World Vegetable Center

Consumers in developing countries are increasingly interested in organic vegetables as they are concerned about pesticide residues affecting their health. In southern Benin, gboma eggplant (Solanum macrocarpon) is the most popular leafy vegetable, but certified organic produce is not commonly available. We explored the market potential for organic labeling by quantifying consumers' willingness to pay (WTP). More specifically, we analyze how consumers' WTP is affected by their food safety perceptions and their time preferences-the extent to which people are willing to trade immediate gratification for future benefits. We used a choice experiment based on four product attributes: freshness, production method, leaf color, and price. Data were collected from 154 vegetable shoppers from seven urban markets in Benin. The results show that freshness, production method, and price significantly influence consumer choice. On average, consumers are willing to pay $0.30 more for organic and $0.032 more for freshness (per leaf pile). Consumers who view organic vegetables as free of chemical pesticides prefer organic over conventional vegetables. Time preference did not significantly influence the preference for organic vegetables. These results show a potential market for organic leafy vegetables and that this market can be expanded by influencing consumer perceptions of organic vegetables. The findings of this study are instrumental in designing policies to support organic vegetable market development and consumption.

Societal Impact Statement Capsicum chinense is central to everyday diets, cultural identity, and smallholder livelihoods across Sub-Saharan Africa, yet remains overlooked in agricultural research and policy. This paper reframes C. chinense as a traditional, climate-resilient vegetable shaped by centuries of farmer stewardship and cultural selection. We highlight its resilience to heat and drought, stable market demand, and importance to women-led value chains, alongside major gaps in breeding and seed systems. Recognizing and investing in this culturally vital crop can strengthen climate adaptation, protect culinary heritage, and improve food security and incomes for millions of smallholder farmers. C. chinense is a culturally, economically, and agriculturally important species whose global significance has been obscured by a long-standing taxonomic misnomer implying a Chinese origin. This designation fails to reflect the species' South American origins or its deep biocultural integration elsewhere. We argue that C. chinense should be reconsidered through a biocultural lens that recognizes its regional diversification, cultural identities, and long-standing human-plant relationships. In Sub-Saharan Africa, C. chinense functions as a traditional vegetable central to everyday cooking, valued for its intense aroma, distinct flavors, balanced heat, and culinary versatility. The crop also exhibits strong agronomic resilience, performing well under heat, drought, and low-input conditions, and providing stable income and food security for smallholder households. Parallel cultural importance in the Caribbean, where landraces anchor national cuisines and artisanal processing traditions, highlights its trans-Atlantic significance. Shared sensory preferences for fruity aroma and balanced heat across Sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean underscore the crop's biocultural connectedness. Despite this prominence, C. chinense remains severely understudied, with major gaps in genetic characterization, stress tolerance, pest and disease resistance, and aroma chemistry. Informal seed systems dominate production, limiting varietal quality and access to improved seed. We call for renewed scientific, institutional, and policy investment to advance breeding, seed systems, and conservation of this resilient and culturally vital crop.

Small seed packs for demonstration and testing are widely used to stimulate the uptake of improved crop varieties, yet evidence on their effectiveness remains mixed. This study examines whether small seed packs distributed either for free or at a subsidised price enhance farmers' knowledge and subsequent adoption of improved legumes, drought-tolerant maize, and improved traditional African vegetables in Tanzania and Zambia. Drawing on mobile phone survey data and applying entropy balancing alongside machine-learning methods to address selection bias, we find consistent evidence that seed packs increase both technical knowledge and adoption of these crops. Knowledge gains are strongest for crops with limited prior exposure, while improvements for familiar crops such as drought-tolerant maize likely reflect experiential learning rather than new information. Adoption effects are positive across all crops and robust to alternative estimation strategies. Overall, the results indicate that small seed packs can serve as an effective demand-creation tool, particularly in settings where farmers face information gaps or uncertainty about the performance of improved germplasm.

Home garden interventions are often believed to empower women, but evidence is limited, especially in Africa. This study examined the impact of home gardens on women's empowerment in Mali using interview data from men and women across 605 households and applying a difference-in-differences estimator. The analysis distinguished between the average effect across all participants assigned to the intervention (intent-to-treat) and the effect among active participants (treatment effect on the treated). It employed the project-based Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index. Qualitative data provided context. The intervention increased women's empowerment, gender parity, vegetable area, and growing period, but only among active participants.

Pepper (Capsicum spp.) is an important crop across sub-Saharan Africa, contributing to income generation and culturally significant cuisines. However, assessing production trends and market dynamics remains difficult due to limited differentiation in global data sets and frequent taxonomic misclassification among Capsicum annuum, Capsicum chinense, and Capsicum frutescens. Current knowledge on the diversity, distribution, and regional importance of major Capsicum species is limited. However, trends indicate an expansion of bell pepper markets in East and Southern Africa, a strong culinary and economic role of aromatic C. chinense types, especially in West and Central Africa, and a localized importance of C. frutescens in informal production systems. Consumer preferences for fruit color, aroma, and capsaicinoid content shape market segmentation and breeding priorities, while weak seed systems and reliance on farmer-saved seed constrain productivity and varietal purity. Strengthening breeding pipelines, improving crop classification, and integrating participatory market assessments with formal statistics will be essential to support climate-resilient pepper value chains and enhance livelihoods across sub-Saharan Africa.