Crop supplemental irrigation experiences in Burkina Faso. [P-2222-13]

This study assesses the impact of supplemental irrigation from small man-made basins on cereal production in climate variability and change context marked by dry spells in the Sahelian zone of Burkina Faso. After two years, the experiments showed that this innovation in family farms increases maize yield and allows growing a second crop with the surplus of water available in the basin. At the end of the 2012-2013 campaign, the average maize yield was estimated 2.5t/ha on experimental plots (EP) and 1.7t/ha on control plots (CP). The average yield of the 2013-2014 campaign was evaluated as 3.3T/ha and 0.9t/ha for EP and CP respectively. Increase in yield is 0.8t/ha for the 2012- 2013 campaign and 2.4t/ha during 2013-2014. It appears as well as the yield obtained on EP in 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 for bridging cereal need of 2 and 6 additional persons respectively in agricultural households compared to the CP. The review of the Net present value, internal rate of return and the Net benefits increase ratio show that the profitability to practice supplemental irrigation depends on the types of basins. (Texte intégral

Dynamic of agricultural innovations diffusion in Burkina Faso. [P-4414-22]

This study highlights the factors determining the spread of agricultural innovations for water harvesting since the drastic effects of drought 70s in Burkina Faso. These innovations include zaï, stone bunds, bunds land, halfmoons, mulching and grass strips. A survey of 629 farmers revealed that farmers fall into five categories which are the pioneer, early, latecomer, late and non-adopters. After four decades of diffusion (1974-2013) the rate is estimated at 69.3% for stone bunds, 49.1% for zaï, 26.2% for grass strips and less than 10% for half-moons, bunds land and mulching. The multinomial logit model showed that the climatic conditions in the Sahel zone, age and perception of increased dry spells of farm households promoted the spread of these innovations. However, the low level of organization and access to agricultural services were the major constraints to their adoption. (Texte intégral

Digestive anatomy and impact of dietary fibre on performances of the growing grasscutter (Thryonomys swinderianus)

The grasscutter is a rodent herbivore recently domesticated in several countries of sub-Saharan Africa for meat production. However, the development of this production to a rational and more productive model needs a better knowledge of the digestive physiology of this animal. This work aimed to study the digestive anatomy of the growing grasscutter and determine the impact of dietary fibre on growth rate and health

Genetic variability and correlation analysis of rice (Oryza sativa L.) inbred lines based on agro-morphological traits

In order to evaluate genetic variability of agro-morphological traits and also determine the correlation between grain yield with its components in rice lines, 17 recombinants inbred lines, their parents and a check variety were grown in research station of Africa rice center in Benin republic during two consecutive years 2013 and 2014. The experiments were laid out in a randomized complete block design with four replications. Phenotypic coefficients of variance were higher than genotypic coefficients of variance in all the characters across the two years. High heritability in broad sense (H2) estimates were obtained for biomass (68.77%), date of 50% flowering (98.11%), plant height (81.94%), leaf area (82.90%), number of panicles (64.40%), leaf dry weight (72.91%), root weight (67.43%) and yield/plant (62.23%) suggesting that the traits were primarily under genetic control. A joint consideration of broad sense heritability (H2) and genetic advance as per cent mean expected (GAM) revealed that leaves dries weight and roots weight combined high heritability and high GAM. Furthermore, high (H2) and high GAM recorded in these characters could be explained by additive gene action. However, high estimates (H2) combined with moderate GAM recorded for biomass, day to 50% flowering, leaf area, number of panicle and yield/plant could be due to non-additive gene effect. Grain yield/plant recorded positive and significant correlation with stem weight (r=0.5262) and biomass (r=0.9291). This result indicates that selection based on these two characters will be highly effective for yield improvement in rice. (Résumé d'auteur

