|
|
Statistics are to a researcher what a stethoscope is to a doctor. This means that researchers must master statistics in order to carry out their activities and publish their findings. The Institut de recherche agricole pour le développement in Cameroon, following on the example of the Centre national de recherche agronomique in Côte d’Ivoire (see twentieth issue of Coraf Action) understood this perfectly when it organized training for about forty researchers from its five regional centers. The event took place at Yaoundé, from 18 June to 4 August 2001. Courses focused primarily on computer, dispositions, classical experimental techniques, statistical analysis software (SAS), various analysis techniques (variance analysis, mean comparative tests, repeated factor analysis, multivariate analysis). Another Training Course The last training course of this nature dates back over
ten years. Participants expressed the hope that another training course would be organized
very soon on generalized linear modeling and multivariate analysis. Contact: Michel Ndoumbé
Nkeng In Côte d’Ivoire, smallholders find it very
expensive to manage a rubber plantation that has not begun producing. It is only too easy
to understand how bad they feel knowing that it takes from five to six years for the trees
to produce latex (see twentieth issue of Coraf Action). Yet, these farmers can overcome
this difficulty though mixed cropping: rubber associated with food or commercial crops.
This successful association, which they owe to the Centre national de recherche
agronomique, is the final outcome of twenty years of research trials on station and
on-farm. During the first years, rubber can be mixed with food
crops like rice, yam, groundnut, plantain, maize, and vegetables, or with cash crops like
coffee, cocoa tree, oilpalm, pineapple, kola tree, and lemon tree. Results have proved
fruitful since rubber growth rates and this crop’s productivity levels can be
compared to rates obtained when lots consist of rubber alone or any single one of these
crops. Although this was enough to convince smallholders, they
still need to master varietal utilization, disease and crop management techniques. Contact: Jules Kéli Zagbahi
In sub-Saharan Africa, a growing number of countries are
exploiting biotechnological research findings. These praiseworthy efforts should be backed
up by a decision to regulate biotechnology and its products, but human resources should be
trained. This is what the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture and the West and
Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development intend to do with the
organization of a workshop on biosecurity regulations in Ibadan, Nigeria, from 28 January
to 1st February 2002. Destined solely for biosecurity professionals, this
training course will provide a forum for an exchange of experiences amongst national
participants and experts from the world over who possess a lot of experience in the field. Interested parties should immediately send their
applications to the address indicated below. They should know that a restricted amount of
fellowships will be available to cover participation fees. Contact: C.A. Fatokun The objective assigned to the Projet de recherche sur
l’utilisation et la conservation durables des ressources génétiques du cacaoyer
(Research Project on the Use and Sustainable Conservation of Cocoa Genetic Material) is to
participate in the development and dissemination of improved varieties of quality cocoa
over five years. It brings together thirteen African national and international
institutions. Since its creation in February 1998, a lot of water has flowed under the
bridge (meetings in Montpellier, Papua New Guinea in the Pacific, Trinidad and Tobago in
the Caribbean) and that explains why the three years’ of activities were evaluated
during a meeting held in Abidjan in March 2001. The advancing state of the project was
examined. By the end of the seminar, representatives from Cameroon,
Ghana, Nigeria, and Côte d’Ivoire, from the International Plant Genetic Resources
(IPGRI) (executing agency), the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) (monitoring
agency), and funding partners decided on important measures. Future activities were
programmed. Project funding, amounted to seven billon CFA francs, comes from African research
institutions, the Fonds commun des produits de base (CFC) (Common Fund for Commodities) in
the Netherlands, the American Cocoa Research Institute (ACRI), the Biscuit Cake Chocolate
Confectionery Alliance (BCCCA) in Great Britain, and the Centre de coopération
internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement. Contact: François
N’Guessan
In Senegal, parasites love to prey on small ruminants.
