La filière Cacao d’Haïti : Un exemple de succès d’échanges Sud-Sud et de partenariat Nord-Sud

Haitian cocoa consists mainly of the Criollo and Trinitario varieties, which are in strong demand around the world and are used in high-quality chocolate production. But the potential of Haiti’s cocoa has never been optimized: it has long been sold on the international market in the form of ordinary unfermented cocoa. Only recently have producers become aware of the benefits of producing fermented cocoa. In 2009, thanks to technical assistance from the Peruvian cooperative CEPICAFE for the Haitian cooperative network FECCANO, and thanks to support from the French NGO Agronomes et Vétérinaires Sans Frontières (AVSF), their fermented cocoa output was immediately taken up and marketed by European firms, including the French fair-trade company Ethiquable. Since then, the global quality cocoa market has opened up to Haitian cocoa. At the local level, the economic, social and environmental impacts of this innovation are significant. There are two main lessons to be drawn from this experience: (i) exchanges between developing countries should be stepped up in agricultural assistance programs, as the “success stories” identified in the different countries involved have a higher potential for replication; (ii) collaborative business relationships, initiated some years ago now by certain buyers from developed countries, can provide more sustainable support for the development of family agriculture in developing countries. International cooperation, with innovative approaches such as the one adopted in this case by AVSF can, therefore, make an effective contribution to the agricultural development of developing countries. To consolidate the impetus given to Haiti’s cocoa industry by cocoa fermentation, it is essential to focus interventions on increasing the output of quality cocoa, on better targeting of niche markets, on reinforcing small-producer cooperatives, and on improving local governance in the cocoa sector.Le verger cacaoyer d’Haïti est composé majoritairement de Criollo et de Trinitario, variétés très recherchées dans le monde et utilisées dans la chocolaterie haut de gamme. Longtemps commercialisé sur le marché international sous forme de cacao ordinaire non fermenté, le potentiel du cacao d’Haïti n’a jamais été optimisé. Ce n’est que récemment que les producteurs ont pris conscience de l’intérêt de produire du cacao fermenté. En 2009, grâce à un appui technique de la coopérative péruvienne CEPICAFE au réseau de coopératives haïtiennes FECCANO, et aussi grâce à l’accompagnement de l’association française, Agronomes et Vétérinaires Sans Frontières (AVSF), cette production a été immédiatement mise en valeur par des entreprises européennes, dont Ethiquable, en France. Depuis, le marché mondial du cacao de qualité s’est ouvert au cacao haïtien. Au niveau local, les impacts de cette innovation sur les plans économique, social et environnemental sont significatifs. Deux principales leçons sont à retenir de cette expérience : (i) les échanges Sud-Sud sont à intensifier dans les programmes d’appui à l’agriculture puisque les « success stories » identifiées dans les différents pays ont un meilleur potentiel de réplication (ii) les relations commerciales de proximité, initiées depuis quelques temps par certains acheteurs au Nord, peuvent mieux concourir durablement au développement de l’agriculture familiale au Sud. Ainsi, la coopération internationale avec des approches innovantes comme celle adoptée dans cette expérience par AVSF peut contribuer efficacement au développement de l’agriculture au Sud. Pour consolider l’élan donné à la filière cacao haïtienne, par la fermentation du cacao, il est primordial d’axer les interventions vers l’augmentation de production de cacao de qualité, une meilleure exploitation des marchés de niche, la consolidation des coopératives de petits producteurs et une amélioration de la gouvernance locale de la filière.  El vergel de cacaoteros de Haití está compuesto mayoritariamente por Criollo y Trinitario, variedades muy apreciadas en todo el mundo y utilizadas en la chocolatería de gama alta. El potencial del cacao de Haití nunca se ha optimizado, ya que se ha comercializado durante mucho tiempo en el mercado internacional en forma de cacao ordinario no fermentado. Los productores no han sido conscientes hasta hace relativamente poco del interés de producir cacao fermentado. En 2009, gracias a un apoyo técnico de la cooperativa peruana CEPICAFE a la red de cooperativas haitianas FECCANO, y también gracias al asesoramiento de la asociación francesa Agrónomos y Veterinarios Sin Fronteras (AVSF), la producción ha sido revalorizada de manera inmediata por parte de algunas empresas europeas, como Ethiquable, en Francia. Desde entonces, el mercado mundial del cacao de calidad se ha abierto al cacao haitiano. A nivel local, los impactos de esta innovación en los planos económico, social y medioambiental son significativos. Hay que sacar dos lecciones fundamentales de esta experiencia: (a) hay que intensificar los intercambios Sur-Sur en los programas de apoyo a la agricultura, puesto que las “success stories” identificadas en los distintos países tienen un mayor potencial de reproducción y (b) las relaciones comerciales de proximidad, iniciadas desde hace algún tiempo por algunos compradores del Norte, pueden ayudar mejor al desarrollo sostenible de la agricultura familiar del Sur. De este modo, la cooperación internacional, con enfoques innovadores como el adoptado en esta experiencia por AVSF, puede contribuir al desarrollo de la agricultura del Sur. Para consolidar el impulso dado al sector, mediante la fermentación del cacao, es esencial articular las intervenciones en torno al incremento de producción de cacao de calidad, una mejor explotación de los nichos de mercado, la consolidación de las cooperativas de pequeños productores y una mejora de la gobernancia local del sector

