Yam bean (Pachyrhizus erosus) tuber processing in Benin: production and evaluation of the quality of yam bean-gari and yam bean-fortified gari

Yam bean (Pachyrhyzus erosus) tubers were processed singly and mixed with cassava into different types of gari (100% yam bean gari, 75% yam bean gari, 50% yam bean gari and 25% yam bean gari) following the traditional gari processing method. Conventional gari from cassava was processed following the same approach and used as control. Physical characteristics, proximate composition and sensory quality of the garis obtained were assessed. Results showed that low and medium (25% and 50%) yam bean fortified gari processing yielded better than 75% and 100% yam bean gari processing. Low and medium yam bean gari were the closest to conventional gari regarding the brown index (18.0 and 18.3 respectively), had good swelling capacity (≥ 3) and had higher relative bulk density (0.57 and 0.53 respectively). The proteins content of the processed yam bean garis increased with increasing incorporation rate of yam bean but, similarly, the crude fibres content increased going beyond the recommended level of 2% maximum. The processed garis were used to cook èba which were submitted to panellists’ appreciation. Panellists scored better low and medium yam bean fortified garis and the resulting èba. Combining the results, the highest suggested incorporation rate was 50% yam bean tubers. © 2013 International Formulae Group. All rights reserved.Keywords: Legume tuber-root crop, quality, physical characteristics, chemical composition, sensory evaluation

Why NERICA is a successful innovation for African farmers

This paper responds to ‘Funding international agricultural research and the need to be noticed: a case study of NERICA rice’ by Stuart Orr, James Sumberg, Olaf Erenstein and Andreas Oswald, published in this issue of Outlook on Agriculture. In summary, the article by Orr et al, based on an internal WARDA document written in November 2003 and augmented with results from Internet searches, is outdated and does not seem to be fair, objective or useful. We invite the authors to visit WARDA or any of its partners in Sub-Saharan Africa for evidence of the impact of NERICA varieties or the other improved varieties and technologies that have been developed and disseminated by WARDA in recent years

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE AND ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE IN OUéMé VALLEY, BENIN

Climate change is today a major threat to sustainable development, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, that is anticipated to be most vulnerable because of low adaptive capacity and high dependency on climate sensitive resources such as water resources and ecological systems. This paper highlights the local dimension of adaptation to climate change and the importance of local knowledge in adaptation planning. Generally, adaptation and mitigation are the main known approaches to address climate threats. Indeed, climate change is an international concern, while the benefits of adaptation are local, as opposed to mitigation. Also like climate, climate change adaptation is a dynamic and evolving process which the main determinant is the degree of vulnerability. A case study of farmers’ strategies for adapting to climate vulnerability in the low valley of ouémé showed that local people have developed a remarkable ability to adapt to climate threats, or in some cases have turned threats into opportunities. From fishing practices to agricultural techniques through agro-fishing practices, people of low valley of ouémé managed to take advantage of their natural vulnerability through adaptation strategies mainly based on local knowledge. In fact, the trend of these local strategies confirms the dynamic nature of adaptation to climate change mainly determined by the extent of vulnerability caused by continued depletion of the environment. But given that this dynamic can sometimes lead to maladaptation, it is necessary that local people are assisted in their coping strategies, even if a synergy is needed between local institutions and national and international framework for the successful adaptation to climate change.Le changement climatique constitue aujourd’hui une menace majeure pour le développement durable notamment en Afrique sub-saharienne du fait de sa faible capacité d’adaptation des populations et de leur grande dépendance des ressources à forte sensibilité climatique telles que les ressources en eau et les écosystèmes. Cet article met en exergue la dimension locale de l’adaptation au changement climatique et l’importance des connaissances locales dans la planification de l’adaptation. L’approche méthodologique adoptée a été essentiellement qualitative appuyée par la revue de littérature. Théoriquement, l’adaptation et l’atténuation sont les principales approches connues pour faire face aux menaces climatiques. Mais, même si le changement climatique est une préoccupation planétaire, les bénéfices de l’adaptation sont locaux, contrairement à l’atténuation. De plus tout comme le climat, l’adaptation au changement climatique est un processus dynamique et évolutif, avec pour déterminant principal le degré de la vulnérabilité. L’étude du cas des stratégies paysannes d’adaptation à la vulnérabilité climatique dans la basse vallée de l’ouémé a par ailleurs montré que les populations locales ont su développer au fil du temps, une remarquable capacité pour s’adapter aux menaces climatiques, ou dans certains cas, transformer ces menaces en opportunités. Des pratiques piscicoles aux techniques exclusivement agricoles en passant par les systèmes agropiscicoles, les populations de la basse vallée de l’ouémé ont réussi à tirer profit de leur vulnérabilité naturelle grâce à des stratégies d’adaptation basées sur des connaissances essentiellement locales. En réalité, l’évolution observée dans ce milieu confirme le caractère dynamique de l’adaptation au changement climatique dont le principal déterminant est l’ampleur de la vulnérabilité causée par la dégradation continue de l’environnement. Mais étant donné que ce dynamisme peut parfois conduire à une maladaptation, il donc nécessaire que les populations locales soient assistées dans leurs stratégies d’adaptation, même si une synergie est nécessaire entre les institutions locales et le cadre national et international pour réussir l’adaptation au changement climatique

On-Farm Assessment of Maize Storage and Conservation Technologies in the Central and Northern Republic of Benin

The loss rates and financial profitability of maize storage and conservation technologies were assessed in the central and northern regions of the Republic of Benin. The experimentations were conducted specifically in the villages of Boukoumbé and Savalou and were randomly sampled. A total of four storage technologies were offered to 137 producers: the polypropylene bag, the Purdue Improved Cowpea Storage (PICS) bag, the metal silo, and the improved and closed earthen attic (with or without stock processing). The method by Pantenius was used to determine the loss rates, and the economic method of Gittinger was used to evaluate the profitability of technologies. The results showed that the technologies that recorded fewer losses in the two communes during storage were the PICS bag with grain treatment by chemical conservation measures in Savalou (9.42 ± 4.64%) and Boukoumbé (2.69 ± 0.77%), the PICS bag without grain treatment in Savalou (11.71 ± 2.78%), the metal silo with grain treatment in Boukoumbé (4.92 ± 1.36%) and the polypropylene bag with grain treatment in Savalou (10.56 ± 2.80%) and Boukoumbé (4.02 ± 1.23%). Therefore, the financial analysis results indicated that the most profitable storage technologies were the PICS bag with treatment in the center of Benin and the polypropylene bag without treatment in northern Benin