Farmers access seed from informal, intermediary and formal seed systems in Ethiopia. This paper aims to analyze the sources and mechanisms of dissemination seed of finger millet (Eleusine coracana) seed flow and identify the nodal and connector farmers in figure millet producing areas of Ethiopia. Using snow ball sampling 109 farmers were interviewed with semi structured questionnaire. The NetDraw software was used to analyze and map the seed flow network. The results indicated that most farmers in the study area get seeds of finger millet from their friends, relatives and neighbors within the kebele through exchange and purchase. Twenty six nodal, 11connector and 12 nodal connector farmers were identified in the mapping of the seed flow network, with dense and diffuse networks as major ones of the seed flow. The results are useful to design strategies to strengthen the finger millet seed system in the region by recognizing, linking with research centers and capacitating the nodal connector and nodal-connector farmers. In order to maintain the seed flow in different contexts for dense and diffuse networks, crowd sourcing and gene banks are suggested as means of intervention by the project.

Keywords: connector farmers, crowd sourcing, finger millet, nodal farmers, network analysis