ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES Just rewards AVOCAdO Health and beauty wATER More and better irrigation N°148 August-september 2010 INTERVIEw Fetien Abay, university lecture r: Women’s innova tion The magazine for agricultural and rural development in ACP countries http://spore.cta.int sharing knowledge, improving rural livelihoods is the bi-monthly magazine of the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA). CTA operates under the Cotonou Agreement between the countries of the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group and the European Union and is financed by the EU. • Postbus 380 • 6700 AJ Wageningen, Pays-Bas • Tel: +31 317 467 100 • Fax: +31 317 460 067 • Email: cta@cta.int • Website: www.cta.int • PUblisHER: Michael Hailu • EdiToRiAl boARd: Thierry Doudet, Stéphane Gambier, Anne Legroscollard, Isolina Boto, Vincent Fautrel, Felipe Fonseca, Karen Hackshaw, Ibrahim Tiémogo • EdiToRiAl sTAff: Executive editor: Marie-Agnès Leplaideur • Editor of French version and coordinator: Denise Williams • Syfia International, 20 rue du Carré-du-Roi, 34 000 Montpellier, France • Editor of English version: Clare Pedrick • Via dello Spagna 18, 06049 Spoleto (PG), Italy • Portuguese version: Manuela Paixão • CoRREsPondEnTs: The following contributed to this issue: G Atser (Nigeria), R Gildharie (Guyana), R Kapinga Kabwe (DR Congo), A Labey (France), I Maïga (Burkina Faso), C Njeru (Kenya), M Nzikou-Massala (Congo), N Okeya (Kenya), F Patard (France), N-D Salouka (Burkina Faso), M Seck (Senegal), F Zvomuya (South Africa) and M Ziba (Malawi). • oTHER ConTRibUToRs: J Bodichon, L de Araújo, F Idir Le Meur, IlO traduction, D Manley, Tradcatts • lAyoUT And dEsign: Intactile DESIGN, France • PRinTER: Pure Impression, France • © CTA 2010 – ISSN 1011-0054 4 | Cover story 6 | News 7 | Crops 8 | Livestock and fisheries 9 | Environment 10 | Research 11 | Business 12 | Interview 13 | DossIER Water: more and better irrigation Priorities: building large dams and setting up irrigation schemes 17 | Viewpoint Jean-Marc faurès: a panoply of techniques This agricultural hydraulics specialist at FAO stresses the importance of making the right choices from the various water management techniques 18 | Field report burkina faso: water solidarity A local water committee (LwC) at work 20 | Focus Avocado 21 | Publications 24 | News from CTA wATER More and better irrigation Editorial When senior officials from African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) coun- tries and the European Union met last June in the sprawling city of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, for the 35th Session of the EU-ACP Joint Council of Ministers, progress made with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) was high on their agenda. While good progress has been achieved on a number of MDG targets, many ACP countries are off-track in reaching the important goal of halving poverty and hun- ger by 2015. The challenges are particularly acute for sub-Saharan Africa, least devel- oped countries and countries in situations of conflict and fragility. The combination of the food, financial, economic and energy crises of the last few years is not only slowing progress towards achieving MDG targets, but also eroding the gains made earlier. According to FAO, the crises have deprived an additional 100 million people of access to adequate food in 2009. Against this backdrop, the UN High-Level Meeting that will be held in September in New York to review the MDGs will provide a good opportunity to assess progress, share lessons learned and renew commitments towards reaching the targets by 2015. Strong partnerships among different stakeholders – governments, civil society organisations, private sector and regional and international organisations – are key to achieving the MDGs. Michael Hailu Director - CTA DossIER13 ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES Just rewards CoVER sToRy4 FETIEN ABAY Charting innovations INTERVIEw12 Co ve r ph ot o: O A ss el in © A la m y/ H em is .f r SPORE N° 148 - AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2010sUMMARy AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2010 | SPORE 148 | 3 A carbon project in Malawi is paying farmers cash for growing trees. The scheme, operated by the World Forestry Centre (ICRAF) and the Malawian government, offers compensation to farmers for their efforts to mitigate climate change. Michael Kankondo, a farmer participating in the scheme, is enthusiastic. “We know our children will benefit from these trees. In the long run, we will have nowhere to get timber or firewood if we don’t plant trees now”, he said. In the Shinyanga region of Tanzania where once abun- dant woodland has been stripped away over decades, a major restoration effort based on the traditional practice of restoring vegetation in protected enclosures or nigitili is earning an estimated US$14 (€11.50) per person per month for local Sukuma people. Targeted payments to farmers, herders, fishers and for- est dwellers are attracting growing interest as a means of protecting the environment and addressing climate change, biodiversity loss and water issues. Developed in response to the limited impact of regulatory approaches, Payment for Environmental Services (PES) is an innova- tive market instrument based on the notion that people who look after ecosystems should be rewarded. Agriculture makes a significant contribution to green- house gas emissions (GHGs) as well as to water deple- tion, pollution, land degradation and loss of biodiversity. But when managed in a sustainable manner – with tech- niques such as agroforestry, zero tillage and improved grassland management – it can play an important role as a carbon sink, sequestering GHGs in soils, plants and trees. PES aims to encourage producers to adopt such practices. “Well-designed payments for environmental services are one way to help farmers to change land- use practices and make farming more environmentally friendly”, said FAO Senior Environmental Economist Leslie Lipper. “These are payments for real services farm- ers can provide, much like farmers are paid for rice or coffee.” Public and private Compensation for ecosystem conservation can take various forms, from cash payments for improved land use to subsidies for herders who keep endangered breeds. Governments, NGOs, the Global Environment Facility and the World Bank are some of the most common funders of PES programmes. But the private sector is also becom- ing involved. Consumers have shown a willingness to pay for environmental services by purchasing eco-labelled products, with producers in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda fetching price premiums for eco-friendly shade-grown coffee or tea. A recent survey identified more than 100 types of pri- vate PES programmes. Some companies are promoting PES schemes as a way of improving their corporate im- age or forestalling environmental regulations. Revenues may also be generated through charges to service users, as in South Africa’s water resource management fee, which is included in water bills and helps cover the cost of clearing invasive alien plants. At Masaai Mara and Kitengela in Kenya, the private sector is paying pasto- ralists to maintain wildlife corridors on their traditional grazing lands. While most PES schemes in developing countries have focused on retaining forests, interest is growing in ap- plying the approach to agricultural areas. Farmers can ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES Just rewards Nature is a valuable resource and rewarding poor rural dwellers for good stewardship is one way of encouraging sound practices. But incentives need to be carefully designed if they are to benefit small-scale producers. In Ethiopia, a local programme supplies tree seedlings to tackle deforestation