Digestive strongyloses are responsible for thirty to forty-five per cent of cattle deaths
and for thirty-three per cent of reduction in productivity levels. Oesophagostomum, one of
the most dangerous digestive strongyloses, causes nodular larval œsophagostomosis
which affects one in two sheeps at the abattoir. This is the background behind the study
realized by the Kolda centre de recherches zootechniques of the Institut sénégalais de
recherches agricoles on nodular larval œsophagostomosis in small ruminants of the
subhumid zone. Researchers worked on 87 intestines taken from small
ruminants at the Kolda abattoir. Nearly 70% of sheeps and goats are infected by
Oesophagostomum columbianum. Nearly 50% of small ruminants have their intestinal mucus
infested by larvae during the rainy season, whilst during the dry season there is about
60% prevalence. Eosinophilic nodules (the host’s reaction to the parasitic attack)
occur all year round, but increase (172 nodules per animal) in November. Adult parasites
are a constant presence on the animals, especially in September. Oesophagostomum
columbianum develops in a single host animal and semi-directly into the intestinal mucus.
Larvae can hibernate in intestinal submucus for several months. To End the Hibernation Period This study’s plan of control proposes to apply
Oesophagostomum treatment at the end of the rainy season (October) in order to prevent
late infestation which gives rise to the initial nodules. It also proposes a treatment
application at the end of the dry season (April) to lower the level of adult parasites
breeding in the grazing areas at the onset of the first rains, when the larvae in the
nodules end their hibernation period. Contact: Momar Talla Seck The coffee bush is well-known for its famous berry. It
should also have quite a reputation because of its many predators of which there are
fifty-four species of hemipterous insects (suckers) distributed amongst forty-four genuses
belonging to twelve families. Five of them do the most damage. All the insects live on and
feed off coffee tree. Coffea arabica and Coffea congensis are the most susceptible.
Antesthiospsis lineaticollis (a tick) is the major threat to the first one and a
subspecies is found in Cameroon. This was revealed by a Natural Sciences Doctorate Thesis
on the fauna and ecobiology researches on insects that are harmful or associated with
coffee tree in Cameroon. Presented at the University of Yaoundé 1, research work was also
carried out at the laboratory of general and applied entomology at the Natural History
Museum in Paris and at the NKolbisson agricultural research center at the Institut de
recherche agricole pour le développement in Cameroon. The author did a literature review on all that is known
about domestic or wild coffee tree (the origin of domesticated coffee tree and the
economic importance of coffee tree production in African countries, in particular) and on
hemipterous insects (lifestyle, damage to plants, etc.). He went on to study harvesting
and evaluation techniques of the density of the hemipterous population, the natural
parasites (Corioxenos antestiae which attacks from inside the insects and five species of
beetles that can destroy at least 50% of the eggs) of the “Cameroonian”
subspecies, and two other hemipterous insects (Sphaerocoris annulus and Coloborrhis
corticina) that have only recently been observed on the coffee bush. S. annulus which is an allotropic or heterotropic (feeding
organic matter produced or synthesized by an autotrophus organism) species, and which is monovoltine (reproducing once a year),
reproduces on Vernonia amygdalina during the dry season. The females lay eggs on the
underside of the leaf. When they hatch, the larvae migrate into the flowers where they
feed and grow to maturity. As for the C. corticina subspecies found nationwide, it has the
very interesting characteristic with regard to phystosanitary control; the period when the
eggs cannot hatch (embryonic diapause) during the rainy season. Biological control can
also be envisaged because another insect (P. wonjeae) seems to be interested in these
insects only and can eat up to 20% of their larvae. Contact: Pierre Mbondji
Mbondji In West and Central Africa, biological control for plant
diseases has become a challenge for four African cocoa producing countries, such as
Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Nigeria. Researchers decided to set up a working
group coordinated by their Cameroonian colleagues. They also proposed training for
researchers and technicians, and the establishment of an African center for the