Farmers practices and acceptability of supplemental irrigation in Burkina Faso

This study analyzes the farmers' practices and factors acceptability of supplemental irrigation from small pools of runoff collection (SIPW) on family farms of Sahelian and Sudano-Sahelian zone of Burkina Faso. The farming practices are evaluated using descriptive statistics with data collected from 629 farm households. Acceptability factors are determined through a logistic regression model. The results show that farmers' practices vary depending of the province within the same agro-climatic area. Most of the producers perceive changes in rainfall over the past two decades. The coping strategies are techniques for water and soil conservation, adoption of improved seeds and organic manure. However during dry season, crops remain subject to water stress caused by dry spells. For the majority of farm households, the SIPW is an alternative to mitigate the consequences of the dry spells. The acceptability ratio is estimated between 65 to 94% depending on province of agro-climatic zones. Farmers' decisions to practice SIPW are determined by eleven significant variables. Factors promoting the acceptability of SIPW in agricultural systems are marital status, farmers' perceptions of reduced rainfall events, practice of crop rotation and access to information. Constraints to adopt SIPW are illiteracy, use of improved seeds, farmers' perceptions of the frequency of flooding, expected usefulness of maize, sorghum and vegetables. (Résumé d'auteur

Genetic analysis and qtl mapping of agro-morphological traits in lowland rice (Oryza sativa L.) under drought conditions

The present study was undertaken to evaluate lowland rice genetic variability associated with agro-morphological traits under drought condition. A set of 250 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) from the cross between rice parental cultivarIR64 (sensitive to drought) and ITA112 (tolerant to drought) were used. The experiment was performed at Banfora in Burkina Faso using randomized complete block design with 2 replications. High genetic variability was observed for all studied traits. Moderate to high heritability in broad sense were observed for almost studied traits. Grain yield recorded positive correlation with all traits except day to 80% maturity and number of tillers. Using inclusive composite interval mapping software (ICIM), a total of 7 QTLs were identified for this study distributed on 5 chromosomes (2; 3; 4; 5; 6) and associated with day to 50% heading (QTL50DH), day to 80%maturity (QTL80DM), Biomass (QTLBiom), flag leaf width (QTLFLW), plant height (QTLPH), panicle length (QTLPL) and percentage of fertile spikelet (QTLPFS). The percentage of phenotypic variance (PVE) explained by QTLs ranged from 5.45 to 14.58%. QTL50DH, QTL80DM and QTLBiom were overlapped in same region on chromosome 3, which was in accordance with correlation results among the traits. (Résumé d'auteur

Le pic de LH et l'ovulation chez les bovins. Note bibliographique

Le moment pour inséminer les vaches sur chaleurs naturelles est lié au moment de l'ovulation, lui-même lié au moment du pic de LH. Les chaleurs des zébus (Bos indicus) sont plus courtes que celles des taurins (Bos taurus). Le pic de LH est précoce chez les zébus et variable chez les taurins. Le moment de l'ovulation est souvent plus précoce chez les zébus (de 18,5 h à 30 h après le début des chaleurs observées) que chez les taurins (entre 29 et 38,5 h) et il en résulte que le bon moment pour inséminer est plus précoce chez les zébus (5-9 h en Afrique de l'Est, 12-13 h en Afrique de l'Ouest) que chez les taurins (16-18 h après le début des chaleurs). Ces moments devraient donc être étudiés en un lieu donné pour chaque race et éventuellement chaque technique de synchronisation/induction des chaleurs. (Résumé d'auteur

Nudging Households to Take Up Health Insurance: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment in Burkina Faso

In this paper we analyze the impact of a randomized information package on the understanding and uptake of community based health insurance. The information package consists of a detailed brochure which is distributed to households through home visits, a video also presented in people's homes and a personalized phone reminder. Overall, we find significant treatment effects on insurance uptake at the margin, although insurance uptake is low in general. We also find evidence for a better understanding of insurance principles among treated households, in particular in poorer households and in households with literate household heads. Finally, we see that treated households share the information they received with their neighbors and this also has positive effects on their understanding of insurance principles. We find further suggestive evidence that information sharing remains locally concentrated and does not surpass a radius of 1 km. Our findings contribute to the understanding how knowledge about the functioning of insurance can be enhanced in a context where the concept of insurance is largely unknown and where strong cultural beliefs prevail, and eventually, how insurance uptake can be increased, although the latter may take more time