at farmers’ in one or more (sub)regions. Descriptor comparisons across preferences for and access to seed products: what products segments and (sub)regions can induce critical reflection are preferred, how do preferences differ by gender, which within breeding networks and seed systems teams: Are products are reliably available and what factors may trigger Market Intelligence Brief 1 5 changes in preferences (e.g. a shift from older varieties to underlying reasons for those preferences can provide newer ones). Important questions remain about the role important insights for the design of future seed products. of information, price and trust in farmers’ decisions about Concepts can explore the relevance of potential new seed preferences and seed product uptake. Often little, if varieties that respond to preferences related to gender equity any, credible evidence exists on end-user requirements, (e.g. easier to harvest varieties), food security (e.g. varieties especially those of final consumers and food processors. resistant to mold) and home consumption (e.g. ‘sweet Insights into these requirements would prompt new tasting’ varieties). Concepts may reflect production-related discussions on the potential for crop breeding to respond requirements, such as maturity and drought resistance, to the requirements and the implications of doing so for while others may respond to end-user considerations, such farmers (e.g. higher income) and processors and retailers those related to taste, storability and marketability. The (e.g. new products and higher margins). The performance design of concepts takes place over multiple rounds of of seed systems represents another micro-view issue engagement with breeders, seed company representatives that, in many contexts, deserves more attention, given its and farmers and farmer organizations. Once concepts are implications for the prioritization of investments in crop designed, multiple options exist for engaging with farmers breeding. Where seed systems have struggled to deliver to assess their preferences for product concepts, from new improved varieties to farmers, questions arise about qualitative deep dives with a limited number of farmers to the underlying causes and the sequencing of investments the use of videos to present concepts to hundreds, even between crop breeding, seed systems development and thousands, of farmers. By generating reliable evidence other intervention areas (e.g. extension). Embedded in the about farmers’ preferences for product concepts, Market seed systems discussion are issues about the willingness of Intelligence provides a reliable basis for discussions on the the private sector to invest in the production and distribution product feasibility (and potential impact) for SPMSs that of new varieties; the role of regulations, competition and could exist in the future. infrastructure in shaping its willingness; and options for more effective partnerships with the public sector. The way ahead Future seed product market segment This new CGIAR Initiative on Market Intelligence aims to consistently and systematically improve market A future seed product market segment will be identified intelligence information. It brings together researchers from and defined based on evidenced-based assumptions about social and environmental sciences, crop breeding and seed changes in varietal requirements by farmers, processors and systems to advance a shared vision of how to define and consumers in response to external trends. They respond to describe current and future seed product market segments economic, regulatory or biophysical changes that are likely and the opportunities and challenges inherent in these to result in significant changes in what will be demanded segments. Understanding the opportunity for impact of or accepted by the market and where and how the crop each market segment and having a robust TPP developed will be produced. Dialogues with private sector actors (e.g. for each market segment offers the best potential for seed companies, cereal millers, animal feed producers and elevating contributions from breeding and seed systems food processors), analysis of climatic and geospatial data development to the CGIAR Impact Areas. and product concept testing (described in the following subsection) are some of the methods for identifying future segments. An example of a future segment is one for an This brief has provided core concepts and definitions and early maturity variety: in the future some farmers may outlined the broad approach to be applied within current require earlier maturing varieties of a crop they currently CGIAR efforts. Success of Market Intelligence will depend grow to optimize water use and to avoid rainfall uncertainty on its ability to deliver reliable data, information and insights linked to climate change. They may also require varieties into market segments. This new Market Intelligence Brief that are tolerant to new pests and diseases or a different series responds to the need for clear, short and actionable crop based on changes in the market demand or changes communication about market intelligence across teams in environmental conditions, such as significant changes in and partners involved. With comparable and actionable temperature or duration, amount and variation of rainfall. market intelligence comes the need for new mechanisms Processors may have new requirements for raw materials that engender robust cross-functional team discussions to that conform to specific quality parameters, for example, identify and develop scenarios that will be used to prioritize specialty starch or characteristics that enable faster breeding and seed systems investments. processing. Consumers may have future requirements for products that are more nutritious, store longer or are Looking ahead, the success of the CGIAR Initiative on more convenient to prepare. The challenge for Market Market Intelligence will depend on consistent, productive Intelligence is to identify