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Public breeding programs are pushing to implement demand-led breeding to increase variety adoption, while tackling multiple challenges for increased production under climate change. This has included the improvement of variety target product profiles involving multiple stakeholders. A special case involves the unexpected and rapid spread of the Shangi potato variety in Kenya. This variety was not an especially outstanding variety and the levels of its traits did not exceed the expected thresholds defined in the target product profile for table potato in East Africa. By examining the customer segments looking at gender but also social contexts of smallholder and disadvantaged farmers such as access to markets, inputs, and labor, it became apparent that ready availability of potatoes for consumption, processing, or planting was of prime importance. Given the storage and market constraints, Shangi's very short dormancy, which had been assumed to be a negative trait for farmers, women cottage processors and consumers, was actually meeting the needs for available product and planting material. Consequently, this provided these groups increased control over their productive activities. The case study presented here analyzes different components of potato variety change in Kenya. It explores the challenges and tradeoffs faced by public sector breeding programs and how gender analysis from a broader inclusion perspective can uncover the underlying causes of varietal adoption. Focusing on the Shangi potato variety, the case study reveals a series of lessons learned that have re-shaped the definition of breeding priorities.

The study assesses the gender implications of a target product profile for table potato in Kenya. Breeding programs mostly emphasize farmers’ trait requirements and rarely pay attention to other value chain actors’ preferences. This partially contributes to the low uptake of improved varieties. Therefore, efforts are required to assess the gender implications of crop product profile proposals during development, testing, and dissemination. In this paper, we assess the gender implications of traits targeted by a potato breeding program in Kenya using the G+ tools. The study applies the G+ product profile tool to examine the instances the selected traits may exacerbate gender disparity along four domains: unpaid labor, access to employment opportunities, requiring extra inputs and control over benefits. We use mixed methods including a review by social scientists, key informant interviews and a multistakeholder workshop to gather insights from female and male farmers, breeders, and other stakeholders. Findings show that pest, disease resistance, and shelf-life traits benefit women and men in the target customer segments. On the other hand, earliness, dry matter, and yield could increase drudgery for women. The traits increase demand for women’s unpaid labor during harvesting, sorting and food preparation time while also displacing women from profitable nodes. We recommend that gender-responsive strategies accompany the release of the target variety to mitigate inequities and enhance adoption.