scholarly journals Pratiques Paysannes De Production Durable Des Graines De Voandzou [Vigna Subterranea (L.) Verdc.] Pour La Sécurité Alimentaire Dans Le Cameroun Septentrional

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (18) ◽  
pp. 424
Author(s):  
Madou Chantal ◽  
Watching Djakissam ◽  
Vatsou Jeremie ◽  
Ardjoune Fatime ◽  
Ndjouenkeu Robert ◽  
...  

Bambara groundnut is a leguminous plant with high nutritive value of Sub Saharan Africa. In spite of its high potential in alimentation, the Bambara groundnut is less popularized. This crop grows on acid, dry and less fertile soils and may therefore be a resilient crop in the context of climatic variability. The present work aims to identify of all the morphotypes of this culture and the usual tools of conservation of its seeds during the storage process. Investigations carried out during 3 agricultural campaigns showed that women more than 40 years old represents more than 98% of producers of Bambara groundnuts in northern Cameroon. The production concerns 54 morphotypes use as food or as medicinal plants. During storage of grains of this legumes, the major pest is the bruchid Callosobruchus maculatus Fab. (Coleoptera : Chrysomelidae). Under traditional production way, the limitation of the postharvest losses due to this pest is done either by the use of 21 local plants as botanical insecticide or by the use of 25 industrial chemical pesticides.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Cheke

Abstract The red-billed quelea is a small weaver bird native to sub-Saharan Africa and renowned for its attacks on small-grain crops within Africa. It is the most numerous bird species in the world, with peak post-breeding population estimated at 1,500,000,000. The red-billed quelea is mainly granivorous, except when feeding its chicks insects or when eating insects prior to migration or breeding, and it relies on a supply of grass seeds to survive. When unable to find grass seeds or when opportunities arise, quelea will attack crops. It is a major pest throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa and can cause significant economical losses.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Gowing ◽  
Geoff Parkin ◽  
Nathan Forsythe ◽  
David Walker ◽  
Alemseged Tamiru Haile ◽  
...  

Abstract. There is a need for an evidence-based approach to identify how best to support development of groundwater for small scale irrigation in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We argue that it is important to focus this effort on shallow groundwater resources which are most likely to be used by poor rural communities in SSA. However, it is important to consider constraints, since shallow groundwater resources are likely to be vulnerable to over-exploitation and climatic variability. We examine here the opportunities and constraints and draw upon evidence from Ethiopia. We present a methodology for assessing and interpreting available shallow groundwater resources and argue that participatory monitoring of local water resources is desirable and feasible. We consider possib le models for developing distributed small-scale irrigation and assess its technical feasibility. Because of power limits on water lifting and also because of available technology for well construction, groundwater at depths of 50 m or 60 m cannot be regarded as easily accessible for small-scale irrigation. We therefore adopt a working definition of shallow groundwater as < 20 m depth. This detailed case study in the Dangila woreda in Ethiopia explores the feasibility of exploiting shallow groundwater for small-scale irrigation over a range of rainfall conditions. Variability of rainfall over the study period (9 % to 96 % probability of non-exceedance) does not translate into equivalent variability in groundwater levels and river baseflow. Groundwater levels, monitored by local communities, persist into the dry season to at least the end of December in most shallow wells, indicating that groundwater is available for irrigation use after the cessation of the wet season. Arguments historically put forward against the promotion of groundwater use for agriculture in SSA on the basis that aquifers are unproductive and irrigation will have unacceptable impacts on wetlands and other groundwater-dependent ecosystems appear exaggerated. It would be unwise to generalise from this case study to the whole of SSA, but useful insights into the wider issues are revealed by the case study approach. We believe there is a case for arguing that shallow groundwater in sub-Saharan Africa represents a neglected opportunity for sustainable intensification of small-scale agriculture.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 117954331879026 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antoine Sanon ◽  
Ilboudo Zakaria ◽  
Dabire-Binso Clémentine L ◽  
Ba Malick Niango ◽  
Nébié Roger Charles Honora

Cowpea is an essential food legume in the tropics and particularly for sub-Saharan African populations. Postharvest grain storage, however, is a major constraint for crop expansion and year-round availability due to the cowpea weevil, Callosobruchus maculatus F., the main storage pest of cowpeas in West Africa. The use of chemicals for cowpea storage is a common practice which represents, however, a risk for consumers, environment, and could also exacerbate pest control. In Burkina Faso, since the early 2000s, several scientific investigations have focused on the control of C maculatus using botanicals considered as promising and safe alternatives to chemicals. The aim of this review is to take stock of the research conducted and to identify the potential candidates on which future studies in this field will focus. The set of data analyzed show that several plants materials, including powders, crushed plants and essential oils (EO), were active against eggs, larvae, and adults of C maculatus, through dose-dependent mortality responses. However, EO extracted from native aromatic plants have yielded the most promising results, specifically EO from Ocimum canum appeared as the best candidate control agent. Other potentially interested EO tested included Hyptis suaveolens, Hyptis spicigera, and Lippia multiflora. Based on these results, attempts to optimize the use of EO for cowpea storage were conducted in laboratory and field conditions. Side effects of botanicals toward the main biological control agent, the ectoparasitoid Dinarmus basalis have also been highlighted. The results are discussed in a view of practical use of botanicals and EO as safe alternatives for Integrated Pest Management in stored cowpeas in Africa and developing countries.


