Performance environnementale et economique dans la production de la grande morelle (Solanum macrocarpon) au Sud du Benin : Une evaluation des efficacites technique, allocative, economique

L’objectif de cette étude est d’analyser les efficacités technique, allocative et économique dans la production de la grande morelle. Pour cela, une  étude descriptive et analytique a été réalisée sur un échantillon de 126 maraîchers des sites de production de Houéyiho, de Sèmè-Kpodji et de  Ouidah au sud du Bénin. Les efficacités technique et économique ont été estimées respectivement à l’aide des modèles frontières stochastiques translogarithmique et fonction de coût dual avec la spécification Cobb-Douglas. Le modèle de régression tobit a été utilisé afin d’identifier les facteurs déterminants les efficacités des producteurs. Les résultats obtenus montrent que les facteurs main-d’oeuvre et engrais chimique sont sur-utilisés, ce qui entraîne des inefficacités dans la production. Les efficacités technique, allocative et économique sont respectivement en moyenne de 0,689 ; 0,882 et de 0,607. L’âge du producteur, la superficie emblavée, la contribution de la grande morelle dans le revenu, le niveau d’instruction et la formation technique sont les principaux déterminants des efficacités technique, allocative et économique des producteurs de la grande morelle. Sur la base des résultats obtenus, il importe d’améliorer l’efficacité des producteurs et augmenter ainsi leur profit par la recherche de moyens de lutte efficace et le renforcement de l’encadrement technique des producteurs. Mots clés : efficacités, frontières stochastiques, fonctions translog, fonction Cobb-Douglas, Solanum macrocarpon. English title: Environmental and economic performance in the production of the great nightshade (<i>Solanum Macrocarpon</i>) in southern Benin: An assessment of technical, allocative and economic efficiencies The objective of this study is to analyse the technical, allocative and economic efficiencies in the production of Solanum macrocarpon in Southern-Benin. For this purpose, a descriptive and analytical study was conducted among 126 Solanum macrocarpon growers in Cotonou, Sèmè-kpodji and Ouidah. The technical and economic efficiencies were estimated respectively using translogarithmic stochastic frontier models and dual cost function with the Cobb-Douglas specification. The Tobit regression model was used to identify the determinants of producers efficiencies. The results show that labor and chemical fertilizers are overused, leading to inefficiencies in production. The averages of technical, allocative and economic efficiencies are 0.689; 0.882 and 0.607 respectively. The age of the producer, the surface grown, the contribution of solanum in the income, the educational level and the training in farming are the principal determinants of the technical, allocative and economic efficiencies of the solanum’s producers. On the basis of result obtained, it is important to improve the efficiency of the producers and thus to increase their profit by the search for effective means of pest control and the reinforcement of producer’s technical framing. Key words: efficiency, stochastic frontier analysis, translog function, Cobb-Douglas function, Solanum macrocarpon

Application De La Télédétection Et Du Sig Au Suivi Des Formations Végétales De La Forêt Classée Des Trois Rivières Au Nord-Est Du Bénin

The creation of protected areas was intended to counter the advance of the agricultural front and other forms of pressure on natural ecosystems, but today these pressures strongly affect these protected areas. The dynamics of the vegetation was studied in Trois Rivières forest reserve in north-eastern Benin, based on Remote Sensing and GIS techniques. This study aims to analyse the vegetation evolution and determine the drivers of that dynamics using 1995 Landsat TM, 2013 Landsat OLI-TIRS imageries and field surveys. The supervised classification based on the ‘‘Maximum likelihood’’ algorithm was derived from ENVI 5.0 software. The transition matrix derived from Intersect function of ArcToolbox in ArcGIS 9.3 software was used to calculate the different conversion of land cover. The transition matrix was used to measure the intensities and speeds of land cover categories changes from 'PontiusMatrix22' 'and' 'Intensity Analysis02 programs. In addition, 200 household were surveyed from individual interviews and focus group on questionnaires and interview guides basis. The results show that the forest formations decreased from 48 % in 1995 to 20.4 % in 2013. The mosaics of fields and fallows have increased from 3 % to 24 %. The intensity change per land cover category shows that tree and shrub savannahs occurred the most significant change of 73 % of the study area with a 34 % of gain, 32 % of stability and 7 % of loss. In the order hand, the mosaics of fields and fallows, built up areas and dry dense forests occurred the biggest change. According to the perceptions of surveyed people, agriculture, logging and charcoal production are the main direct drivers of Trois Rivières forest reserve degradation

Climate smart rice innovations to reduce the impact of climate change on the livelihood of value chain actors