and soil erosion. CoVER sToRy 4 | SPORE 148 | AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2010 provide ecosystem services by altering the way they till the land, apply fertiliser and pesticides, or change the mix of crops and animal breeds. They may opt not to convert forest or wetlands to crop production. Other practices for which farmers are being paid include pollination services, and reduction in the spread of crop and animal diseases. Payments for water Improving water quality is one of the main focuses for PES, with payments made to upstream land users by down- stream beneficiaries. Users paying for watershed conserva- tion include domestic water supply systems, hydroelectric power producers and bottlers. “Ecosystems provide hu- manity with important services, such as water supplies, but markets rarely value these benefits”, said Ivan Bond of the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). Green water credits in Kenya are rewarding farmers for water and land management serv- ices, which benefit downstream users by giving them better-quality water and a more reliable supply. Another major source of PES funding is carbon payments – under the Clean Development Mechanism or the voluntary market. Smallholder farmers can benefit from carbon sequestra- tion payments, but this requires strong local community organisa- tions and may need outside help. In Western Uganda ICRAF and its partners are helping farmers to plant and care for trees while ex- ploring opportunities for earning carbon credit funds. As well as increased incomes for farmers rewarded through PES, knock-on benefits can in- clude increased productivity and better water quality. The re-intro- duction of short-term improved fallow systems in Kenya and Zambia has earned payments for farmers and improved soil fertility. In Niger and Chad, amid a growing food crisis caused by poor rains, an FAO programme is paying vulnerable house- holds to restore pasture. Pro-poor schemes While the idea behind PES may be fairly simple, putting it into practice is more complex. Key challenges include valuing a service for which no market price exists. It is not easy to put a price on abstract functions such as watershed protection or biodiversity conservation. And beneficiaries not used to paying for a service may be reluctant to do so. The cost of monitoring can be too high for small farmers. Privately-funded schemes that sell carbon credits on the global market still require sampling of carbon in soils, which is prohibitively expensive. The impact of PES on the poor is highly dependent on who holds the rights to resources, which, in turn, depends on the distribution of land ownership. Critics in the PES debate say it is essential to develop pro- poor PES that may not follow strict market rules. Other im- portant pre-conditions include reducing transaction costs by concentrating service providers into groups, investing in smaller-scale schemes and packaging payments as non-cash rewards, such as credit, vouchers for school fees or livestock. Results of an IIED study into PES schemes for water- sheds, including several in the Caribbean, reveal that while some produced modest increases in household in- comes, most did not lead to substantial reductions in pov- erty. Evidence does, however, suggest that indirect effects of PES – such as improved social cohesion, community confidence and new entrepreneurial relationships – have substantial potential to increase revenues. fAo www.fao.org/es/esa/pesal • The state of food and Agriculture 2007: Paying farmers for Environmental services www.fao.org/publications/sofa/sofa2007/en ifAd www.ifad.org iiEd www.iied.org • briefing paper: Watershed services: who pays and for what? Downloadable from: www.iied.org/pubs/pdfs/17009IIED.pdf • fair deals for watershed services: lessons from a multi-country action learning project Downloadable from: www.iied.org/pubs/pdfs/ 13535IIED.pdf Katoomba group www.katoombagroup.org PREsA http://presa.worldagroforestry.org Watershed Markets www.watershedmarkets.org for further infor mation 4 pAYmeNt meCHANIsm ExAmplEs: • Carbon emission offset sales • water-user fees • Price premiums on agricultural products 3 beNeFIts reALIZeD ExAmplEs: • Climate change mitigation • Clean water • Increased resilience 2 eNVIrONmeNtAL serVICe prODuCeD ExAmplEs: • Soil and above- ground carbon sequestration • watershed protection • Biodiversity conservation 1 FArmINg sYstem or LAND-use CHANge ExAmplEs: • Conservation agriculture • Reforestation pAYmeNts tO FArmers FOr eNVIrONmeNtAL serVICes cover story AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2010 | SPORE 148 |  A J oh n st on e © P AN OS -R EA So ur ce : FA O MALARIA Rapid diagnosis The World Health Organization (WHO) has found 16 meth- ods to improve the reliability of rapid di- agnosis for malaria. “They enable tests to be carried out on people who cannot benefit from microscope diagnoses in rural and remote areas where most malaria cases occur”, said a WHO official. Malaria contin- ues to affect more than 2.5 billion people or 40% of the global population. It infects more than 500 million people each year and kills more than one million, most of them African children. www.who.int/malaria/en/index.html ■ AQUACULTURE beats fishing While the volumes of capture fisheries have remained stagnant over the past 20 years, aquaculture is making rapid progress. With an annual output of 65 million t, it now produces more fish for human consumption than capture fisheries, which only account for 60 million t, if one subtracts the 25 to 30 million t destined for making animal feed (including fish reared by aquaculture). Given the rapid increase in fish consumption, especially in Africa, China and Latin America, aquaculture appears to offer a solution, conserving the world’s fisheries resources which are increasingly under threat. www.fao.org/fishery/en wATER A rolling drum A useful innovation promises to ease the burden of millions of people who face a daily trek to fetch water for their domestic needs. Dubbed the Q-Drum by its inventor, the device is a cylindrical drum made of tough but light polyethylene. Once filled with water, the Q-Drum can be rolled rather than carried, thanks to an ingenious design. The drum has a hollow shaft in its centre which enables a rope to be passed through the hole so that the container can be rolled. Pulling the drum requires little effort, an important factor given that the task of fetching water generally falls to women and children. The path taken to get water must however be relatively flat to avoid damaging the container. If the rope breaks, it can easily be replaced at little cost. The Q-Drum has a ■ hEALTh safer food The Caribbean Agricultural health and Food Safety Agency (CAhFSA) has been launched, with headquarters in Suriname. Its goals include helping members to develop their own agricultural health and food safety systems, establishing an effective sanitary and phyto-sanitary regime for the Caribbean community, coordinating agricultural and food safety matters in the region and guiding countries on international issues. COTONOU AGREEMENT south Africa signs up The EU Council of Foreign Ministers has approved the admission of South Africa to the Cotonou Agreement, which links the 27 EU countries to the 79 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. Cuba is now the only ACP country not to have signed the accord. http://tinyurl.com/omma6g dEVELOPMENT oil and agriculture The Angolan government is negotiating with US NGO AFRICARE and oil companies to obtain support for the development of subsistence agriculture and rural markets in the province of Zaïre (north-west Angola). Funding from foreign oil companies will help farmers, especially smallholders, in Kuimba and Tomboco to grow cassava, beans and groundnuts and to rear chickens, pigs and goats. The province