Seed value chains for Sorghum and Millet in Mali: A state-based system in transition

"This paper reviews the structure and performance of the sorghum and millet seed sector in Mali. The Sahel is the origin of pearl millet and sorghum, seed selection and management of these crops is embedded in local cultures, and most producers of these crops are subsistence oriented. Despite seed sector reform, no certified seed of these crops is sold in local markets and farmers prefer to rely on themselves or each other for seed. The dominant source of certified seed is the national seed service. Certified seed is multiplied by contracted farmers and seed producer groups, and supplied to farmers through farmers' associations, development organizations, and extension services. The informal sector supplies farmers with non-certified seed directly and indirectly through village grain markets. There is no consensus about whether it is lack of effective demand or supply that constrains farmer use of certified sorghum and millet seed, but researchers generally conclude that the process of certifying seed is too lengthy, some mechanism must be established for production and trade of locally-adapted landraces, and Mali's highly structured farmers' associations could play an even stronger role in testing and promoting demand for certified seed. Recommendations have included the use of small packs and seed auctions where market infrastructure is sparse, and in more commercialized areas, involvement of agro-input dealers, shopkeepers and traders. Still, estimated adoption rates for improved millet (under 10 percent of crop area) and sorghum seed (under 20 percent of crop area) could be as high as can be expected in this challenging natural environment and institutional context." from Author's AbstractSeeds, Formal sector, Informal sector, Millet, Sorghum, Seed markets, Biodiversity,

RÉGULATION ET DÉVELOPPEMENT : UNE ANALYSE THÉORIQUE À PARTIR DE L’ENFORCEMENT ET LA SÉPARATION DES POUVOIRS

This paper is an attempt to analyze regulation in LDCs taking into account their specificities compared to developed countries. By using a regulation model with an imperfect contract enforcement mechanism, we show how the separation of powers improves the enforcement quality and social welfare in an environment fraught with corruption.JEUX NON COOPÉRATIFS, THÉORIE DU MARCHANDAGE (BARGAINING), ASYMÉTRIE D’INFORMATION ET INFORMATION PRIVÉE, ÉCONOMIE DE LA RÉGULATION

Adaptation d'un algorithme optimal d'ordonnancement en régime permanent pour des lots bornés

International audienceLe contexte de cet article est l ordonnancement de lots bornes de travaux identiques sur une plate-forme d execution heterogene comme la grille. Les travaux executes sont des graphes de t?ches orientes et sans cycle (DAG), en forme d anti-arbre. Les t?ches sont de plusieurs types et les n{oe}uds de la plate-forme ne sont pas toujours en mesure d executer tous les types de t?ches. Le probleme de minimisation du temps d execution d un lot est un probleme NP-Complet. Sous l angle du regime permanent, il est possible de decrire le probleme sous la forme d un programme lineaire donnant une solution optimale pour l ordonnancement cyclique de lots infinis. Lorsque les lots sont bornes, les resultats restent bons bien que sous optimaux. Nous montrons ici que les phases d initialisation et de terminaison ajoutent un sur-co?t qui penalise le temps global d execution. Nous montrons ensuite le lien entre la taille de ces phases et la taille de la periode de l ordonnancement cyclique et donnons un algorithme permettant le calcul de la periode minimale. Des experimentations, obtenues par simulations avec SimGrid, illustrent en fin d article le gain apporte par le choix d une periode minimal

Construction semi-automatique d'une ontologie sur des manuscrits ouest sahariens

International audienceAs more efforts are performed to digitize Western Saharan manuscripts, for preserving the memory they represent, the need to be able to work on thesedigitized materials naturally grows. Beyond cataloguing, an ontology is the basis to provide to researchers new tools for retrieving and integrating these knowledge sources. In this paper, we present the design of OMOS, an ontology describing Western Saharan manuscripts. We illustrate each step, from expert interviews and local resources analysis to the alignment with well-established reference ontologies, including an automatic enrichment from existing thesaurus.Dans le cadre de la sauvegarde et de la valorisation des documents patrimoniaux, des campagnes de numérisation des manuscrits anciens ont été entreprises dans différents endroits notamment dans une partie de l'ouest africain. Ces campagnes de numérisation ont généré un nombre important des ressources numériques potentiellement riches en informations que les chercheurs en sciences humaines et sociales et le grand public désireraient exploiter. Dans cet article, nous proposons un moyen d'accès à toutes les informations sur les manuscrits qui soit plus riche que ceux disponibles dans les catalogues. Pour cela, nous avons construit de façon semi-automatique une ontologie regroupant les connaissances sur les manuscrits. Les différentes étapes suivies dans la construction de l'ontologie allant de l'acquisition des connaissances à partir d'un certain nombre de ressources jusqu'à son enrichissement semi-automatique à partir d'un thésaurus sont présentées. Nous avons par la suite procédé à son alignement avec certaines ontologies de référence

Rapport de l’atelier de clôture Capacitating Stakeholders in Using Climate Information for Enhanced Resilience in the Agricultural Sector in West Africa (CaSCIERA-TA)