Introduction Rice is a major source of nutrients, largely contributing to the food and nutrition security for millions of people in Africa although most countries still rely on huge imports to meet local demand. Extreme temperatures, drought, flooding, and high salinity are climate change related stresses that negatively affect rice yield and grain quality. Thus, tackling these constraints is a critical action to increasing rice self sufficiency in Cameroon and Africa in general. Methods The Africa Rice Center in partnership with the National Agricultural Research and Extension Services of its 28 member States operating within the framework of the Africa-wide Taskforces has developed, tested, validated, and are deploying breeding, agronomic and post-harvest approaches to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change on rice yield and quality in Africa. Results Breeding approaches have led to the development of drought, cold, submergence, stagnation flood, salinity, and anaerobic germination tolerant varieties that are also resistant or tolerant to biotic stresses. These have demonstrated better yields and grain quality under stressed conditions compared to counterparts lacking those specific traits. The system of rice intensification and alternate wetting and drying, mid-season drainage, smart-valleys approach for inland development, solar-powered irrigation system, no-till and rice straw mulching are agronomic approaches developed and these approaches have demonstrated significant increase in yield and grain quality compared to alternative approached under climate change stress conditions. Post-harvest approaches have focused on reducing grain breakages, chalkiness, mycotoxin contamination, insecticide and fungicide use, deforestation and value addition to broken rice and rice milling byproducts using environmentally friendly methods. Post-harvest innovations here include using improved rice parboiling fueled by rice husk, solar-powered hermetic storage systems, processing of fine broken rice into flour for porridges and bakery products and use of rice husk fan-assisted stoves for household cooking and the cottage processing industry. Conclusions and recommendations Although climate change is a serious threat to rice production affecting both yield and quality, African governments will have to implement policy measures that enhance the scaling and adoption of climate smart rice innovation developed by AfricaRice to mitigate the impact of climate change if they aspire to reduce rice imports

Pharyngeal carriage of Neisseria species in the African meningitis belt.

OBJECTIVES: Neisseria meningitidis, together with the non-pathogenic Neisseria species (NPNs), are members of the complex microbiota of the human pharynx. This paper investigates the influence of NPNs on the epidemiology of meningococcal infection. METHODS: Neisseria isolates were collected during 18 surveys conducted in six countries in the African meningitis belt between 2010 and 2012 and characterized at the rplF locus to determine species and at the variable region of the fetA antigen gene. Prevalence and risk factors for carriage were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 4694 isolates of Neisseria were obtained from 46,034 pharyngeal swabs, a carriage prevalence of 10.2% (95% CI, 9.8-10.5). Five Neisseria species were identified, the most prevalent NPN being Neisseria lactamica. Six hundred and thirty-six combinations of rplF/fetA_VR alleles were identified, each defined as a Neisseria strain type. There was an inverse relationship between carriage of N. meningitidis and of NPNs by age group, gender and season, whereas carriage of both N. meningitidis and NPNs was negatively associated with a recent history of meningococcal vaccination. CONCLUSION: Variations in the prevalence of NPNs by time, place and genetic type may contribute to the particular epidemiology of meningococcal disease in the African meningitis belt

Pharyngeal carriage of Neisseria species in the African meningitis belt.

OBJECTIVES: Neisseria meningitidis, together with the non-pathogenic Neisseria species (NPNs), are members of the complex microbiota of the human pharynx. This paper investigates the influence of NPNs on the epidemiology of meningococcal infection. METHODS: Neisseria isolates were collected during 18 surveys conducted in six countries in the African meningitis belt between 2010 and 2012 and characterized at the rplF locus to determine species and at the variable region of the fetA antigen gene. Prevalence and risk factors for carriage were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 4694 isolates of Neisseria were obtained from 46,034 pharyngeal swabs, a carriage prevalence of 10.2% (95% CI, 9.8-10.5). Five Neisseria species were identified, the most prevalent NPN being Neisseria lactamica. Six hundred and thirty-six combinations of rplF/fetA_VR alleles were identified, each defined as a Neisseria strain type. There was an inverse relationship between carriage of N. meningitidis and of NPNs by age group, gender and season, whereas carriage of both N. meningitidis and NPNs was negatively associated with a recent history of meningococcal vaccination. CONCLUSION: Variations in the prevalence of NPNs by time, place and genetic type may contribute to the particular epidemiology of meningococcal disease in the African meningitis belt.MenAfriCar was funded by the Wellcome Trust (086546/Z/08/Z) and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (51251). Kanny Diallo holds a Wellcome Trust Training Fellowship in Public Health and Tropical Medicine.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Elsevier via https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinf.2016.03.01

Correction: A Seroepidemiological Study of Serogroup A Meningococcal Infection in the African Meningitis Belt.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0147928.]