of Zaïre, the country’s second biggest oil producing area after the Cabinda enclave, also has one of the largest gas liquification ventures, Angola-LING. COMMUNICATION Network for Africa Funding for the first phase of an initiative aimed at connecting African research centres and linking them to an existing European network has been approved by the EC. Most research and education networks in Africa are now, or soon will be, near to one of several undersea fibre optic cables. This may enable them to join GÉANT, a pan-European data network for research and education. capacity of 50 l – considerably more than most containers used for carrying water. www.qdrum.co.za Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQ_n5y3-Xnk © Q -D ru m M D uk ha n © IR D Sa ur in H em © IR D NEws  | SPORE 148 | AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2010 whEAT ANd SOYABEAN High protein bread The use of soybean-based flour is giving a boost to pro- tein intakes in Mozambique. The baking flour combines soybean (Glycine max) and wheat flour in a 50:50 ratio, enabling Mozambicans to improve nutrition through an inexpensive staple. Like its cousin, cowpea, soybean is re- puted for its high protein content. “Bread is a major component of Mozambicans’ diets and cuisine, so the inclusion of soybean in baking flour is a remarkable breakthrough”, said Penina Ngusye Muoki, a food technologist for the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, which is training producers to grow and use the crop. “The beauty of the project is that there is a re-awakening in terms of soybean cultivation. Farmers’ health is also being improved as an added bonus.” Producers are also processing soybean into other products such as milk and pap, and adding it to stews. Of the 2030 newly trained farmers, 1680 are women. Increased consumption of the crop has prompted high demand for improved soybean seeds. ■ STATISTICS figures to the rescue Lack of statistics is a common weakness when it comes to agricultural policies. CountrySTAT, an on-line information technology system for food and agriculture statistics at national and sub-national levels, seeks to offer a solution. It allows decision-makers to access statistics on output, such as prices, international trade, consumption. FAO is forming partnerships with statistical offices and ministries of agriculture to introduce the system and build national capacity to use it. In each country, the national government contributes substantially to ensure its deployment as well as training for users. http://tinyurl.com/33fd47n MAIZE Katanga’s green copper It is just a small step from the copper mine to the maize field, and several min- ing companies in the province of Katanga, south-east DR Congo, have been quick to take it. Responding to the appeal made in 2008 by the governor of this province, they have planted several hundred hectares of maize. Each mining company based in the province has been asked to grow 500 ha of maize, while all other companies have been set a target of 100 ha and small-scale farmers asked to grow at least 1 ha. The ini- tiative has paid off. Aside from companies, a number of producers who had given up farming to work with copper handicrafts, which were considered more profitable, are now starting to go back to the land, encouraged by the authorities but also by the sharp rise in prices for this staple food. Maize prices have now fallen. Thanks to increased output, the province has be- gun reducing imports from neighbouring Zambia, its traditional supplier. In light of this success, some people have started call- ing maize green copper. ■ RURAL LANd TENURE Computerised cadastre The Ministry of Agriculture in Côte d’Ivoire has introduced an IT tool to manage the rural land register. Called SIF, the system aims to put an end to conflicts over land by establishing boundaries within villages and recording who owns the land. SIF is also expected to enable authorities to better understand rural territory in terms of space and potential value. COFFEE Born in Guinea Nearly 120 species of wild coffee colonised equatorial Africa and Madagascar over a period of 400,000 years, starting from Lower Guinea, according to a study carried out by the French research institute IRd and its Brazilian partner, Embrapa. Results of dNA sequencing conducted on 26 species cast doubt on the theory that coffee originated in the horn of Africa and opens up new approaches for improving the plant. http://tinyurl.com/3a5q9ql JOBS Agriculture first In 2009, outstripping all forecasts, 330,000 new jobs were created in Angola, over half of them in agriculture – more than in the public works, trade, tourism and transport sectors. More than 62,000 of the job places went to students graduating from professional training centres. In Viana, a town with 2 million inhabitants 13 km from Luanda, the first small business centre has been set up. Its aim is to help people to launch their own enterprises and business ventures, especially in the agricultural sector. These centres, supported by the African Investment Bank’s microfinance unit, will offer training in tax law to small and medium-scale businesses. © S yfi a In te rn at io na l © G A ts er CRoPs AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2010 | SPORE 148 |  FISh FARMING getting a bite at Pointe-noire For 2 years now, fish farming at Hinda, some 40 km from Pointe Noire in western Congo, has given a livelihood to ten people without work and had consumers licking their lips. Members of the Copragel coopera- tive, the fish farmers all come from different backgrounds, they include: jobless gradu- ates, unemployed fishers, agronomists and even architects. They launched the project with financial support from US NGO the International Partnership for Human Devel- opment (IPHD) (FCFA1.5 million, close to €2,300) and from the Congolese government (FCFA5 million, about €7,600). The cooperative claims to have produced 9 t of fish last year, which it sold to restau- rants and markets in the region. Consumers prefer their products ■ to frozen fish or those, widely held to be of doubtful quality, caught by Chinese ves- sels. Their experience may well serve as a model; for the ministry in charge of fisheries is planning to launch a support programme for fish farming, supplying ploughing and fishing kits to associations. Members will be helped with technical training in the initial stages and rural radios will spread the word about the initiatives. POULTRY FARMING local feeds for broilers Poultry farmers in Papua New Guinea (PNG) are improving incomes from village broiler production using locally available food resources. A project funded by the South Australian Research and Develop- ment Institute (SARDI), has introduced poultry feed based on cassava and sweet potato, with the addition of micro-ingredi- ents such as vitamin, minerals and essential amino acids. Poultry is important in PNG with an in- crease in consumption second only to that of pork. Live poultry is a major source of in- come, with about 55,000 families producing and selling birds in local markets. But the village broiler sector has suffered from the rising cost of imported ingredients, a prob- lem exacerbated by a sharp fall in the value of the local currency, together with trans- portation difficulties. Janet Pandi, a live- stock scientist at the National Agricultural Research Institute, said the introduction of local feeds was helping poultry farmers. The profitability of smallholder broiler pro- duction has increased by at least 25% since poultry keepers started using home-grown feed in 2007. ■ STORAGE Keeping fish fresh Hamet Diaw Diadhiou, a researcher at Senegal’s marine research centre CRODT has revived a time-honoured technique for keeping fish fresh. The system, traditionally used by fishers from Casamance, in southern Senegal, involves keeping