conservation and management of specimens of microbial agents, harmonizing their
expectations, facilitating inter-laboratory exchanges and protecting the use of research
results on local biodiversity. These were the results of the first workshop on the theme
held in Yaoundé, from 25 to 29 June 2001. Organized by the Institut de recherche agricole pour le
développement in Cameroon and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, this
workshop also aimed to promote the rational use of natural microbial biodiversity specific
to cocoa production in order to reduce the cost of controlling brown rot on cocoa tree
pods. Another objective was to draw up strategies and techniques for the limited
application of chemical synthesis products, environmental protection, and the
establishment of a research network to facilitate collaboration amongst research teams on
the continent and in the rest of the world. Finally, trainers from the United States, France, and
Great Britain introduced participants to techniques for identifying species of Trichoderma
(a fungus giving biofongicides) that are most efficient for a biological control program. Contact: Pierre-Roger
Tondjé
A course in agricultural research management for research
program heads working in the National Agricultural Research Systems is planned from 5 to
17 November 2001, in Abidjan. It will be organized by the International Service for
National Agricultural Research (ISNAR) within the framework of partnerships for training
between some forty NARS, research networks, African regional organizations, and
International Agricultural Research Centers. The objective of this course, created in
1996, is human resource development for improved management of agricultural research in
the interest of beneficiaries. Training encompasses leadership in agricultural research
management, research program development, research, planning, monitoring, and evaluation
of research projects, financial management. Participants were selected on the basis of gender parity,
their various disciplines, and their degree of motivation in applying lessons learned. Contact: Zenete Peixoto
França Contact: Kédro
Diomandé
These days in Nigeria, two growth-regulating chemicals are
“all the rage” amongst agricultural research environment. Chloro-cholin
chlorate, a nitrate salt, and Chlormequat chlorate improve the plant root system. To
successfully grow indeed a water-loving plant as rice, you need one thousand and six
hundred eighty millimeters of water. Under prevailing rainfall conditions in dryland
areas, the lack of water causes moisture stress and rice blast. The only alternative is to
“draw” water from the depths of the earth. The National Cereals Research
Institute has carried out research on how best to use these two growth regulators. Two methods apply for Chloro-cholin chlorate: 600 mg per
liter of water sprayed rice leaves twenty-one days after sowing or soaking seeds for eight
hours before sowing. With regard to Chlormequat chlorate, 600 mg per liter of
water were enough for soaking seeds of the FARO 43 variety. Seeds were planted in clay
pots. After twenty-one days, the seedlings were subjected to moisture stress for twelve
days and wilted. On the thirteenth day, they were watered again and pursue growing. The
leaves developed considerable water retention capacity, improving the distribution of
humidity in these plants. There was less evapotranspiration, and high resistance pores on
the stems which avoid water loss. Wilt is a much slower and less severely on the treated
plants, that survive much longer because of their harmonious relationship with water and soil. The Most Efficient Method Moreover, chlormequat chlorate has also been used to
control rice blast. Researchers first sprayed leaves of a sensitive variety, Co. 39, with
25 000 ml of a solution based on conidia (a pathogenic fungus) twenty-one days after
sowing. Once the variety developed the disease, three control methods were studied to
discover which was the most efficient. The first method consists of soaking healthy seeds
all night in 600 mg of Chlormequat chlorate per liter of water. The second method consists
of sowing health seeds and sprinkling the plant leaves with the same solution, after
sixty-five days. The third method consists of soaking healthy seeds in the same solution,
sixty-five days after sowing. Researchers learnt that the best method for blast disease
control was soaking the seeds all night in the indicated solution, since the product was
absorbed right into the embryo and spread throughout the plant. This gave it resistance to
