Reusing data for development: Lessons learned from an agricultural observatory in Madagascar

We examine the issue of data reuse to bridge the data gap needed for advancing agricultural and rural development in Africa. We present the contributions of an observatory project in Madagascar—a low-income country with weak statistical capacity—and the lessons learned regarding its feasibility, challenges, and relevance. We argue that leveraging existing data to foster sustainable development in a key sector such as agriculture is achievable and depends largely on promoting collaborative academics and public-private partnerships

Les consommateurs : frein ou levier pour le développement d'une filière ovine en zone contaminée par le chlordécone en Guadeloupe ?

En Guadeloupe, un tiers des sols a été durablement contaminé par un pesticide organochloré, le chlordécone, suite à son utilisation contre le charançon noir du bananier (Cosmopolite sordidus) jusqu'au début des années 1990. Cette contamination des sols a en retour impacté différents maillons de la chaîne alimentaire et notamment les animaux d'élevage qui se contaminent en ingérant des particules de sol ou du fourrage contaminé lors du pâturage, mais aussi en ingérant de l'eau contaminée ; ils ne sont alors plus commercialisables si la limite maximale de résidu en chlordécone est atteinte. Les possibilités de diversification des systèmes de production via l'élevage ou plus récemment de contrôle de l'enherbement par les ovins, notamment dans les bananeraies, sont alors fortement contraintes. Des travaux ont démontré qu'il était possible de décontaminer les animaux via une production hors sol. Mais la perception du consommateur vis-à-vis de cette viande issue de la décontamination reste inconnue et soulève la question de l'acceptation dans le cas où ce type de filière viendrait à se développer. Pour répondre à cette problématique, un questionnaire auprès de 309 consommateurs a été réalisé. Les résultats montrent que les consommateurs seraient prêts à consommer une viande ovine décontaminée, mais qu'il existe une défiance vis à vis des structures en charge du contrôle à l'abattoir

Thermal decomposition of spent lithium-ion batteries pouch: Investigating kinetic and thermodynamic compensation effects

A deeper understanding of the pyrolysis process for main and additional components in spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) could provide valuable insights for optimizing their recycling processes. This study examined the thermal behavior, kinetics, thermodynamics, and product evolution during the pyrolysis of laminate pouch primarily composed of polypropylene and polyamide. The kinetic compensation effect (KCE) and thermodynamic compensation effect (TCE) were also probed to provide a comprehensive understanding of the conversion. The degradation process was divided into three stages, with total mass loss ranging from 31.14 to 40.28 % and peak temperatures between 419 and 472 °C. The average activation energy was determined to be 118.06 kJ mol−1, with specific values of 99.25, 119.06 and 139.31 kJ mol−1 within conversion rate of 0.10–0.30, 0.35–0.75 and 0.80–0.95, respectively. The pouch conversion followed D1 diffusion mechanism. The KCE was confirmed and reconstructed displayed an excellent fit. Thermodynamic analysis implied that this conversion process was endothermic and non-spontaneous. Enthalpy and entropy relationship demonstrated the existence of TEC with compensation temperature (Tcomp) and experimental temperature (Texp) of 676.20 K and 693.23 K, respectively. In addition, free energy of compensation (ΔGcomp) was found to be 164.51 kJ mol−1, in agreement with experimental binding free energy (ΔGexp) range of 166.48–170.65 kJ mol−1, further confirmed the validity of the adopted mechanism

Advancing sustainable futures through education: A Montpellier case study on student-led advocacy for transdisciplinary approaches

This paper examines the transformative potential of integrating transdisciplinarity and systems thinking into educational practices, anchored in a participatory initiative by the Montpellier Advanced Knowledge Institute on Transitions (MAK'IT). The study centres on engaging master's and doctoral students in co-creating educational proposals, underscoring the importance of a student-centred approach to tackle the diverse challenges of the 21st century. A preliminary brainstorming session allowed students to express their motivations, identify key themes, and lay the groundwork for further development. This culminated in a public conference where students presented their transformative education proposals. This conference facilitated interactions between students, a panel of experts spanning education, research, policy domains, and a broader audience, fostering critical dialogue. Key findings from this conference underscore the necessity of allocating resources, dismantling knowledge silos, addressing student inequalities, and enhancing educator preparedness. The study highlights the significance of multi-stakeholder dialogues in co-constructing transformative educational frameworks and suggests that educational institutions have a pivotal role in bridging the gap between science, policy, and society. Despite the promise, several challenges to curriculum revision emerge, including the need for immersive learning environments that demand adequate resources. The structure of tertiary institutions, often segregated into distinct faculties and departments, presents another barrier to fostering transdisciplinarity. Additionally, administrative constraints, particularly for international students, add to these challenges and call for nuanced strategies in advancing transformative education

The impact of access to agricultural advisory services on input use and farm performance: Evidence from Senegal

Performant agricultural advisory services (AAS) in Africa are crucial for improving the agricultural productivity and food security of the farm households. Yet, evidence-based study on the impacts of AAS on farm performance are scarce, especially in West African countries. This study evaluates the impact of access to AAS on input use and farm performance in Senegal, employing the instrumental variable and control function approaches accounting for selection bias. The approaches are also employed to several sub-samples to see if the impacts are heterogeneous across crop types and fertilizer use, and matching techniques are applied to test the robustness of the results. Results show that the highest positive impact of AAS is on yield, while the impacts on gross margin and improved seeds uptake are very modest. Access to AAS has no effect on fertilizer uptake. It also finds that AAS impacts positively cereal production and farmers using no fertilizer but has no effect on the legume and horticultural crop production and on farmers using fertilizer. Given the Senegalese government and donors have put a lot of effort into developing an efficient AAS system, a consideration of the identified weaknesses is required to improve its efficiency. [EconLit Citations: Q12, Q16]