live fish caught at sea in a sort of large net immersed in water, at a depth of about 5 m. This inexpensive alternative to cold storage can keep fish for about 1 week, depending on the outside temperature. It reduces losses and ensures a regular supply of fish to market. Contact: hamet@isra.isra.sn CROdT/ISRA - BP 2241 - dakar, Senegal ILLEGAL FIShING The cost of certification The EU, which is the world’s largest import market for fish, now requires that all imports of wild fish be accompanied by a certificate validated by the fisheries authorities of the country flagging the vessel that caught them. The aim is to combat the growing problem of illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing. However, compliance is placing new and often difficult burdens on exporters, warns FAO. Developing countries account for 50% of all fish imports by rich nations, in value terms, earning annual revenues of US$43 billion (€36 bn). Europe, Japan and the United States alone account for 70% of all fish imports. But FAO warns certification could seriously dampen trade. Fish farming ponds at Hinda, Congo AQUACULTURE shrimp in Cape Verde On the island of São Vicente in Cape Verde, an aquaculture unit is producing 80 t of shrimp per year. The output covers the needs of the country, which has ceased importing shellfish, making an annual saving of almost €1 million. Plans are also in hand to start exporting to the European market. The unit was established by a joint-venture between Brazil and the Netherlands. © S yfi a In te rn at io na l LIVEsToCK AND FIsHERIEs  | SPORE 148 | AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2010 EARLY wARNING forecasts for farmers A system designed to supply better weath- er and climate information has been launched for Caribbean farmers. The Caribbean Agrometeorological Initiative (CAMI) seeks to provide accurate forecasts through a re- gional network of meteorological and agri- cultural services. As a result, farmers have a better idea of expected rainfall for their crops, and the likely outlook for pests and diseases affected by climate patterns. The programme also provides farmers with a free weather and climate newslet- ter, written in terms that are easy to under- stand. An important part of the programme involves regular forums between meterologi- cal experts, agricultural extensionists and local farmers, to explain the implications of expected weather events. The initiative is the result of partnerships be- tween the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology ■ and Hydrology, the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute, the World Meteorological Organization and the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services of ten Caribbean States. Contact: Adrian Trotman atrotman@cimh.edu.bb hABITAT no wood, nor iron Do breeze-blocks, concrete and glass have a real future in the Sahel, given the soaring temperatures in the region? These symbols of modernism attracted harsh criticism dur- ing a symposium on climatic architecture, held in May in Ouagadougou. This approach favours the use of local materials and tradi- tional building techniques. As far as materials go, earth bricks, adobe and eco- concrete – a product made by mixing laterite with a lit- tle cement – appear to have ■ far greater insulation properties for keeping homes cool on the inside. On the technical side, the Nubian vault, an ancient architectural technique from the Up- per Nile, has been restored to place of honour. It enables solid vaulted roofs to be construct- ed from earth bricks, ensuring that interiors remain cool. It also does away with the need for building frames made of timber, which is increasingly rare in the Sahel, and with corru- gated iron, which is costly and turns any house into an oven. Work is still needed to overcome reservations to traditional building materials, which detractors wrongly criticise for being too flimsy and for lacking durability. www.lavoutenubienne.org SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT Protecting the okavango Angola, Botswana and Namibia have set up the OKACOM commission to manage water from the Kubango River. At a meeting in Menongue, capital of Kuando/Kubango province, they undertook to carry out projects adapted to their different needs while respecting the goal of sustainable management and protection of the river basin, which is also called the Okavango in Botswana and Namibia. The river, which is 1,100 km long, rises on the central Angolan plateau before crossing Namibia and Botswana, where it disappears in the sands of the Kalahari desert. Some 80% of its catchment basin belongs to Angola and represents its main source of water. De n is -H uo t © h em is .f r © L a Vo ût e n ub ie n n e FERTILISER offsetting the heat African smallholders can overcome climate change if they invest in fertiliser use and harvest rainwater, researchers have found. A computer simulation run by the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics found that farmers who apply fertiliser and use mulch to trap water could double yields, even with temperatures increases of up to 3°C. CLIMATE Dealing with change An agreement between São Tomé and Príncipe and the UN development Programme has led to the launch of the Supporting Integrated and Comprehensive Approaches to Climate Change Adaptation in Africa project. Agriculture, water and forests are covered by this programme, which is funded by Japan. More modern agricultural production systems, using new irrigation techniques, are expected to benefit farmers. POLLUTION save the ozone The UN Environment Programme has hailed Malawi for the progress made in reducing use of substances that deplete the ozone layer. The country has cut use of the chemical, methobromide, by almost 50%, putting the country on track to meet the Montreal Protocol deadline of 2015. Methobromide is much used in the tobacco industry, a sector that accounts for more than 50% of Malawi’s foreign exchange earnings. ENVIRoNMENT AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2010 | SPORE 148 |  CROP dEVELOPMENT new nut industry for Png The foundations of a new Canarium (Canarium indicum) nut export industry have been laid at the National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) at Keravat, Papua New Guinea. The result of an 8-year re- search and development programme funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), the EU and NARI, the initiative has explored pro- duction, processing, adding value, mar- keting and industry standards. More than 100,000 seedlings have been produced for smallholders and these have been inter- planted in existing cocoa farms as a shade tree and cash crop. Development of the nut, known locally as galip, comes at a critical time when the rural sector is being seriously affected by the Cocoa Cod Borer pest. Build- ing of a pilot processing factory is nearing completion and galip products are expected to be on the supermarket shelves by the end of the year. “It is quite a success story for what was an under-utilised indigenous nut ■ species and the strategic inte- grated R&D ap- proach can serve as a template for future novel crop initiatives”, said NARI project leader Dr John Moxon. GROUNdNUTS Aflatoxin and how to get rid of it AddING VALUE Purple tea Scientists at the Tea Research Foundation of Kenya (TRFK) have released a variety of purple tea after working 25 years to devel- op the clone. They say that the tea, TRFK 306/1 — which is rich in powerful antioxi- dants known as anthocyanins — is drought, frost, disease and pest-resistant and will earn farmers 3 to 4 times more than black tea. More than 96% of Kenya’s tea production is currently in the form of black teas. These are sold to the world market in bulk and used for blending, resulting in lower prices for tea growers. In an effort to increase revenues, the TRFK