Moving Beyond Yield: Institutionalizing Participatory Varietal Selection for Farmer-Preferred Maize in Laguna, Philippines

Choosing maize varieties based on yield alone can overlook the traits that determine whether farmers will actually adopt them. Drawing on research in Victoria, Laguna, Philippines, this policy brief shows how farmers weigh taste, culinary use, familiarity, climate resilience, nutritional value, and market potential alongside crop productivity. It examines how participatory varietal selection can better align maize breeding and seed system investments with farmers’ priorities. The brief recommends localized varietal testing, meaningful farmer participation, technical capacity building, and demonstration farms to support farmer-preferred maize, climate-resilient crop diversification, and more responsive agricultural innovation in the Philippines.