the pathogenic agent by preventing the germination of propagules (coupled cells making
plant vegetative multiplication), when they land on the plant surfaces. This method is
also simpler, less cumbersome, and more appropriate for dryland cultivation. This
technology is easily adopted by farmers in their own homes. Contact: E.A. Maji, E.D. Imolehin
The most widespread plants with seeds that exist on the
planet constitute over 18 000 species and are leguminous. This is hardly surprising since
leguminous plants are known for their nitrogen-fixating ability used for symbiotic growth
with bacteria called rhizobium (see nineteenth issue of Coraf Action). Rhizobium,
belonging to the alpha-proteobacterial group (alpha-protein producing) were the only
isolates to date until researchers at the Institut de recherche pour le développement
identified two bacterial sources that posses the same ability, although they belong to
another group, the beta-proteobacteria (beta-protein making). This latest discovery opens up the field for discovering
other rhizobium in this group, or in other taxonomic groups (identified in a given
classification), and should lead to a better understanding of the origin and evolution of
leguminous plants-rhizobium symbiosis. There are even more promising prospects since
leguminous plants in association with Burkholderia (breaking down certain organic
components) could constitute a reservoir for bacteria that fight pollution in situ and put
leafy matter back into contaminated soils. To confirm the nodule-making ability of the sources
identified, researchers inoculated them into a tropical leafy vegetable. Determined to
find out more, they also wanted to know whether two bacteria, isolated from South African
and French Guyanan leafy vegetables, corresponded to different species. However, it should be noted that rhizobium can only be
isolated from fewer than 10% of leafy vegetables. Contact: Catherine Boivin-Masson
In Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, and Mali, a sharp
drop in cotton production and an increase in the frequency and number of on-farm
phytosanitary treatments meant a rise in anxiety levels. This was caused by the activities
of the parasitic insect (Helicoverpa armegira) as it developed resistance to insecticide.
However, on completion of the Projet régional de prévention et de gestion de la
résistance de Helicoverpa armegira aux pyréthrinoïdes en Afrique de l’Ouest
(PR-PRAO) (Regional Project for the Prevention and Control of Helicoverpa armegira
resistance to pyrethrinoids in West Africa) in 1998, everybody felt much better. This project now extends from Benin, through Guinea,
Senegal, and Togo, and mobilizes all the actors in the sector: research centers,
development agencies, professional agricultural organizations, cotton companies,
phystosanitary firms, scientific partners—members of the CORAF-WECARD cotton research
network, the Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le
développement, the Compagnie française pour le développement des fibres textiles
(CFDT), and the Insecticide Resistance Action Committee (IRAC). They assessed activities
last April in Yamoussoukro and decided to continue the Project for another three years,
renewable. Contact: Germain Ochou Ochou In the sugarcane fields, nobody knows why an insect (Nomia
sp) “hangs around” the male plants, particularly during flowering. Researchers
from the National Cereals Research Institute
in Nigerian have observed the rather curious behavior of this hymenopterous insect, during
hybridization of the flowering plant, between September and November. It all begins very early in the morning, when the flowers
open up to let fertile pollen grains escape. At dawn, the insects usually begin to hover
around the male parents, as if they know they have the dehisced anthers (the male part of
the flower) full or almost full of fertile pollen grains. Insect numbers only begin to
decrease around the sugarcane tassels, when the flower closes. This led researchers to
conclude the way these pollinators behave reveals the presence of male parents of
sugarcane. Indeed, the insects only behave this way with plants getting over 60% of
fertile pollen (considered male) and not with those getting less than 10% of fertile
pollen (considered female). Researchers are currently studying the anthers to
determine the factor responsible for this insect behavior, since male parent can now be
identified ipso facto and time spent on that in the laboratory diminished. Contact: I.L. Kolo, M.N. Ishaq, L.D.