is targeting the higher end of the market. Its anthocyanin-rich purple tea variety contains flavonoids that are soluble in water and have proven health-enhancing properties. An- thocyanin supplements are widely marketed in the health food sector. Anthocyanins are also widely used as preservatives, especially in the food industry. The new tea variety will provide an alternative raw material from which these flavonoids can be extracted. The new variety currently fetches up to 400% more than black tea. ■ CLIMATE ChANGE Community action CBA-X is an online hub designed to bring together people interested in community- based adaptation (CBA), an approach that focuses on enabling communities to increase their resilience to climate change. The portal offers a space for exchange of up-to-date information about CBA, including news, case studies, tools, policy resources and videos. http://tinyurl.com/y9p9xy2 PEST CONTROL Mite eats mite Scientists are using biological pest control to protect coconut production in East Africa. The predatory mite Neoseiulus baraki is being released to tackle the coconut pest Aceria guerreronis Keifer, which feeds on young nuts and causes huge losses. The approach, developed by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, is already proving effective. Jonathan Sulubu, managing director of the Kenya Coconut Development Authority, welcomed the move to tackle the pest, which has caused massive damage to the country’s 7.4 million coconut trees. The strategy is also being used in Tanzania, where 8 million people depend on coconut for their livelihoods. INPUTS seed technology The University of Nairobi has teamed up with the US-based Iowa State University to establish the African Seed Institute in Kenya. Its goal is to improve seed supply chains across the continent. It will also provide seed training to graduate students, support the production of improved seed varieties and create a web-based network for information exchange on seed technology. Senegal’s Institute of Food Technology (ITA) is promoting a system for treating groundnut oil produced by smallholders that reduces aflatoxin levels by up to 90%. Grinding groundnuts is a small-scale activity common to the Groundnut Basin of Senegal, and thousands of people consume the oil. But it is contaminated with aflatoxin, a tox- in caused by a fungus that is carcinogenic to humans. With EU support, the ITA has been working for several years to eliminate aflatoxin. Its success in drastically reducing levels is due to attapulgite, a clay that has the characteristic of absorbing this toxin. ■ The oil that emerges from the small-scale presses is mixed with attapulgite before be- ing decanted and then filtered to remove all traces of clay. In the regions where the project is being implemented (Kolda, Tambacounda, Kaolack and Fatick) a team of ITA technical staff has conducted workshops to demonstrate the processing technique. The initiative has the backing of the national agricultural agency ANCAR, with a prototype registered at all of its regional offices. www.ita.sn/services/labo%20mycotoxine.htm © N O ke ya K M ac La re n © A la m y/ h em is .f r © N AR I © TR FK REsEARCH 10 | SPORE 148 | AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2010 GRAPES fruits of the vine For years, grape growing in Uganda was linked to French missionaries who intro- duced the fruit in the 1900s. More recently, local farmers have taken an interest in culti- vating grapes for wine and eating. Stanislaus Kamanyiro, from Katojo in Mbarara district, started growing grapes in 1977 when he transplanted one of two seedlings brought home by his brother. Today he has a vine- yard of 0.65 ha and produces 800 l of red and white wine a year, which he sells at lo- cal markets. He has also supplied seedlings to other farmers in the community and more than 6,000 producers have now united un- der the Uganda Grape Growers Development Association. Most of the farmers produce grapes for table. Alphonse Nyambale, a producer from Mbarara, said the fruit does well in both loamy and sandy soils. Kamanyiro, who has been trained in wine making, makes 42 million UGX (€15,500) a year from his prod- ucts. His ambition is to see a modern winery installed so that other local farmers can help supply strong de- mand for wine in Uganda and in neigbouring DR Congo and Rwanda. ■ PROCESSING young livestock farmers At a time when few youngsters are consid- ering a career in livestock, 19-year-old Pule Turupa from South Africa’s Northern Cape has joined the meat trade. He and others like him are now part of South Africa’s National Emergent Red Meat Producers’ Organisa- tion’s (NERPO) Young Agribusiness Entre- preneurial Development Programme, aimed at helping school leavers to pursue business opportunities in meat production. Aggry Mahanjana, who heads NERPO, said the country’s agricultural sector is dominat- ed by people aged 50 upwards, a factor that undermines the sector’s future growth. “Pulling in young agricultural graduates will ensure future industry sustainability, hence increasing employment rates and rural household incomes”, he said. The programme offers technical and en- trepreneurial support to young would-be livestock farmers and helps them set up their own agri-business enterprises. It also encourages them to become involved in meat processing. “We provide the youth with meat processing machines”, said Mahanjana. “These machines are locally made and sim- ple to maintain. So the young people can slaughter their cows and add value.” ■ INNOVATION Tools of the trade A new backpack has been designed to help Kenyan smallholder farmers increase sustainable output. The Backpack Farm, made of canvas and water-resistant materials, contains tools, seeds, a training manual and, in some versions, a collapsible water tank. They are designed to service small plots and are currently being used in the Mau Forest region. The backpack is available from NGO, the Backpack Farm Program. www.backpackfarm.org MARKETING E-auction for tea Kenyan tea sales are now on-line. The system was introduced by Mombasa- based East African Tea Trade Ltd, which dominates Kenya’s tea trading. Over 24,000 farmers have witnessed a boom in sales since the launch of the e-auction, which replaces the old manual system and saves transport costs for farmers. It also increases their share of profits since there is no need for a broker. INVESTMENT Loans for small business The Regional Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Investment Fund for Sub- Saharan Africa (REGMIFA) was launched in early May in Berlin, led by the German development corporation with the support of international financial institutes. The fund plans to extend a package of loans totalling US$200 million (€163 million) to small-scale enterprises in Africa between now and 2014. FONIO Husking machine takes off Sanoussi Diakité, inventor of a husk- ing machine for fonio, recently made six new machines available to communities in four locations in the Senegalese regions of Tambacounda, Kédougou, Sédhiou and Kolda. The machine can husk 50 kg of fo- nio per hour, while a woman can only proc- ess about a kilo by hand in the same time. Unlike manual husking, the machine leaves little sand in the husked fonio. The tedious nature of this task, coupled with its low yield, have led to fonio cultivation being virtually abandoned in areas where it was traditionally the staple cereal. The performance and the socio-economic contribution of the husking machine have already won several prizes for its inventor, among them the Tech Awards given by the Californian university of Santa Clara and the top prize at the African innovation exhibi- tion, Le Salon africain de l’invention et de l’innovation. Diakité’s invention first went into production in 1993. It is now being used in several countries of the sub-region: Benin, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Togo and several parts of Senegal. ■ Stanislaus Kamanyiro produces 800 l of wine per year. © F N an go li F Di ab at é © r ol ex aw ar ds © F Z vo m uy a BUsINEss AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2010 | SPORE 148 | 11 You work with women at the village level. Can you tell us a bit more about what you do? Through various projects, I seek to link academia and rural women. For example, while helping women establish coopera- tives for processing and marketing kollo, a popular snack based on roasted barley, for which specific local varieties of barley are highly prized, we encouraged MSc students to investigate safe levels of mycotoxins and related elements so that the women can sell these organic snacks locally and internation- ally through fair trade. Tell us about the initiative that is the focus of the GenARDIS grant. The project Women Learning Women (WLW): Women-led Documentation and Community Information Centres in Tigray Region, north- ern Ethiopia, was awarded a GenARDIS grant last December. The aim was to experi- ment with new documentation methods led by women farmers in order to see whether and how this form of documentation can complement that done by researchers. The project also seeks to motivate women to use telecentres when looking for information. What exactly is Farmer-Led Documentation and why are women important in it? The traditional way of documenting local knowledge and innovation is researcher-led – everything is documented that the research- er feels is important. But to address the needs of farmers, it is necessary to look for other approaches. Farmer-Led Documentation (FLD) is farmer-driven, in that farmers are involved from the beginning in deciding on the purpose, i.e. why, what, when and how to document. Rural women have less mobil- ity than rural men and their innovations nor- mally receive less recognition by people both inside and outside the community. What forms of communication are used for FLD and what types work best? Approaches used include training in photog- raphy and computers – including use in local languages – and tape recording. For example, in one village a female journalist made record- ings on audiotape, and then played it back to the women innovators, so that they had con- trol over the information. The audio record- ings were then broadcast via local radio. Local youths have been trained how to take photographs with a digital camera to docu- ment the innovations that the women and others in the community wanted to capture. What kind of women are involved in this scheme? The digital revolution has not yet reached the villages of Ethiopia, and women are left out unless projects like ours, that focus on them, are introduced. We target both literate and illiterate women. We also had a grant from PROLINNOVA-International targeting illit- erate women in central Tigray. This project used radio recording and photography, while literate women have been involved in com- puter training, especially secondary school dropout students. How and where is this information used? It can be shared from farmer to farmer, vil- lage to village, district to district, region to region, and vertically from village to devel- opment agents and to high-level government officials. On one occasion, women farmers demonstrated their unique innovations on animal health and veterinary medicines, which was an inspiring presentation. We are using the outputs of the documen- tation in village-level workshops to raise the awareness of men and women farmers – in other communities as well – about how local people can use ICTs and other communica- tion methods to control and share informa- tion about what they are doing. How are women benefiting from this initiative? It has been encouraging to see how women farmers become motivated when they can take the lead in deciding to document their problems and their solutions. FLD helps farmers develop their own locally adapted versions of sustainable agriculture and re- stores their pride in their own innovative potential. What difference has the GenARDIS grant made? Experience sharing with other African coun- tries has been very important. It has motivated us to interact both formally and informally. I attended a knowledge sharing workshop in Johannesburg in March this year. Some of the initiatives were an eye opener to me. For example in Mali, farmers have organised themselves and are using the Internet to find out about and purchase improved seed. FETIEN ABAY Charting innovations Whether advising young women studying agriculture, investigating semi-wild food sources or helping smallholder farmers to share knowledge, Fetien Abay is an energetic champion of rural women. “The digital revolution has not yet reached the villages of Ethiopia” A lecturer at Ethiopia’s Mekelle University, fetien Abay, is committed to promoting gender equality in science. She was awarded a grant from CTA’s GenARDIS programme to pursue her work with Farmer-Led Documentation and ICT for rural areas. INTERVIEw 12 | SPORE 148 | AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2010 wATER More and better irrigation Irrigation is a key tool for intensifying agricultural output, but it is still little used in Africa. Building large dams to harness surface water and set up irrigation systems, especially on a small-scale, are among priorities for tackling climate uncertainties and ensuring food security. 17 | VIEwPoINT Jean-Marc faurès: A panoply of techniques 18 | FIELD REPoRT FRoM BURKINA FAso Water solidarity DossIER 13AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2010 | SPORE 148 | F Pe rr i © R EA W hile the African continent is often held to be at a disadvantage when it comes to water supply, and is subject to severe hydric stress, water is actually plentiful in some regions. But it is not always used to its best effect. Just 3% of the continent’s water resources are used and barely 4% of its arable land is irrigated. By contrast, Asia uses 20% of its water potential to irrigate 38% of land suitable for crop growing. Land cultivated by harnessing water is concentrated in just a few countries: Madagascar, South Africa and Sudan. West Africa, the region with the most variable climate anywhere in the world, is also one of the most poorly en- dowed when it comes to irrigation systems: it has barely 8% of the continent’s big dams which have a total capacity of 3 million m3. The main crop grown under irrigation is rice (about one-third of total output), especially in the marshes and shallows of the Gulf of Guinea, as well as in Madagascar, Somalia, South Africa and Sudan. Market gardening, prac- tised everywhere, accounts for almost 10% of irrigated land. Sugarcane and cotton are the chief industrial crops grown under irrigation. The recent food crisis, progress in regional integration, demographic considerations – are some of the factors that are currently prompting governments and the inter- national community to take a fresh interest in irrigation, which has been neglected for several decades. Agrono- mists claim that the output of irrigated land is about three times greater than that of rainfed agriculture. Managing water offers protection against increasingly frequent cli- mate swings. By using irrigation, rural communities can grow food year-round and limit their use of marginal land for crop cultivation. Since the African Union summit on water for Africa, held in December 2008, initiatives aimed at exploiting Africa’s irrigation potential have become a priority for African countries supported by international organisations. One of the four objectives of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) focuses on increasing the amount of land irrigated and the sus- tainable management of soil and water. CAADP foresees investments of more than US$250 billion between 2002 