Introducing Fonio in the farming system to enhance food security and Incomes in Northern Ghana and Burkina Faso

The practice Abstract n. 1 of EWA-BELT Project describes the potentialities and opportunities of Fonio and selected varieties to improve food security during the planting and harvesting season in West Africa.The Practice Abstract is available and published within the EIP-AGRI Initiative, here: https://ec.europa.eu/eip/agriculture/en/find-connect/projects/linking-east-and-west-african-farming-systems.htm

Sustainable fonio value chain development in Ghana

<p><i>Factsheet 2 is dedicated to the sustainable fonio value chain development in Ghana. </i></p><p>Fonio has gained attention in recent years as a nutritious and sustainable crop that could help address food security and nutritional challenges in West Africa and beyond. It offers an alternative to more common cereals like sorghum, millet, wheat, rice, and maize and can grow on marginal lands. Despite the great benefits associated with the crop, fonio is under-exploited and is considered to be an underutilized crop species in Africa. A study by the EWA-BELT project funded by EU horizon 2020 (GA 862848) has analysed the fonio value chain in Ghana in order to identify what opportunities and barriers exist for more widespread uptake. </p><p>The introduction of cost-effective, labour-saving mechanisation at the production and processing stages of the value chain, along with access to the credit facility, improved seed, and enhanced knowledge on good agronomic practices, could significantly boost the value chain in Ghana. Marketing and promotion campaigns should be conducted to create awareness of the potential of the fonio value chain. Collective marketing and contract production could solve some of the marketing challenges of the fonio value chain. Capacity building amongst farmers and improved processing is needed. Increased funding for fonio research is recommended to develop new and improved varieties.</p&gt

Fonio VCA - Sustainable fonio value chain development in Ghana

<p><i>Policy Brief 2 is dedicated to the value chain development of Fonio in Ghana.</i></p><p>Fonio has gained attention in recent years as a nutritious and sustainable crop that could help address food security and nutritional challenges in West Africa and beyond. It offers an alternative to more common cereal grains like sorghum, millet, wheat, rice, and maize and can thrive well on marginal lands. Despite the great benefits associated with the crop it is under exploited and considered an underutilized crop species especially in Africa. A study by the EWA-BELT project funded by EU horizon 2020 has analysed the fonio value chain in Ghana and has made recommendations for the boosting of the value chain in Ghana which are presented in this policy brief. The key messages include;</p><ul><li>The factors limiting fonio value chain development include lack of modern farming equipment's, inadequate farming and market information, and less interaction among the chain actors.</li><li>Birds attach is one major limiting factor of fonio production.</li><li>Processing of fonio is labour intensive</li><li>Poor product quality has been observed in fonio VC.</li><li>All nodes of the fonio VC are profitable.</li><li>The introduction of cost-effective, labour-friendly mechanisation services at the various stages of the value chain, along with access to the credit facility, improved seed, and enhanced knowledge on good agronomic practices, will significantly boost the chain.</li></ul><p>It is recommended that marketing and promotion campaigns must be carried out to create awareness of the potential of the fonio value chain. Collective marketing and contract production is recommended as a remedy to the marketing challenges of the fonio value chain at the aggregation and trading nodes. Capacity building at the production and processing nodes is strongly recommended. Increase funding to fonio research is highly recommended for the development of new and improved varieties and new recipes.</p&gt

Potential and perspectives of <i>Jatropha curcas</i> plantations in marginal land of Ghana

Jatropha curcas L. is a perennial drought-resistant plant well adapted to marginal lands in arid and semiarid and tropical regions (Divakara et al. 2010). J. curcas is a valuable multipurpose crop and has recently gained lot of importance for the biodiesel production by oilseed and secondary products such as soap, fertilisers, bio-pesticides, cosmetics, and medicine. Furthermore, this energy crop offers the ecological advantage to mitigate soil degradation and desertification and to reclaim wasteland (Achten et al. 2008). Community-based Jatropha initiatives for local use, like small J. curcas plantations in marginal lands, agro-forestry systems with J. curcas intercropping, and agro-silvo-pastoral systems can be seen as efficient opportunities to increase rural development in developing countries. The integration of J. curcas into the rural economy at the village level is able to guarantee access to sustainable and affordable energy, increase rural income, create employment opportunities, and alleviate poverty. Although the global interest, Jatropha physiological properties and agronomic management practices are not thoroughly unravelled (Behera et al. 2010). This contribution will highlight some J. curcas scientific research challenges in the framework of an EU-AID international cooperation project implemented in the West Mamprusi District of the Northern Region of Ghana. Through J. curcas plantations, the main project aims are to provide adequate access and security of sustainable renewable energy supply to rural communities of Ghana, improving their livelihood, and to reduce desertification effects in degraded areas. Within this project, several agronomic experimental works are being carried out, in order to improve the knowledge of J. curcas agronomical management practices which could be specifically addressed to the Ghanaian context. Biometric measurement results of J. curcas propagation (direct seed vs pre-cultivated seedlings) and intercropping systems with cereals are shown

ARPN Journal of Agricultural and Biological Science ECONOMICS OF COMBINING ORGANIC AND IN-ORGANIC FERTILIZERS FOR MAIZE PRODUCTION UNDER TWO TILLAGE SYSTEMS IN THE NORTHERN SAVANNA ZONE OF GHANA