Busari
In Libreville, where the second CORAF-WECARD annual
General Assembly was held from 16 to 19 July 2001, Mr. Alain Darthenucq of the European
Union (EU) and Mr. Alain Leplaideur of the Ministère des affaires étrangères (MAE)
(Ministry of Foreign Affairs) of France expressed their approval of the new direction
(Strategic Plan and coordination of operational units) things were taking. They were of
the view that the subregional organization had attained international recognition through
effectively promoting co-ordination between Western and Central African agricultural
actors. On behalf of their institutions, Mr. Alain Leplaideur expressed the hope that the
EU and the MAE would remain amongst privileged funding partners. In this capacity, since good advisers make good friends,
it is improved quality, managerial capacity, efficacity, impact, monitoring, and
evaluation that partners expect of each other. Therefore, they suggest that the
subregional organization bring the mission and functioning rule of its operational units
up to par, this approach will naturally lead to creating a label. It should also confine
itself to acting as a facilitator, an organizer, and a coordinator for these units and
leave it to the NARS to manage them directly, remaining the overseer of the regional
activities (delegation of mission). Finally, it can help the NARS to improve the way
research projects and programs are submitted for funding through relay services,
information and training. Mr. Leplaideur concluded that these were “signals” that “we cannot afford to ignore as managers”. Contact: Ndiaga Mbaye
Over a year ago, in July 2000, the first General Assembly
(twelve years after the Plenary) of the West and Central African Council for Agricultural
Research and Development adopted a Plan of Action to implement a Strategic Plan for
Agricultural Cooperation, Research and Development in Western and Central Africa. This was
the latest milestone in the subregional organization’s institutional development. In
Libreville, where the second annual General Assembly was held from 16 to 19 July 2001,
decisions were made on harmonizing scientific cooperation tools, on opening up the
subregional organization to new partners, on examining subregional initiatives,
agricultural policy, genetic resources, information and communication, and research
funding. Mr. Fabien Owouo Essouo, the Gabonese Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and
Rural Development, first chaired the meeting, followed by Mr. André Dieudonné Béréré,
the Gabonese Minister of Higher Learning, Research and Technological Innovation, in charge
of Relations with Constitutional Institutions. They had the support of the CORAF-WECARD
Executive Committee and Executive Secretariat, headed by Mr. Adama Traoré, the Chairman,
directors of member national research institutions, coordinators of operational units,
development partners, scientific partners, financial partners, and representatives of
international cooperation agencies. Before getting to the heart of the issues for discussion,
Mr. Ndiaga Mbaye, the Executive Secretary of the subregional organization, showed how the
decisions adopted at the last General Assembly in Dakar had been implemented. He referred
to strengthening the Secretariat, finalizing the statues, making the various bodies
operational, carrying out the Plan of Action for building up information and communication
capacity. At the subregional level, he outlined all the activities undertaken by the
operational units (networks, base-centers, research poles and programs). At the regional
and international level, the subregional organization has actively participated in
strengthening the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa and in restructuring the
Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (see nineteenth issue of Coraf
Action). Participants also noted that CORAF-WECARD is now fully playing its role as a body
that facilitates and coordinates agricultural research and development in the subregion.
All the agricultural actors’ research activities are being integrated (see nineteenth
issue of Coraf Action), and the next meetings of the International Centers for Agronomic
Research and the Advanced Agronomic Research Institutes will end this process. Fisheries Registered as a Priority Although progress has been made over scientific
cooperation, there is still a need for harmonisation. This can be done by merging the
réseau Ouest et Centre africain de recherche sur le sorgho (ROCARS) with the réseau
Ouest et Centre africain de recherche sur le mil (ROCAFREMI), the West and Central Africa
Collaborative Maize Research Network (WECAMAN) with the réseau de recherche sur le maïs,
by operationalizing the Scientific and Technical Committee, reevaluating operational
units, carrying on the cooperative mission of the Centre africain de recherches sur
bananiers et plantains (CARBAP) (formerly known as the CRBP) in the service of the African
scientific community, under the auspices of the Scientific Research Ministers of West and
Central Africa. Another way forward is to further integrate universities within the
National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) the International Trypanotolerance Centre
(ITC) within CORAF-WECARD, and establish formal relationships between the Centre
international de recherche-développement sur l’élevage en zone sub-humide (CIRDES)
and the International Fondation for Science (FIS). Fostering subregional initiatives will depend primarily on
reinitiating livestock research networks and activities for perennial crops (particularly
through rehabilitating the Pobé base-center in Benin), making the fisheries sector one of
WECARD’s priorities, continuing efforts for promoting post-harvest technologies
supported by United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the Global Forum on
Agricultural Research. Agricultural policies will need to have the agricultural policy
studies networks start up their activities. Annual Contributions for All Members Within the framework of the Plan of Action for the
development of information and communication, national days for meeting and promoting
awareness amongst the different agricultural actors will be organized in six of the pilot
project countries (Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Niger, and
Senegal). The main objective is to set up a subregional information system and create a
website. NARS are encouraged to use national communication networks which take the form of
the information letter, Coraf Action, and the planned subregional information system.