and 2015. Other sources mention sums of US$50 billion a year. Big dams make a comeback Major infrastructure needs to be installed to meet the urgency and scale of the challenge. Storing water is the first problem: in Africa, just 50 m3 of water is stored per person, compared with 3,500 m3 in Europe. In response, more than 130 dams are now planned or under construc- tion. These will fulfil the dual role of supplying demands for energy – desperately lacking in many countries – and agriculture. Kenya, Nigeria, Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia have the greatest potential for irrigated land (between 100,000 and 250,000 ha). Building dams, generally on major rivers that span several countries, requires dialogue at various levels. Talks should involve those in the catchment areas, as in West Africa, where installations are planned for the Niger, Senegal and Volta rivers, but should also take place at the national lev- el, so that the different players involved (hydrologists, drought resistant plants There are many local varieties of African plants that have a natural resistance to drought, but their yields are low. Improving their output is high on the agenda for researchers. The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) has worked to develop and distribute improved varieties of millet, sorghum and groundnuts in West Africa. In Kenya, research has produced a variety of pigeon pea adapted to shorter rainy seasons. The Africa Rice Center has developed Nerica, a rainfed rice that combines the drought tolerance of African varieties with the high yields of Asian varieties. The World Vegetable Center and ICRISAT have teamed up to couple the development of improved local vegetables with simple and inexpensive irrigation systems that use little water. An improved variety of high- yielding tomato is becoming widely grown in Niger, as well as a variety of onion that produces 60 t/ha of irrigated land. Alongside classical varietal selection, biotechnology is introducing drought-resistant genes into genetically modified plants. However, cost is a limiting factor in the diffusion of all these new varieties. DossIER 14 | SPORE 148 | AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2010 100 - 76% 75 - 51% 50 - 26% 25 - 10% < 10% No data LEGEND agronomists, sociologists…) can cooperate effectively. Funders are also increasingly calling for dialogue with communities, who need to be informed of the risks, be in a position to benefit from economic spinoffs and be able to express an opinion on measures needed to limit the nega- tive impacts. Construction of the Kossou in Côte d’Ivoire during the 1970s involved the displacement of more than 100,000 people. As compensation, a government project created 120 new villages in the Bandama Valley. Egypt and Sudan are in dispute with Ethiopia, which controls 85% of the Nile’s flow and is planning to build a dozen dams. In southern Africa, Botswana wants to con- serve the Okavango-Makgadikgadi delta as an ecotourism paradise, while Namibia, which is upstream, wants to di- vert water to Windhoek for its inhabitants and industries. The building of dams in the South African sector of the Incomati Basin has caused water salination in the river’s estuary in Mozambique. This has led to the disappearance of plants with a low salt tolerance, the only source of live- lihood for communities in this region. Environmental organisations often oppose such installa- tions on the grounds of the threat they pose to ecosystems. In Mozambique, the environmental defence association Justiça Ambiental is fighting a plan to build a huge dam at Mphanda Nkuwa on the Zambezi, which they say would cause serious ecological damage without providing any benefit to the region’s poor farmers. Before pledging funds, donors are asking for prelimi- nary impact studies to ensure that these works are “eco- nomically viable, socially acceptable and environmentally sound”, in the words of the World Bank. For this reason, the African Development Bank (ADB) refused to finance the Gibe III in Ethiopia’s Omo Valley, which threatens to dramatically lower water levels in Lake Turkana and to put the livelihoods of between 200,000 and 500,000 peo- ple at risk, depending on sources. But China has agreed to supply funding. small-scale schemes The biggest schemes are planned for countries in East and southern Africa, which have plentiful resources of land and water. In West Africa, major irrigation installa- tions, like those built during the colonial period or just afterwards, are no longer in vogue. Managed by state-run companies, with farmers given no say whatsoever, they are extremely costly to build and maintain. It is estimated that in the 1990s, irrigated areas supplied barely 5% of rice grown in Africa, but swallowed up half of all public aid to agriculture. Investment in such schemes is currently limited to restoring those that already exist, such as the Office du Niger irrigation system. After a series of major droughts in the Sahel, other types of more modest irrigation schemes have been implement- ed. The involvement of farmers in the planning, funding, implementation and management of these installations has become mandatory. They take charge of all the main- tenance and management costs and sometimes even han- dle part of the investment. In the Sahel, priority is given Maintenance of irrigation systems like this one in Ghana is crucial. water managed areas (as a percentage of irrigation potential) So ur ce FA O DossIER AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2010 | SPORE 148 | 1 D As se lin © A la m y/ h em is .f r to small-scale irrigation systems that can be managed by groups of producers. This participatory management ensures better results and more sustainability for small ar- eas of irrigated land, despite recurrent maintenance and management problems. Such systems help to ensure food security and provide additional revenues for farmers. Schemes of this type have sprung up wherever water is available, be it in the reservoirs of small dams, in water- courses or using water pumped out of groundwater sourc- es. They range in size from a few hundred square metres to several hectares. A wide variety of techniques is used, from the simple sprinkler to drip irrigation. In northern Burkina Faso, more than 1,000 small earth dams are help- ing 50,000 smallholder farmers to improve output and survive repeated droughts. The irrigation systems are set up by state initiatives, very often with the involvement of NGOs. They are also attracting the interest of private groups such as associa- tions of peri-urban market gardeners or companies grow- ing products with high added value destined for export. In the Senegal River valley, more and more plots are being developed to grow melon, cherry tomatoes and sweetcorn to be sold to Europe. Investing in simple, low-cost irrigation schemes has had a significant impact on food security and adapta- tion to climate change. It is an approach now favoured by public investment and development aid for intensifying output and promoting harvests in the dry season. A study on investment requirements for irrigation in sub-Saharan Africa conducted by the World Bank estimates that about 23 million ha of land situated at a distance of less than 5 h by truck from a main town could be irrigated in a viable manner using small-scale systems. The greatest potential lies in Nigeria, (11 million ha) and Niger (7 million ha), but there is also good scope in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Senegal, South Africa and Sudan. Public-private partnerships are being formed to provide monitoring and management for large irrigation systems, as well as the installation and management of smaller ones. waste not a drop Alongside these systems, which involve transporting water from another source, farmers are also using a range