ABSTRACT Soils in the northern savanna zone of Ghana are poor in plant nutrients and are prone to compaction. Some amount of tillage and the application of fertilizers to enhance crop yields are necessary. The performance of maize on two tillage systems (Manual and bullock plough) with the application of different fertilizers was assessed for two years by a field experiment laid in a split-plot design with four replicates. The main plots were manual and bullock plough while the sub-plots were NPK (64 kg N/ha, 15 kg P205/ha and 15kg K20/ha), 6 tons/ha of animal manure, half the rate of in-organic and half the rate of animal manure and no fertilizer as the control in 2008 and 2009. The results showed that tillage loosened the soil and thus reduced soil bulk density, increased porosity and could have enhanced the availability of water and nutrients for better crop growth. The results further revealed that the application of animal manure alone increased maize yields in the second year by 57% as compared to 25% and 35% for the recommended fertilizer rates and half the rates respectively. However, maize yields from the recommended fertilizer rates and the half rates of both in-organic fertilizers and animal manure in each year were similar but significantly (p&lt;0.05) higher than the manure and the control treatment plots. The application of recommended in-organic fertilizers rates gave yields which were similar to yields obtained from half rates of the in-organic and animal manure but for sustainability, the combination of both could be recommended to farmers for adoption. Comparably, the net benefit-cost ratios of both tillage systems are more than 1 indicating that maize production on each of them is profitable; however the bullock tillage system is a better option as it had higher net benefit-cost ratios in each year than the manual system

Maize ISFM - Economic and environmental viability of organic fertilisation for sustainable maize production in Africa

&lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;Policy Brief 1 on&nbsp;Integrated Soil Fertility Management Practices is dedicated to maize.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;There is the need for sustainable crop (maize) production in Africa due to growing food demand and the declining soil fertility nexus. This policy brief is aimed at publishing the findings of a research that evaluated the economic and environmental viability of organic fertilizer in maize production. Maize being the most important cereal in sub-Sahara Africa. Three fertilization options (organic, organic + inorganic and inorganic) were tested in east and west Africa to assess their economic and environment feasibility. The major findings include:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Maize yields increases under all three fertilizer options in both the short to long term, however the yields grows faster under full organic fertilizer than the others producing the highest yields in the long term with better soil health contribution.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;All fertilizer options are profitable in both short to long term, but organic amendment generates the highest benefits in both short and long term.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Proportional increased in output price and input cost results in increase farm profit similar to the effect of inflation.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;The main limiting factor to organic fertilizer use is the unavailability of organic fertilizer&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;Organic fertilizer and intergrated options are recommended for sustainable maize production in east and west Africa regions. Strategies to increase organic fertilizer production should be pursued by governments.&lt;/p&gt

Assessing fertiliser options for sustainable maize production in Africa

&lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;Factsheet 1 is dedicated to the assessment of fertiliser options for sustainable maize production in Africa.&nbsp;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;There is a need for sustainable maize production in Africa due to growing food demand and declining soil fertility. This factsheet suggests the promotion and upscaling of organic fertilizer and intergrated soil fertility management (ISFM) options for sustainable maize production in east and west Africa regions based on findings from research carried out in Ghana and Kenya under the EWA-BELT project (GA 862848). Strategies to increase organic fertilizer production should be pursued by governments and all stakeholders.&lt;/p&gt

Revealing Ghana’s unique fonio genetic diversity: leveraging farmers knowledge for sustainable conservation and breeding strategies

International audienceGenetic diversity analysis is pivotal for optimizing the use of genetic resources and deploying conservation strategies in the face of global changes. This is important for essential indigenous species often neglected by research. This research was carried out to examine the pattern of genetic diversity and structure among fonio (Digitaria exilis (Kippist) Stapf) accessions in Ghana. Following farmer surveys and collection efforts in key fonio-growing regions of Ghana, we amassed a comprehensive collection of 176 fonio accessions from 165 farmers across 24 communities. Farmer surveys identified 21 distinct cultivars cultivated predominantly for home consumption, averaging six cultivars per ethnic group. Out of the 176 accessions, 140 underwent genotyping using 14 simple sequence repeat (SSR) nuclear markers which revealed greater diversity within cultivars (58.5%) compared to between cultivars (16.8%) following molecular variance analysis. The organizational pattern of fonio genetic diversity was significantly influenced by farmer-specific cultivars, emphasizing the role farmers play in long-term preservation of fonio genetic diversity. Future strategies for the management, conservation, and utilization of fonio genetic resources in Ghana should incorporate traditional farming practices. Our findings further revealed the uniqueness of Ghanaian fonio genetic diversity, despite a smaller cultivation area compared to the global diversity. This shows the contribution of the interaction between the crop, environment and societal factors to the distinct genetic makeup observed in the Ghanaian fonio population. The observed genetic diversity can be exploited to identify and select genetically distinct individuals to develop tailored product profiles within fonio breeding programs for diverse market segments

Towards conservation and sustainable use of an indigenous crop: A large partnership network enabled the genetic diversity assessment of 1539 fonio (Digitaria exilis) accessions

International audienceThe use of neglected and underutilized species (NUS) in agrosystems is a potential solution to the challenges arising from global change. These species could contribute to the equitable diversification of agricultural systems. Providing knowledge on their genetic diversity and fostering access to data and results is essential for the development of strong collaborative future research. The study addressed these issues by assessing the diversity of the largest fonio (Digitaria exilis) collection existing to date. Associated with a user-friendly Shiny application (https://shinyapps.southgreen.fr/ app/foniodiv), our results reinforce research efficiency and broaden the prospects for all actors involved in enhancing fonio and indigenous crops as valuable resources for the future