Requests were also made to carry out complementary studies before launching the
subregional scientific review. With regard to funding, the Assembly underscored the
urgent need to diver-sify partnerships and decided that each NARS should pay annual
membership contributions. This recalls the decision that became effective in 1999, urging
each NARS representative to meet their own participation expenses for the annual General
Assemblies. This will consolidate the financial situation. The new statutes of the subregional organization were
adopted and the appropriate authorities elected. Contact: Ndiaga Mbaye
- Adama Traoré, Chairman, (Mali) - Samuel-Bruce Oliver, Vice-chairman (Gambia) - Paco Sérémé, (Burkina Faso) - Théodore Mianzé, (Central African Republic) - Olatunde Ademeyi Oloko, (Nigeria) - Sié Koffi, (Côte d’Ivoire) - Jean-Daniel Mbéga, (Gabon) - Pape Abdoulaye Seck, (Senegal) - Adam Fousseyni, (Togo)
- Adama Traoré - Paco Sérémé - Emmanuel Owosu-Bennoah - Rogers A.D. Jones
At certain times of the year in Africa, there is a glut of
fruit and vegetables, thrown in open air or sold for a song on the markets. At the same
time, as they become harder to find, their prices put them beyond the reach of most
people. However, there is an increasing number of centers that could process and conserve
them such as the Centre de formation artisanal et professionnel polyvalent (CFAPP) of
Nkongsamba, in Cameroon. CFAPP has already developed simple and adapted
technologies such as solar dryers, gas dryers, biogas dryers, and electric dryers that can
dry and treat most commonly eaten commodities, one of which is “ndolé”, a
delicacy appreciated by both Cameroonians and foreigners alike. When it is well dried and
preserved, ndolé can be used for cooking as if it were in its natural state (smell,
color, taste, sweetness, vitamins). Demand is high for this product, and it is a source of
income for women, represents value added for local produce, and contributes to poverty
reduction in rural, semiurban, and urban areas. However, farmers and processors still need
training. Contact: Tankwa Théophile In Côte d’Ivoire, the oilpalm channel is on the
decline. The crisis, that beats it, is sparing neither production nor prices. In addition,
from over one million ton of bunches in 1999, production levels have fallen to nearly one
hundred thousand tons of bunches in 2000. Price of the ton of palm oil have risen from
nearly four hundred thousand CFA francs to less than two hundred thousand CFA francs on
international markets. This means lower prices (from forty to twenty CFA francs) for
farmers and processors. The Centre national de recherche agronomique gets 80% of
its agricultural production earnings from the sale of oilpalm products (bunches and red
oil). The Center cannot escape the effects of this difficult economic situation and its
earnings are plummeting. The Dabou research station, in the south-east of the country,
where the highest production levels are obtained from 3 800 hectares, recorded a drop in
earnings of about 60% between 1999-2000. The situation is hardly likely to improve over the short
term. China, a major oil consumer, has reduced imports; other Asian countries continue to
flood the international market with large quantities of oil; the crisis sparked off by the
“mad cow” disease has also led to the production of impressive quantities of
substitute oils (particularly soya oil from soybean cake). However, there is light at the end of the tunnel: current
trends are expected to be well reversed, according to the potentially high levels of
demand observed in industrialized countries, in particular. Contact: Léandre Gbéli
In Côte d’Ivoire, in the forest zone, slash and burn
cultivation is practiced for perennial plants and food crops. This was possible as long as
land remained available. However, land is becoming scarce. There can no longer be any
question of clearing the forest and replacing it with plantations. Annual crops are
regular and reduce the length of fallow. At this rate, soils may quickly become depleted.
