Markets and Collective Action: A Case Study of Traditional Wheat Varieties in Turkey

Turkey one of the centers of origin and genetic diversity for wheat. There are concerns about a global decline in crop genetic diversity in centers of agricultural diversity, the replacement of traditional varieties with modern varieties and implications for food security and climate change resilience. Market-oriented solutions can help conserve traditional wheat varieties, secure livelihoods and promote food security. However, overcoming marketing challenges of traditional varieties require collective action of small farmers. Based on fieldwork in Turkey, this article examines the conservation and development outcomes for two traditional wheat varieties, einkorn (Triticum monococcum) and a local bread wheat variety zeron/zerun (Triticum aestivum). While external development interventions are critical to secure guaranteed markets for farmers, bonding, bridging and linking social capital between farmers and external actors sustain collective action in the long term. Previous collective action of farmers and non-market solutions for agricultural biodiversity conservation, particularly seed exchange networks, also are critical for the effectiveness of market-oriented solutions. The national context, legal changes as well as socio-economic policies, also affects the decisions of farmers to cultivate the traditional varieties, and thus, should be included in the sustainability of market-oriented solutions for traditional wheat variety conservation