2013 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott MacEachern ◽  
David A. Scott ◽  
Molly O'Guinness Carlson ◽  
Jean-Marie Datouang Djoussou

In 2008, a number of iron artefacts were recovered from an interior courtyard on the DGB-1 site during fieldwork in 2008. DGB-1 is a large multi-function site located in the northeastern Mandara Mountains of Cameroon, and dating to the mid-second millennium AD. The iron artefacts recovered included a cache of spear/arrow points found buried under a living floor, as well as a local hoe and a chain and a ‘barrette’ probably not of local provenance. This discovery has a number of points of interest: (1) ethnoarchaeological reenactments of iron smelts in the 1980s in the same region provide a rare opportunity for comparison of iron-working techniques over about five centuries in sub-Saharan Africa; (2) the variability in different forms of iron (including eutectoid steel) used in these artefacts; and (3) the welding of different forms of iron to produce composite artefacts.


2011 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 677-704 ◽  
Author(s):  
OLAF ERENSTEIN ◽  
ARINDAM SAMADDAR ◽  
NILS TEUFEL ◽  
MICHAEL BLÜMMEL

SUMMARYCereal residues are an important feed source for ruminants in smallholder crop-livestock systems in the (sub)tropics. In many areas of India maize is a relatively new cash crop where farmers and development agents alike generally perceive maize stover to have limited utility, in contrast with the intensive feeding of other cereal residues in India and the intensive use of maize stover in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. A comparative assessment of maize stover quality (based on a brief review and a feeding trial) indeed confirms its potential as a ruminant feed according to its relative nutritive value. The paper then explores the apparent paradox through a scoping study of maize stover use (based on village surveys) in three contrasting maize-growing districts in India – including both traditional and non-traditional maize producers. The limited maize stover use appears to alleviate seasonal shortages, with tradition and technology helping explain the preferential use of other cereal residues. The paper thereby provides further impetus to India's apparent food-feed paradigm – whereby farmers’ staple food preferences coincide with crop residue feed preferences. The paper argues the case for investing in maize stover R&D in India and thus reigniting earlier feed research in general. Indeed, maize stover use is a relatively neglected area by India's agricultural R&D and merits more attention so as to exploit its potential contribution and alleviate eventual tradeoffs.


2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 792
Author(s):  
Christin Baumgärtel ◽  
Thea Lautenschläger ◽  
Mazekana H. G. Panzo ◽  
Francisco Afonso ◽  
Christoph Neinhuis ◽  
...  

High metal contents of acidic soils from sub-Saharan Africa often prevent the cultivation of crops and lead to a low livestock yield. The carbohydrate rich diet of the Angolan population is low in minerals and vitamins, resulting in various deficiency syndromes and a high child mortality rate. Eight traditionally utilized plants (Anisophyllea quangensis, Annona stenophylla subsp. cuneata, Canarium schweinfurthii, Eugenia malangensis, Landolphia lanceolata, Raphionacme madiensis, Tristemma mauritianum, Vitex madiensis subsp. madiensis) with nutritional value for the Angolan population were analyzed for their soil and growing conditions. The species are adapted to the local conditions and can serve as crops for the unfavorable soils of the province Uíge. Chemical and physical characteristics of the uppermost soil (0–5 cm) and in 30 cm depth were analyzed. The plant-available macro-and micronutrients were determined using Mehlich 3 extraction. Data are completed with leaf tissue analyses, examining the uptake of minerals. As aluminum (Al) and manganese (Mn) are plant-available in high amounts, local plants evolved mechanisms dealing with those metals. These Al accumulators with foliar contents above 1000 mg/kg are Anisophyllea quangensis (7884 mg/kg), Landolphia lanceolata (6809 mg/kg), Tristemma mauritianum (4674 mg/kg), and Eugenia malangensis (13,989 mg/kg). All four species bear edible fruits with nutritional potential. The domestication and commercialization of those plants seem to be promising, utilizing local soils without expensive amelioration techniques.


Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1345
Author(s):  
Nomathemba Gloria Majola ◽  
Abe Shegro Gerrano ◽  
Hussein Shimelis

Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea [L.] Verdc.) is a nutritionally rich grain legume crop indigenous to Africa. It is tolerant to drought stress and has become adapted to grow under low input and marginal agricultural production systems in Africa and Asia. Bambara groundnut is an orphan crop, and represents a neglected and under researched plant genetic resource. Modern crop management, production technologies, and value chains are yet to be developed in Africa to achieve the potential economic gains from Bambara groundnut production and marketing. In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) the production and productivity of Bambara groundnut is low and stagnant because of diverse abiotic and biotic stresses and socio-economic constraints. Improved crop management and post handling technologies, modern varieties with high yield and nutritional quality, value addition, and market access are among the key considerations in current and future Bambara groundnut research and development programs. This paper presents progress on Bambara groundnut production, utilization, and genetic improvement in SSA. It presents the key production constraints, genetic resources and analysis, breeding methods and genetic gains on yield, and nutritional quality and outlook. The information presented will guide the sustainable production and effective breeding of the crop in order to pursue food and nutrition security, and improve livelihoods through Bambara groundnut enterprises.


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