Determinants de l’adoption des semences certifiees de varietes ameliorees du riz au Benin

Au Bénin, la diffusion des variétés à haut rendement de riz s’est accélérée en réponse à une demande croissante de cette denrée. Ces variétés évaluées par la recherche, favorisent l’augmentation du rendement de la production rizicole. Pour cela, la semence de ces variétés nécessite un renouvellement périodique dans les structures garantissant la certification. De ce fait, il existe une différence entre les riziculteurs qui utilisent les semences non certifiées des variétés améliorées et ceux qui utilisent des semences certifiées des variétés améliorées. Malheureusement, cette différentiation n’est pas prise en compte dans la plupart des études de l’adoption des variétés à haut rendement. Cette étude prend alors en compte cet aspect en explicitant les déterminants de l’adoption et de l’intensité d’adoption des semences certifiées des variétés améliorées. Les données ont été collectées auprès d’un échantillon aléatoire de 272 ménages agricoles au Bénin. Les modèles Probit et Tobit sont respectivement utilisés pour identifier les variables affectant l’adoption et de l’intensité d’adoption des semences certifiées des variétés améliorées. Les résultats montrent que 81% des variétés utilisées sont améliorées et 19% sont des variétés traditionnelles. Parmi les adoptants des variétés améliorées, 37% utilisent des semences certifiées. Malgré un faible taux d’adoption des semences certifiées, l’intensité moyenne d’utilisation est de 30%. Les résultats montrent que l’appartenance à une association, le type de crédit, l’activité secondaire et la quantité d’engrais chimiques influencent l’adoption des semences certifiées au niveau des riziculteurs. Par ailleurs, les variables telles que la superficie agricole, l’activité secondaire et le sexe sont décisives sur l’intensité d’adoption. Les résultats suggèrent que pour accroître le taux d’adoption des semences certifiées, les octrois de crédit et les sensibilisations des riziculteurs à travers les associations sont recommandés.Mots clés: Adoption, semence certifiée, riz, déterminants, tobit, probitEnglish Title: Determinants of adoption of certified seeds of improved rice varieties in BeninEnglish AbstractIn Benin, the dissemination of high yield varieties of rice increased in response to the growing demand for this crop. These varieties assessed by the research favor the increase of rice yield. To this end, the seed of these varieties requires a periodical renewal in the structures guarantying the certification. From this fact, there exists in one hand, rice producers who use non certified seeds of the improved varieties and on the other hands, those who use certified seeds of these varieties. Unfortunately, this differentiation is not  taken into account in the adoption studies on seeds of high yield varieties. This study takes into account this aspect in clarifying the adoption determinants as well as the certified seeds adoption intensity. The data were collected from a random sample of 272 farming households. Probit and Logit models are respectively used to identify the variables that affect the adoption and the intensity of adoption of the certified seeds of the improved varieties. The results show that 81% of the varieties used are improved while 19% are traditional varieties. Among the adopters of the improved seeds, 37% use certified seeds. Despite this low percentage of adoption of certified seeds, the mean intensity of use of certified seeds is 30%. The results reveal that being member of a cooperative, the type of credit, the off-rice production activity and the quantity of chemical inputs influence adoption of certified seeds of the improved varieties. Moreover, the variables such as farm lands area, the off-rice production activities and gender are decisive on the adoption intensity. Therefore, in order to increase the certified seeds adoption rate, credit supply and the rice farmers’ awareness through the cooperatives are recommended.Keywords: adoption, certified Seeds, rice, determinants, tobit, probi

Analyse des perceptions locales des aménagements forestiers participatifs au Bénin

The present study analyzed the perceptions of forest management by the surrounding populations of the forests reserves under management in Benin according to some criteria like patterns of the forests reserves considered, the sociocultural groups and the educational levels of the populations. The Factorial Correspondence Analysis (FCA) performed on surveyed data related to the perception of 690 informants randomly chosen in 23 surrounding villages of forest reserves helped to analyse the link between various patterns of people and their perceptions. Results revealed that, on the whole, forest management is perceived by the local populations of the forests as a project in activity emphasizing the reforestation, employment for local people and a new manner of managing forest reserves. The local populations of forest reserves managed under projects PAMF and PGRN have perceptions based overall on forest repression (repression of the lack of civic virtue in the forest domain) and more means to forest agents in protecting forest reserves, those which took part in forest management with PRRF Project consider forest management as project in activity and finally the beneficiary populations of UNSO Project consider forest management as a new way to managing forests reserve. By considering the educational levels of people, results showed that the illiterate people have a traditional idea of forest management (reforestation, forest police) whereas those educated have a modern design of forest management (participatory approach of the populations, dialogue). These perceptions are visual and empirical and express the contents of the speeches of sensitization delivered by the projects in charge of the management of forest reserves