Characteristics of Urban Food insecurity: The Case of Kinshasa

Feeding Kinshasa? How to ensure food security for millions of inhabitants who have to survive on low wages well below the poverty line? This is the daily challenge for a multitude of poor people in Kinshasa! Some see this situation as an opportunity for strengthening local producers. In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the constraints affecting the agricultural economy mean it cannot supply the city of Kinshasa on the basis of predominantly local production but through food imports. In a context of crisis as experienced in the DRC, food is of strategic importance and the focus is essentially on quantity: households turn to cheaper products and high calorie intake at the expense of high-protein foods, leading to unbalanced diets. This imbalance is exacerbated by an influx of imported products, often of poor nutritional quality but at very competitive prices and responding to new eating habits of urban consumers. To understand the issue of food security in DRC, a country with high agricultural potential but 70% of whose population is affected by food insecurity, various research devices have been established by an interdisciplinary research group to support policy, funded by the Belgian Development Cooperation Department (DGDC / CUD): the Research Group Supporting the Policy for Food and Agriculture in Africa (GRAP 3A). This paper presents one of the main focuses of the inter-university research program conducted jointly with researchers from the University of Kinshasa: an approach to food insecurity and strategies for a sustainable food policy based on the study of household food consumption in Kinshasa carried out by various surveys. Key Words: food consumption, food security, agricultural polic

Effets de l’adoption de la technique du microdosage d’engrais sur la disponibilite et l’accessibilite cerealiere des exploitations agricoles a base de mil et de sorgho au Mali

Cette étude examine l’effet de l’adoption de la technique de microdosage d’engrais sur l’autosuffisance céréalière des exploitations agricoles à base de mil et de sorgho au Mali. Des données ont été collectées au cours de deux campagnes agricoles, à partir des enquêtes auprès de 108 exploitations agricoles. Les résultats montrent que l’application de la technique de microdosage par les producteurs sur les cultures de mil et de sorgho permet d’obtenir des rendements plus élevés comparativement à l’ancienne pratique des producteurs. Les résultats montrent aussi que l’adoption de la technique à grande échelle par les agriculteurs contribue l’amélioration de la sécurité alimentaire par la couverture des besoins céréaliers des exploitations agricoles. Des taux de couverture autonome et apparente des besoins céréaliers supérieurs ont été obtenus en moyenne pour les deux campagnes agricoles (2013-2014 et 2014-2015) avec les exploitations agricoles pratiquant le microdosage d’engrais sur le mil et le sorgho, comparés à celles en pratique paysanne.Mots- clés : microdosage d’engrais, effets, sécurité alimentaire, exploitations agricoles, mil, sorgho, Mal

Aquaculture land-use policy: the case of clam farming in Thaibinh Province, Vietnam

Policy-making and enforcement remains centralized in Vietnam. Policies have been formulated with less scientific and public justification, thus being largely bureaucratic and infeasible, and in many cases, they have created plagues for people at the grass-roots levels. This article focuses on the implementation of policies related to intertidal land-use and supports for clam farming in the Thaibinh province as a case study to explore the impacts of policies on clam farming and farmers. During the period of 2011-2013, provincial policies on intertidal land allocation and technical and financial supports had boosted clam farming development in the province to a surprising extent. Rapid expansion of the clam farming area has created significant consequences for the farming sector, as well as farmer's lives. However, for the same provincial policies, but with different enforcement, different farming outcomes for clam farmers in the three study communes have resulted. Where farmers had more of a voice and choice in bidding for the intertidal areas they preferred, they faced fewer problems. It is, thus, suggested that a more decentralized policy-making and enforcement are needed, in which more scientific assessment and farmer participation are required to not only make government policy more successful in supporting farmers and achieving their expected outcomes, but also to provide farmers with more room to make their own farming decisions from which farming and marketing risks could be mitigated

Importance de Coula edulis Baill. pour les populations du Sud-Est du Gabon: niveaux de prélèvement et potentiel économique de l'espèce

Importance of Coula edulis Baill. for the People of South-East Gabon: Harvest Levels and Economic Potential. Coula edulis is a non-timber forest tree species that provides edible fruits for local people. However, its economical importance has never been quantified. The present study aimed to identify the fate of stocks of harvested C. edulis fruits in Gabonese villages, emphasizing the social impact and economic income generated by this activity. Our investigations revealed that C. edulis fruits are predominantly utilized for own subsistence, since trading proportion concerned less than 20% of collected fruits. The average income from trade during the harvest period (two months) varied from € 1.7 to € 3.3 per household, depending on the proximity of the market (local or urban). The economical potential of C. edulis fruits could be improved if a sustainable production strategy through domestication processes and agroforestry practices was developed. Such a strategy may also contribute to the increase of the local demand of C. edulis fruits, assuming that a better diffusion was also carried out

