LES MEMOIRES DE FIN D’ETUDE DE LA PROMOTION 2015 DU MASTER « SECURITE ALIMENTAIRE ET DURABILITE ENVIRONNEMENTALE »

Introduction to the final reports of the students of the first edition (2015) of the Master "Food Security and Environmental Sustainability" at the CRESA (Regional Centre of Specialized Education in Agriculture) of the University of Niamey (Niger)

LE PROJET RUSSADE (FED/2013/320-115): RESEAU DES UNIVERSITES SAHELIENNES POUR LA SECURITE ALIMENTAIRE ET LA DURABILITE ENVIRONNEMENTALE

Introduction to the Project RUSSADE and to the contents of this sectio

VULGARISATION DES OBJECTIFS ET DES RESULTATS DU PROJET RUSSADE ET SENSIBILISATION DES COMMUNAUTES SUR LES ENJEUX DE LA SECURITE ALIMENTAIRE ET DE LA DURABILITE ENVIRONNEMENTALE

The overall objective of the RUSSADE project (Network of Sahelian Universities for Food Security and Environmental Sustainability) is to support and strengthen the capacities of higher education institutions, improving food security while reducing the environmental impact; however the ultimate goal is to contribute to wellbeing of the very poorest people. To improve the visibility and effectiveness of the project, several actions have been carried out to contribute the understanding of the problems and challenges of the development. Therefore, the project objectives and its multidisciplinary approach have been illustrated during conferences, congress and conventions.Since the education might contribute to foster food security and ethic of sustainability, schools were engaged in various activities. Because many primary schools do not have adequate water facilities and they lack of adequate sanitation, actions have been taken to raise the importance of awareness and training of hygiene education to improve health, life expectancy, gender equality and poverty reduction. The training also covered the proper nutrition and the implementation of kitchen gardens in schools. In total, about 500 people have been trained, including teachers, schoolchildren and parents.The expected result is a changed behaviour of children which could be drive to a different adults’ life style

LE PROJET RUSSADE (FED/2013/320-115) : OBJECTIFS, ACTIONS REALISEES ET RESULTATS OBTENUS

The main goal of the project RUSSADE (Network of Sahelian Universities for Food Security and Environmental Sustainability) was to improve knowledge and know-how of Sahelian HEIs to fight hunger and poverty and assure food security.In Sahelian countries it is difficult to achieve agricultural and livestock improvements because of environmental and climatic conditions. Environmental damage exacerbates inequality by exerting a negative impact on the already poor people and, in the meantime, the inequalities of human development amplify the environmental damage. In this context, the role of universities as engines of development is undeniable.A network has been established between four universities of Burkina Faso, Chad, Italy and Niger, developing scientific, technical and didactic collaborations to increase attention and care for sustainable development and environmental safeguard. A new Master course was offered to students in order to enhance different strategic fields: livestock, crop productions, food security and sustainable management of natural resources. Teachers shared their experiences with colleagues from different countries and the didactic structures were improved. The main result of this training is the acquisition not only of technical skills, but also of a deep awareness of local issues, taking into account that a local intervention affects the entire region