where these changes are likely to engagements that cross disciplinary and institutional take place and assess the implications for crop breeding boundaries to address the following needs and seed system development. The new segments should be identified based on farmer, processor and consumer • Refine current SPMSD: New evidence can refine the requirements and the impact on existing SPMSs understood existing SPMSD. In practice, this means identifying and documented. market segments that exist but were not included in the database. Intelligence that focuses on processor and consumer requirements is especially promising for the Product concepts identification of new segments. Product concepts are descriptions of actual or hypothetical • Identify future segments: Intelligence on the future varieties and their potential uses and benefits for farming, requirements of growers, processors and consumers, processing and end-use consumption. Discussions with including the variations in requirements across farmers and others on their concept preferences and their socioeconomic and gender dimensions, will provide the 6 Market Intelligence Brief 1 basis for predicting future segments. Having identified • Design new methods and tools: The design intelligence- future SPMSs, teams can put forth evidence-based gathering methods and tools that strike a balance scenarios on the potential contribution of the segments between ease and robustness of evidence and address to the CGIAR Impact Areas. . the unique features of different crops (from cereals to • Inform prioritization discussions: Whether based tubers) will be essential for generating comparable on analysis of secondary data or deep-dive research, evidence and for ensuring productive collaboration with intelligence informs discussions on the potential for crop local partners breeding vis-à-vis other intervention areas (e.g. seed • Build engagement platforms: Discussions are overdue systems, agronomy and value chains) to contribute to about the design of new spaces at the (sub)regional CGIAR Impact Areas in a market segment, viewed from level for critical reflection and discussion among either the country, subregional or regional level (or, in transdisciplinary and multi-institutional teams about some cases, aggregated at the global level). the implication of reliable market intelligence for crop breeding and seed systems development. Concepts and definitions for market intelligence Breeding pipeline: All population improvement, early- Product design: An overarching term that covers product and late-stage variety identification efforts for a TPP or a concept, product specification (which is included in group of similar TPPs that results in the identification of TPP—see definition below) and product assembly. distinct varieties. Product description: Description of traits and CGIAR Initiative on Market Intelligence: One of 31 characteristics of a variety that distinguishes it from initiatives launched in 2022 as part of the One-CGIAR other varieties in a market segment. It serves as a guide portfolio. The initiative provides a structure and process for breeders, product managers and seed suppliers to for the systematic description of opportunities for position new varieties in a market segment and for farmers increased development impact through crop breeding to select between varieties within a market segment. and for supporting program leaders, funders and local Requirements: Critical factors that are considered by stakeholders in their prioritization and investment farmers for growing, marketing or consuming a crop in a decisions. certain region. Requirements within each criterion drive End users: Persons, businesses and organizations that a unique market segment. Requirements define market consume, trade, distribute and/or process agricultural segments. products. End users may have distinct needs, preferences Seed market segment descriptors: Data used across and requirements in terms of fresh product/raw material seed product market segments to describe each seed attributes, including taste, color, texture, storability and product market segment’s size and relevance (impact processability, which will drive unique SPMSs. opportunity). Future seed product market segment: Future Seed Product Market Segment (SPMS): A group of assumptions about changes in demographics, socio farmers with common variety requirements. In the context economic status and technology that alter the variety of CGIAR and NARES crop breeding, these segments are requirements of farmers, processors and consumers. defined based on grower requirements (where and how Market intelligence: Practice of gathering and analysing the crop is grown) and end-user requirements (what the data to identify and describe opportunities for breeding crop is used for). and seed systems to optimize their contribution to Seed Product Market Segment Database: Database CGIAR Impact Areas of nutrition and health, poverty that presents known SPMSs. The current database has reduction, environmental health, gender equality and more than 400 segments. These will be refined and social inclusion, and climate adaptation. expanded based on evidence gathered in collaboration Pipeline investment case: Assessment of the potential with NARES, seed producers, seed retailers and others. return to investment of public resources to the CGIAR Target Product Profile (TPP): A blueprint for the design of Impact Areas of a breeding pipeline that is aligned to new varieties that indicates the traits and characteristics one or more SPMSs/TPPs. required in a new variety to meet or exceed the Preferences: The decision by a farmer to choose requirements of growers, processors and consumers in between SPMSs. an SPMS. For each trait in the TPP, details are included Product concept: Description of a hypothetical variety and on the scale used to measure it and the threshold score its potential use and benefit for farmers, processors, and applied for evaluation. consumers. Choices between