Electron Capture in Collisions of Slow Highly Charged Ions with an Atom and a Molecule: Processes and Fragmentation Dynamics

International audienceProcesses involved in slow collisions between highly charged ions (HCI) and neutral targets are presented. First, the mechanisms responsible for double electron capture are discussed. We show that, while the electron-nucleus interaction is expected to be dominant at projectile velocities of about 0.5 a.u., the electron-electron interaction plays a decisive role during the collision and gains importance when the projectile velocity decreases. This interaction has also to be invoked in the capture of core electrons by HCI. Finally, the molecular fragmentation of H2 following the impact of HCI is studied

La filière Cacao d’Haïti : Un exemple de succès d’échanges Sud-Sud et de partenariat Nord-Sud

Haitian cocoa consists mainly of the Criollo and Trinitario varieties, which are in strong demand around the world and are used in high-quality chocolate production. But the potential of Haiti’s cocoa has never been optimized: it has long been sold on the international market in the form of ordinary unfermented cocoa. Only recently have producers become aware of the benefits of producing fermented cocoa. In 2009, thanks to technical assistance from the Peruvian cooperative CEPICAFE for the Haitian cooperative network FECCANO, and thanks to support from the French NGO Agronomes et Vétérinaires Sans Frontières (AVSF), their fermented cocoa output was immediately taken up and marketed by European firms, including the French fair-trade company Ethiquable. Since then, the global quality cocoa market has opened up to Haitian cocoa. At the local level, the economic, social and environmental impacts of this innovation are significant. There are two main lessons to be drawn from this experience: (i) exchanges between developing countries should be stepped up in agricultural assistance programs, as the “success stories” identified in the different countries involved have a higher potential for replication; (ii) collaborative business relationships, initiated some years ago now by certain buyers from developed countries, can provide more sustainable support for the development of family agriculture in developing countries. International cooperation, with innovative approaches such as the one adopted in this case by AVSF can, therefore, make an effective contribution to the agricultural development of developing countries. To consolidate the impetus given to Haiti’s cocoa industry by cocoa fermentation, it is essential to focus interventions on increasing the output of quality cocoa, on better targeting of niche markets, on reinforcing small-producer cooperatives, and on improving local governance in the cocoa sector

K-shell and total ionization cross sections following electron-molecule collisions: An empirical scaling law

International audienceCollisions between electrons and various molecular targets (H2O, CH4, C3H4, N2) at projectile energies above the K-shell ionization threshold of the molecule have been investigated experimentally. From electron emission spectra, relative total ionization cross section σt and K-shell ionization cross section σK are determined. The ratio σK/σt is then deduced for each target as a function of the projectile energy and compared with those evaluated in the case of atomic targets. Strong differences between atomic and molecular targets are observed in the slope of the ratio at the highest projectile energies. These differences are explained using the well-known Kim-Rudd formula developed for atomic targets. In the projectile energy range we explored, we develop a simple empirical scaling law for the ratio σK/σt as a function of the projectile energy

lnterférences de type Young avec une source à un seul électron

International audienceDes interférences dues à la diffusion d'un électron unique sur deux protons, qui jouent le rôle de deux trous de Young, ont été mises en évidence expérimentalement pour la première fois. L'électron provient de l'auto-ionisation de l'hélium excité après capture des deux électrons de la molécule H2 par un projectile He2+. Ces interférences se manifestent par l'apparition d'oscillations d'intensité dans la distribution angulaire des électrons diffusés. La présence de ces oscillations prouve qu'un électron peut interférer avec lui-même. L'expérience présente est analogue à une expérience de pensée imaginée par Feynman en 1963

Dual epigenetic regulation of ERα36 expression in breast cancer cells

International audienceBreast cancer remains the major cause of cancer-induced morbidity and mortality in women. Among the different molecular subtypes, luminal tumors yet considered of good prognosis often develop acquired resistance to endocrine therapy. Recently, misregulation of ERα36 was reported to play a crucial role in this process. High expression of this ERα isoform was associated to preneoplastic phenotype in mammary epithelial cells, disease progression, and enhanced resistance to therapeutic agents in breast tumors. In this study, we identified two mechanisms that could together contribute to ERα36 expression regulation. We first focused on hsa-miR-136-5p, an ERα36 3’UTR-targeting microRNA, the expression of which inversely correlated to the ERα36 one in breast cancer cells. Transfection of hsa-miR136-5p mimic in MCF-7 cells resulted in downregulation of ERα36. Moreover, the demethylating agent decitabine was able to stimulate hsa-miR-136-5p endogenous expression, thus indirectly decreasing ERα36 expression and counteracting tamoxifen-dependent stimulation. The methylation status of ERα36 promoter also directly modulated its expression level, as demonstrated after decitabine treatment of breast cancer cell and confirmed in a set of tumor samples. Taken together, these results open the way to a direct and an indirect ERα36 epigenetic modulation by decitabine as a promising clinical strategy to counteract acquired resistance to treatment and prevent relapse