How can farmers expect sustainable outcome and income when space is becoming more limited?
Political authorities have made no bones about it setting up a rural land title plan as
well as implementing land management. For its part, the Centre national de recherche agronomique
began trials in villages (particularly Gaba a few miles away from Oumé), in the
Center-West region of the country. New cropping practices were developed. Chromolaena
odorata, which farmers had long believed was a weed, was used as a mixed crop to achieve
improved soil fertility, just as was Pueraria phaseolides (a leguminous plant) used in
short fallow (six months) of rice and maize cultivation. Direct sowing techniques were
also used on the harvest residues or on the straw of both these plants, as long as the
straw was chemically or mechanically treated. These technical innovations were then introduced to
development services and farmer organizations by training programs. Contact: Henri Gbtkarchetche
In Cameroon, research carried out by the Institut de
recherche agricole pour le développement on cocoa by-products (pods and juice) have come
up with interesting results (see seventeenth issue of Coraf Action). The time has now come
to make growers aware about the technologies that have been developed. Trials, carried out in ten villages of two administirative
departments, have enabled farmers to dry the pods after dehulling, to make fertilizer and
soap. Support for extension work on these technologies through
awareness raising amongst the population has been ongoing since 1999, in collaboration
with the Office national du cacao et du café (ONCC). This occured in most provinces in
the cocoa production zones (South-West, Center and East). The international forum on
cocoa, held in April 2001 in Yaoundé, also gave an opportunity to the wider public to
learn about products manufactured by the institute. Contact: Justin Fallo In Côte d’Ivoire, the mealybug, the fruitfly, and
the white fly are a serious threat to mango production. In Korhogo, in the Northern region
where mangoes are the third largest cashcrop after coton and cashew nuts (see thirteenth
issue of Coraf Action), the drop in production levels in 2000 was very worrying. Since the
past two years, the Centre national de recherche agronomique has been carrying out
research on mango pests. With the Association ivoirienne des sciences agronomiques (AISI),
it presented its research findings to farmers, development agents, exporters, and
representatives of phytosanitary companies, from 26 to 27 July 2001 right there in
Korhogho. Participants called on other research institutions to get
involved in this research, to carry out an economic impact study, to involve
agroeconomists and socioeconomists. They also suggested solutions for processing local
products, diversifying the market, and training certain actors to mobilize resources for
the channel. The Ministère de l’agriculture et des ressources animales, the Union des entreprises coopératives de la zone des savanes de Côte d’Ivoire (URECOS-CIO), and the Union de la profession phytosanitaire (UNIPHYTO) were also present. Contact: Martin Kéhé
Starting with this issue of Coraf Action, bulletins, newsletters, letters and informations reviews from agricultural research and development institution that are members of CORAF-WECARD, and subregional agricultural research institutions in sub-Sahara Africa will be a regular feature. Eureka. A quarterly magazine. 46 pages, ISSN 1019-6927. Published by the Centre national de la recherche scientifique et technologique (CNRST), 03 BP 7047 Ouagadougou 03, Burkina Faso, fax +226 31 50 03. The various sections are entitled: Brèves, Echo de la recherche, Opinion, Bibliothèque, En vitrine, Publi-reportage, Détente. Le Bulletin du REPIMAT. 