Rapport de mission vanillier aux Seychelles - Projet Germination 3 - du 13 au 18 Juillet 2025

Context : The mission was carried out as part of the Germination 3 project " Preservation of agrobiodiversity in the Indian Ocean”. The GERMINATION 3 project, co-financed by the European Union, Région Réunion and Cirad, as part of the INTERREG VI Indian Ocean Program managed by Région Réunion, stands as a key initiative to protect and enhance agricultural plant genetic resources (APGR) in the southwestern Indian Ocean. In a context of climate change and increasing dependence on imports, it is crucial to secure these resources to ensure the resilience of regional agricultural systems. Among the project partners, we collaborate in the Seychelles with the MACCE (Ministry of Agriculture, Climate Change and Environment) to collect and secure the diversity of plants of interest to the Seychelles, such as sweet potatoes, cassava, yams and vanilla. It is then necessary to characterize this diversity (morphologically and/or genetically) for this valorisation and use by farmers and researchers. Main objective : The main objective of the mission was to assist vanilla producers in the Seychelles (Union Estate, La Digue and Mahe farmers): - By participating in the characterization and safeguard of the diversity of cultivated vanilla plants to maintain resilient agricultural systems - By promoting environmentally friendly agricultural practices adapted to local conditions and to global climate changes

Variabilité du rendement de l'anacardier (Anacadium occidentale L.) dans la région du Poro, nord de la Côte d'Ivoire

En arboriculture, comprendre les facteurs de variabilité de la production intra- et inter-vergers est une étape essentielle pour augmenter les rendements. La présente étude évaluait l'impact des caractéristiques des vergers et des arbres sur la production de noix de cajou en 2022 et en 2023. Douze vergers issus de trois tranches d'âge ont été sélectionnés dans quatre zones. En 2022, la production par arbre a varié entre 0 et 14,21 kg de noix de cajou, avec une moyenne de 2,87 kg par arbre. En 2023, la production par arbre a varié entre 0 et 20,88 kg, avec une moyenne de 5,78 kg par arbre. Indépendamment de l'année, les vergers de plus de 15 ans ont obtenu des rendements significativement plus élevés. Une relation linéaire positive (R² = 0,48) a été observée entre le rendement et l'envergure. Cet effet a été plus marqué en 2023 qu'en 2022, qui a été une année de faible production. Les variations de rendement observées entre arbres et entre parcelles s'expliquent par les différences de dimension des arbres, les conditions climatiques variables et l'âge des vergers

Unraveling the cryptic Bemisia tabaci species complex: Global phylogenomic analysis reveals evolutionary relationships and biogeographic patterns

Bemisia tabaci is a complex of cryptic agro-economically important pest species characterized by diverse clades, substantial genetic diversity along with strong phylogeographic associations. However, a comprehensive phylogenomic analysis across the entire complex has been lacking, we thus conducted phylogenomic analyses and explored biogeographic patterns using 680 single-copy nuclear genes (SCNs) obtained from whole-genome sequencing data of 58 globally sourced B. tabaci specimens. We constructed both concatenation and coalescent trees using 680 SCNs, which produced highly supported bootstrap values and nearly identical topologies for all major clades. When comparing these concatenation trees with those constructed using mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (mtCOI) and mitochondrial genome, we found conflicting phylogenetic relationships, with the later trees recovering fewer major clades. In a separate comparison between concatenation and coalescent trees, particularly those generated using IQ-TREE, they were found to delineate population relationships more effectively than RaxML. In contrast, coalescent phylogenies were proficient in elucidating geographical dispersal patterns and the reorganization of biological species. Furthermore, we provided a strict consensus tree that clearly defines relationships within most clades, laying a solid foundation for future research on the evolution and taxonomy of B. tabaci. Ancestral range estimates suggested that the ancestral region of the complex is likely situated in equatorial Africa, the Middle East, and Mediterranean regions. Subsequently, the expansion occurred into part of the Palearctic and further into the Nearctic, Neotropical, Indomalayan, and Australasian regions. These findings challenge both previous classifications and origin hypotheses, offering a notably more comprehensive understanding of the global distribution, evolutionary history, diversification, and biogeography of B. tabaci

Lignocellulosic-based hydrochars: Synthesis, characterization and application in water decontamination

The utilization of lignocellulosic biomass for the production of carbonaceous materials has become increasingly prominent in the fields of environmental engineering and the circular economy. With the establishment of new material sources, waste management has improved, and novel materials are being synthesized with a reduced environmental impact. Consequently, hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) emerges as a sustainable and environmentally friendly thermochemical technique for the treatment of lignocellulosic biomass, particularly agro-industrial waste. HTC produces a carbonaceous material called hydrochar, which has extensive applications in environmental water decontamination processes. Hydrochars derived from agro-industrial waste serve as a sustainable alternative for the reclamation of agro-industrial byproducts and exhibit desirable properties for use in water treatment processes. The abundance of oxygenated functional groups (OFGs) and the presence of persistent free radicals (PFRs) make hydrochar a carbonaceous material suitable for diverse water decontamination applications. This review offers a thorough analysis of the synthesis, characterization, properties, and applications of hydrochars in water decontamination via adsorption and advanced oxidation processes, including heterogeneous photocatalysis and persulfate activation