CaSCIERA-TA est un projet de « Renforcement des capacités des parties prenantes à l'utilisation de l'information climatique pour l’amélioration de la résilience dans le secteur agricole en Afrique de l'Ouest" de 2 ans financé par le CORAF et les parties nationales du Programme de Productivité Agricole en Afrique de l’Ouest (PPAAO) des pays bénéficiaires. Il vise à améliorer la résilience du système agricole (cultures, élevage et arbres), la sécurité alimentaire et la nutrition face aux chocs climatiques saisonniers, depuis l’échelle champ jusqu’au niveau national. Il vise spécifiquement à fournir des services d'information agrohydro-climatiques pertinents et précis aux principales parties prenantes. Sept axes d’activités (workpackages- WP) ont été définis dans le projet dont le renforcement des capacités des acteurs clés pour générer et utiliser les informations climatiques (WP1), la production des informations agro-hydro-climatiques (WP2), la diffusion des informations agro-hydroclimatiques (WP3); les essais participatifs au champ et la validation des outils et méthodes (WP4); la mise à l’échelle des innovations réussies (WP5); le suivi et l'évaluation (WP6) et la gestion globale du projet (WP7). Coordonné par le World Agroforestry (ICRAF), le projet est mis en oeuvre au Benin, en Guinée, au Niger et au Togo par un consortium d’institutions nationales et internationales incluant le programme de recherche du CGIAR sur le Changement Climatique, l'Agriculture et la Sécurité Alimentaire (CCAFS), le Centre Régional de Formation et d’Information en Agro-météorologie et Hydrologie Opérationnelle (AGHRYMET), l’Institut National des Recherches Agricoles du Bénin (INRAB), l’Institut de Recherche Agronomique de Guinée (IRAG), l’Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique du Niger (INRAN) et l'Institut Togolais de Recherche Agronomique (ITRA). Après deux années de mise en oeuvre des activités définies, l’atelier final du projet a eu lieu les 9-10 décembre 2019 dans la salle de réunion de l’ICRAF a Samanko au Mali

A Proposal for Social Pricing of Water Supply in Cote d'Ivoire

International audienceWe consider the design of a nonlinear social tariff for residential water in Côte d'Ivoire, which is a case of a monopolistic private operator supplying a population of heterogeneous consumers. The proposed optimal tariff includes an initial “social” block with a low unit price, and higher consumption blocks with a monopoly pricing rule. This optimal nonlinear tariff is calibrated using econometric estimates of a panel-data residential water demand equation. Welfare changes associated with moving from the actual tariff to approximations of the optimal pricing system are computed under different tariff scenarios. We find that gains in consumer welfare would outweigh losses in producer surplus in a majority of Ivorian local communities

Trading millet and sorghum genetic resources women vendors in the village fairs of San and Souentza, Mali:

"In Mali, liberalization of seed markets for sorghum and millet, the staple food crops, has not advanced at the same rate or with the same measurable success as liberalization of grain markets. Most seed of these crops is uncertified and continues to be supplied to farmers by farmers, according to clan and ethno-linguistic group. After poor harvests or when replanting after a dry spell, farmers rely on local markets for grain as sources of seed. This paper summarizes the findings of a vendor survey conducted in two marketsheds during weekly fairs. No certified seed is sold. Almost all vendors are women who are also farmers. Variety integrity is maintained particularly for millet seed in the marketshed of the Sahelian zone, where the range of variety adaptation is very limited. Grain that is suitable for seed is brought to market directly from granaries. Varieties are identified by their provenance. Socially prescribed behavior is apparent in price-fixing, price discounts, procurement practices, and the spatial organization of vendors. Preliminary hypotheses are tested with a simple regression. Marketshed, which is highly correlated with the ethnic composition of the population, agro-ecology, market infrastructure and crop sold, has a dominant impact on quantities sold. Quantities sold do not respond to expected prices. Greater specialization of the vendor in trade as compared to farming, younger age, and additional years in school positively influence amounts sold. A better comprehension of this type of trade could contribute to policies that improve the access of poor farmers to valuable crop genetic resources, enhancing their seed security and productivity." from Author's AbstractAgricultural development, Informal sector, Seed markets, Traders, Landraces, Millet, Sorghum, Women, Biodiversity,

Daily steps in getting ready to photograph manuscripts

Handout documenting each step needed to prepare camera to digitize manuscript pages in the field. Prepared for the WARC Digitization Workshop

Comparison of Batch Scheduling for Identical Multi-Tasks Jobs on Heterogeneous Platforms

International audienceIn this paper we consider the scheduling of a batch of the same job on a heterogeneous execution platform. A job is represented by a directed acyclic graph without forks (intree) but with typed tasks. The execution resources are distributed and each resource can carry out a set of task types. The objective function is to minimize the makespan of the batch execution. Three algorithms are studied in this context: an on-line algorithm, a genetic algorithm and a steady-state algorithm. The contribution of this paper is on the experimental analysis of these algorithms and on their adaptation to the context. We show that their performances depend on the size of the batch and on the characteristics of the execution platform