8 pages. Published by the réseau d’épidémiosurveillance des maladies animales of the laboratoire des recherches vétérinaires et zootechniques (LRZV) de Farcha (Farcha Veterinary and Zootechnology Research Laboratory) at the Institut tchadien de recherche agricole pour le développement (ITRAD) in Chad, BP 433, N’Djamena, Chad, fax +235 52 83 02. Irag-Info. Quarterly Guinean agronomic research journal. 8 pages. Published by the Institut de recherche agronomique de Guinée (IRAG), BP 1523, Conakry, Guinea, fax +224 45 42 46. It is made up of sections entitled: Vie de l’IRAG, Coopération, Le point sur..., La parole est à.... AgriForum. Quarterly newsletter. 16 pages, ISSN 1028-7795. Published by the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA), P.O. Box 765, Entebbe, Uganda, fax +25641 321126. The sections are entitled: Perspectives, Research Tips, Experience in Action, Regional Events. ECART-ASARECA-CTA Workshop on the Evaluation
of the Impact of Agricultural Resarch in East and Central Africa. Entebbe, Uganda,
16-19 novembre 1999. By Gundula
Kreis and Susanne Gura, editors. 2000, 108 pages. Published by Deutsche Gesellschaft für
Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH, Postfach 5180, 65726 Eschborn, Germany, with the
collaboration of the European Consortium for Agricultural Research in the Tropics (ECART),
c/o NRI, Central Avenue, Chatham Maritime, ME4 4TB, Kent, Great Britain, of the
Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa
(ASARECA), P.O. Box 765, Entebbe, Uganda, and the Technical Centre for Agricultural and
rural Cooperation (CTA), Postbus 380, 6700 AJ Wageningen, The Netherlands. L’accompagnement
de l’organisation du monde rural en Afrique au Sud du Sahara et au Maghreb. Situation
cctuelle et perspectives = Assistance for
Rural Organization in sub-Saharan Africa and the Maghreb. Situational Analysis and Future
Prospects. By Jacques Giri and Denis Pesche, authors. 1999, 88 pages, ISBN
2-11-091306-1. Published by the Ministère des affaires étrangères (Ministry of Foreign
Affairs), 20 rue Monsieur, 75007 Paris, France. Les
enjeux des recherches sur les OGM = The Challenge of Research on GMO. By Michèle Chouchan, author. /2001/, 32
pages. Published by the Ministère de la recherche scientifique (Ministry of
Scientific Research) in France, 1 rue Descartes, 75231 Paris cedex 05, France, in
collaboration with the Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour
le développement (CIRAD), 42 rue Scheffer, 75116 Paris, the Centre national de la
recherche scientifique (CNRS), 3, rue Michel-Ange, 75794 Paris cedex 16, the Institut
national de la recherche agronomique (INRA), 147 rue de l’Université, 75338 Paris
cedex 07, the Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (INSERM), 101
rue de Tolbiac, 75654 Paris cedex 13, and the Institut de recherche pour le développement
(IRD), 213 rue Lafayette, 75480 Paris cedex 10, France. Guide
pratique de production de semences de riz par les paysans = Practical Guide to the
Production of Rice Seeds by Farmers. By A.M. Bèye and R.G. Guei. 2000, 14 pages. Published by
the West African Rice Development Association (WARDA), 01 BP 2551 Bouaké 01, the Projet
de développement rural de la région forestière Ouest (BAD-Ouest), BP 346 Man, and the
Agence nationale d’appui au développement rural (ANADER), BPV 183 Abidjan, Côte
d’Ivoire. Atlas
infogéographique de la Guinée maritime = Infogeographical Atlas of Maritime Guinea. By G. Rossi, D. Bazzo, M. Lauffer, N. Moreau,
A. Fontana, M. Sow, and I. Diallo. 2001, 170 pages. Published by the Ministère de
l’agriculture et de l’élevage (Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock), BP 576
Conakry, Guinea.
Other Meetings: - The FAKT is organizing a meeting on performance
evaluation and the impact of information on agricultural services and products in Bonn,
from 9-12 October 2001. - The International Centres of the Consultative Group for
International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) Week will be held in Washington, from 22-29
October 2001.
|