product concepts provide Variety: A distinct germplasm product that is a clonal insights on preferences for current and future SPMSs. variety, true-to-seed variety or a hybrid. Market Intelligence Brief 1 7 References Anthony V. 2013. Demand-driven plant variety design. Syngenta Foundation. Available from http://media.wix. com/ugd/ad2c36_49f5003c432d2d6a4281626ccca63ea6.pdf. Arora A, Bansal S, Ward P. 2018. Do farmers value rice varieties tolerant to droughts and floods? Evidence from a discrete choice experiment in Odisha, India. Water Resources and Economics 25: 27–41. Bentley A, Donovan J, Sonder K, Baudron F, Lewis J, Voss R, Rutsaert P, Poole N, Kamoun S, Saunders D, Hodson D, Hughes D, Negra C, Ibba MI, Snapp S, Shiferaw-Sida T, Jaleta M, Tesfaye K, Becher-Reshef I, Govaerts, C. 2022. Near- to long-term measures to stabilize global wheat supplies and food security. Nature Food. 3: 483–486. Ceccaelli S, Grando S. 2007. 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Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems 38 (4): 427–444. Smale M, Heisey P, Leathers H. 1995. Maize of the ancestors and modern varieties: high yielding variety adoption in Malawi. Economic Development and Cultural Change 43 (2): 351–368. Steinke J, van Etten J. 2017. Gamification of farmer-participatory priority setting in plant breeding: design and validation of ‘AgroDuos’. Journal of Crop Improvement 31(2), https://doi.org:10.1080/15427528.2017.1303801. Witcombe JR, Joshi A, Joshi KD, Sthapit BR. 2008. Farmer participatory crop improvement. I. Varietal selection and breeding methods and their impact on biodiversity. Experimental Agriculture 32 (4): 445–460.. Authors Jason Donovan (j.donovan@cgiar.org) is a senior economist at the International Maize and Wheat Center (CIMMYT), based in Mexico. His research examines the role of the private sector in seed systems development for cereal crops in East Africa and Mexico. He leads the Market Intelligence Work Package in the CGIAR Initiative on Market Intelligence. Peter Coaldrake is the interim lead of Module 1 in Excellence in Breeding (EiB) and led the effort to develop the first version of the Seed Product Segmentation Database. He retired from Corteva Agriscience, where he held leadership roles in plant breeding, portfolio management and strategic marketing. He leads the ReFOCUS Work Package in the Accelerated Breeding Initiative. Pieter Rutsaert is a markets and value chains specialist with CIMMYT, Nairobi. His work focuses on seed systems and market intelligence for cereal crops in East Africa. Before joining CIMMYT, he worked at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines and as research director for Haystack International, Belgium. Marianne Bänziger was with CIMMYT for more than 27 years as crop physiologist and breeder and in network, program and center management. As an independent advisor, she works with the CGIAR Initiatives in the Genetic Innovations Action Area on aligning efforts between initiatives and with partners, with demand-led deep dives in the interfaces between Accelerated Breeding, Market Intelligence, Seed Equal and Breeding Resources Initiatives. 8 Market Intelligence Brief 1 Agnes Mbugua-Gitonga is a market strategist with EIB. She was part of the team that developed the first version of the Seed Product Market Segment Database. Before joining EIB, she worked with Syngenta and BASF where she held various roles in marketing, market intelligence and strategy development. Diego Naziri is a value chain and postharvest specialist at CIP and associate professor of Agri-food Systems Innovation at the Natural Resources Institute of the University of Greenwich, United Kingdom. Based in Vietnam, he conducts research on the evolving preferences and needs of potato and sweet potato end-users and by coordinates CIP input into the Market Intelligence Work Package. Matty Demont is a senior economist at IRRI, based in the Philippines. His ongoing work focuses on market and behavioral intelligence for sustainable rice value chain upgrading and breeding in Africa and Asia. He leads the CGIAR Initiative on Market Intelligence. Prior to joining IRRI, he worked at the Africa Rice Center in Senegal. Jonathan Newby is an agricultural economist and the leader of the cassava program at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT. His research includes understanding the drivers and trajectories of different segments in the cassava sector and how the structure of local value chains and composition of livelihoods impacts both the adoption and incentives for scaling innovations. Michael Ndegwa is an associate scientist at CIMMYT, Nairobi. His work focuses on evaluation of seed marketing techniques, strategies for achieving faster varietal turnover, and market intelligence to inform cereal breeding and seed systems development. About this series Series editor The Market Intelligence Brief offers evidence-based Jason Donovan, CIMMYT insights into the potential for increased impact toward the CGIAR Impact Areas from investments in crop Editorial committee breeding and seed systems development. This peer- Vishnuvardhan Banda, IITA reviewed series brings together voices from diverse Peter Coaldrake, EiB/CIMMYT fields, including marketing and agribusiness, gender, Matty Demont, IRRI plant sciences and climate change to inform debates on future priorities and investments by CGIAR, NARES, Guy Hareau, CIP the private sector and non-governmental organizations Berber Kramer, IFPRI (NGOs). This series is a collaborative effort of the CGIAR Vivian Polar, CIP Initiative on Market Intelligence. For more information, including potential submissions, please contact Meliza Recommended citation Peña, editorial assistant, at . Donovan J, Coaldrake P, Rutsaert P, Bänzinger M, Gitonga A, Naziri D, Demont, M, Newby J, Ndegwa M. 2022. Market intelligence for informing crop-breeding decisions by CGIAR and NARES. Market Intelligence Brief Series 1, Montpellier: CGIAR. https://hdl.handle.net/10883/22248