Strengthening local innovations in rice processing through video in Benin

In Africa, rice processing provides employment for many rural people. A survey on local rice processing methods in the north, central and south of Benin shows that local rice is often parboiled before milling. Parboiling is a transformation process that enhances the quality of rice. This important income generating activity is exclusively done by women from rice producing communities. In Benin, the traditional parboiling method is still prevailing and does not lead to quality rice. To address this, an improved rice parboiling technology was developed. AfricaRice subsequently developed a video where rural women explain how to use this improved technology. Four NGOs in central Benin publicly screened the video in 80 villages. After women watched the video, they started using the improved parboiler equipment individually or collectively. Women who didn’t have the financial support to buy the improved equipment understood its principle and developed creative solutions based on the idea of pre-cooking paddy with steam. Video watching also made women pay attention to reducing the loss of steam and to use local resources innovatively to conserve energy. Women also improved the quality of their parboiled rice by removing dirt, properly washing rice and drying rice on tarpaulins. On the other hand, in the north and south of Benin where there were no public video screenings, the traditional rice parboiling method is still predominant. This study shows the potential of farmer-to-farmer video to improve farmers’ practices and their attitudes to work collectively in agro-processing and marketing.Peer reviewe

Evaluation du cout economique de l’eau d’irrigation dans la zone office du Niger au Mali

L’objet de cet article est d’évaluer le coût économique de l’eau d’irrigation dans la zone Office du Niger (ON) au Mali. Pour l’atteinte des objectifs, deux types de coût ont été estimés (coût financier et coût économique de l’eau d’irrigation. Les données de l’enquête ont été combinées avec la revue de la littérature de l’ON et surtout avec des articles pertinents relatifs au coût économique de l’eau  d’irrigation dans des périmètres irrigués analogues dans d’autres pays africains afin d’alimenter utilement notre analyse critique etdiscussion. Les résultats ont montré que le coût financier est 63 474 FCFA, soit 97 €1 en moyenne et le coût économique est 185 446 FCFA/ha, soit 283 €/ha en moyenne. L’évaluation du coût de l’efficience donne 6 FCFA/m3 soit 0,009 €/m3 qui est supposé très faible. La redevance de l’eau contribue en moyenne 10% à l’entretien de l’ensemble des réseaux hydrauliques. En conclusion, la redevance payée par les producteurs est un coût social qui ne prend pas en compte le coût des aménagements hydro agricoles. Sans l’intervention de l’Etat, la production rizicole dans ce système allait connaitre d’énormes problèmes de rentabilité. Mots-clés : Evaluation-Coût économique-Eau d’irrigation - Office du Niger -Mali.   English title: Evaluation of the economic cost of irrigation water in the office du Niger in Mali The purpose of this article is to assess the economic cost of irrigation water in the Office du Niger area in Mali.To achieve the objectives, two types of cost were estimated (financial cost and economic cost of irrigation water. The data were combined with the review of the Office du Niger literature and especially with relevant articles relating to the economic cost of irrigation water in similar irrigated areas in other African countries to usefully contribute our critical analysis and discussion.The results showed that the average financial cost is about 63,474 FCFA/ha or 97 €/ha and the average economic cost is about 185,446 FCFA/ha or 283 €/ha. The cost of efficiency assessment gives 6 FCFA / m3 or 0.009 € / m3 which is assumed to be very low. Water charges contribute on average of 10% to the maintenance of all hydraulic networks. And the operators’ contribution represents only 4%.In conclusion, the royalty paid by the producers is a social cost which does not take into account the cost of hydro agricultural development. Without state intervention, rice production in this system would experience enormous problems and tertiary hydraulic networks. Keywords : Evaluation-Economic cost- Irrigation water- Office of Niger- Mali

Technique de lombriculture au Sud Vietnam

Vermicomposting technique in South Vietnam. Earthworms play a major role in organic matter transformation. The vermicomposting allows to combine several advantages: the management of diversified organic wastes, and the production of earthworms and vermicompost. Crop residues and other plant wastes mixed with animal manure from individual farms can be used. In South Vietnam, farmers are rearing some livestock and growing a few number of crop species. From several years, an increasing number of vermicomposting units were set in many farms from the Ho Chi Minh City region. Two kinds of infrastructure materials are used: baked clay blocks or bamboo stems with plastic covers. In South Vietnam, all conditions are pooled to ensure an efficient earthworm production: suitable climate, available organic wastes and materials to build the vermicomposting structures. Both field plot fertility and protein feed for livestock (pigs, poultry, etc.) can be provided by rearing earthworms

Minimally invasive osteotomy for distal radius malunion: A preliminary series of 9 cases

AbstractThe rate of malunion after distal radius fractures is 25% after conservative treatment and 10% after surgery. Their main functional repercussion related to ulno-carpal conflict is loss of wrist motion. We report a retrospective clinical series of minimally invasive osteotomies. The series consisted of 9 cases of minimally invasive osteotomies with volar locking plate fixation. All osteotomies healed. The average pain was 5.3/10 preoperatively and 2.1/10 at last follow-up. The mean Quick DASH was 55.4/100 preoperatively and 24.24/100 at last follow-up. Compared to the opposite side, the average wrist flexion was 84.11%, the average wrist extension was 80.24%, the average pronation was 95.33% and the average supination was 93.9%. With similar results to those of the literature, our short series confirms the feasibility of minimally invasive osteotomy of the distal radius for extra-articular malunion.TypeCase-series.Level of evidenceIV