of techniques to make use of the water available local- ly. Flood recession farming is widely practised along the Congo, Okavongo, Niger and Senegal rivers. The shallows, which are often fertile with a good supply of water, have Rainwater harvesting Rain represents a vast supply of under-used fresh water. There are a number of techniques for harvesting water from roofs for agricultural purposes (small vegetable gardens), and not just at household level. Systems also exist for capturing run-off rainwater, but all these techniques are still relatively little used. That is partly due to the cost of materials, the considerable labour involved and to the maintenance required. Even so, according to SearNet, rainwater harvesting is becoming more common in southern and East Africa, especially in Kenya, but also in Mali and Togo. Rainwater harvested from roofs can be stored in tanks or cisterns made of metal, earth or reinforced concrete. There are various techniques, both manual and mechanical, for collecting rainwater run-off, ranging from micro-dams to modern versions of the Roman impluvium, and including managed ponds, ditches and larger dams. In Rwanda, where 20 billion m3 of water could be saved by harvesting rainwater, 108 retaining basins, as well as 15,000 reservoirs have been built on agricultural plots of 1000 m². An irrigated vegetable plot in Burkina Faso DossIER 1 | SPORE 148 | AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2010 © P B ar ro t KEY FIGURES 4,430 km 3 of fresh water is drawn worldwide each year, but almost half is lost through evaporation or poor management 70 % of water taken from the Earth is used for agriculture; in Africa the figure is 86% 15.4 million ha are cultivated under irrigation in Africa, or 6% of total agricultural land, compared with 18% for the world as a whole 42.5 million ha: that is the total potential for irrigated land on the African continent Viewpoint A panoply of techniques “The finger is often pointed at the fact that only 4% of arable land is irrigated in sub-Saharan Africa, compared with 35 to 38% in Asia. It’s true that this is very little, but we need to put it in perspective. Firstly, there are vast regions in Africa that are very humid, so irrigation is not a priority. Then, some regions have relatively few people: there are few demands on the land and therefore there is not great need for irrigation to intensify production. When all is said and done, it is not a good idea to say that a continent does well or badly from an agricultural point of view because its irrigation is or is not developed. Look at Europe, where irrigation is weak! Then there is the so-called informal irrigation, which is not taken into account in statistics. On the edges of towns for example, thousands of farmers irrigate by drawing water from streams using a small motor pump. These are very small farms, so it’s difficult to do a survey, but when they are all added together they can add up to a considerable surface area. In Ghana, for example, it is estimated that this ‘informal’ irrigation covers more land than that which is officially registered in the large areas. There are many techniques for managing water and, taken in isolation, none is better than the others. It all depends on the goal at hand. The big dams offer significant volumes of water, but these are fairly concentrated geographically. They are therefore better suited to larger areas of crops aimed at the market: for towns or export. Small-scale irrigation is easier to distribute over the territory. It is a good system for ensuring food security for smallholder farmers who face the risk of water shortages. But care needs to be taken here – it is often said that what is small is less expensive. In actual fact, there is no evidence to suggest that when worked out per hectare irrigated, small-scale irrigation is cheaper than that of large farms. You have to take into account the other services provided by dams: electricty production, controlling floods, supplying drinking water… which enable the cost of the investment to be distributed. So the choice of techniques for managing water depends on several factors that vary according to the context.” Trained as an agronomic engineer, Jean-Marc faurès has dedicated most of his career to improving water productivity in agriculture, especially in Mediterranean regions. He works at FAO’s land and water division in Rome, where he deals with issues of agricultural hydraulics. been developed for crop cultivation and produce several harvests a year. To ensure better use of water and reduce erosion, small-scale farmers have also introduced various systems on their plots. As well as zaï, a technique widely used in Burkina Faso, other systems are being adopted, such as half-moon ditches, bunds and contours made of stones or plants. These techniques are mostly implemented by the farm- ers themselves. They are effective, but only involve small areas of land, except in the case of large-scale projects backed by donors, such as the Keita project in Niger, which has enabled crops to be grown once again in an area made arid through desertification. Making water available is expensive, so it is crucial to make the best possible use of it. The productivity of water used for irrigation – the quantity of food produced or its value, in relation to the amount of water needed and its cost – is something that is now regularly taken into ac- count. “Producing more food with less water” is a common mantra these days. There are several techniques for reduc- ing the amount of water used. First and foremost, proper maintenance of tubes and materials is crucial in order to avoid waste and leakages, which can often cause signifi- cant losses. That is the key role of water committees which group together users. It is also important to use techniques that consume little water (see Spore 137), for example, replacing sprinkler irrigation with drip irrigation. Micro- irrigation supplies small quantities of water directly to the base of the plant, so that it can be directly absorbed by the roots. Choosing crops likely to make good profits from the water invested in them is the final consideration to bear in mind. There are plenty of ways to make sure that water really is tomorrow’s blue gold. DossIER AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2010 | SPORE 148 | 1 © S yfi a In te rn at io n al “This dam is the symbol of neighbourliness and soli- darity between my village and the three adjoining ones. We are all very proud”, says Yamba, chief of the village of Lagdwenda, about 20 km from Tenkodogo. As he speaks, he is standing on the dyke, his glance cast back towards the mass of water. Wielding his royal cane, and accom- panied by a dozen farmers, he embarks on a guided tour of the site. At a steady pace, the group strolls around the 8 ha of land shared by 152 producers, of whom 85 are women from the villages of Lagdwenda, Malenga Yarsé, Piroukou and Poessin. “As chief of Lagdwenda this land belongs to me. But I haven’t been selfish, and nor have my people. We have agreed to share it with the neigh- bouring villages”, explains the chief, clearly proud. At this, the start of the farming season, the farm- ers are busy. Some are preparing the land. Others, at a more advanced stage, are sowing their plots. “We produce rice during the humid season, and in the dry season we grow vegetables”, says Adjaratou, a woman farmer from Piroukou. The Lagdwenda dam was built in 2002 and the irriga- tion system installed in 2008. To help manage the system, a local water committee (LWC) made up of seven mem- bers was set up in October 2005 as part of the Boulgou rural development project (PDR/B). Comprised of repre- sentatives from technical services, local authorities and users, the LWC seeks to achieve community management of the dam by spreading information and raising aware- ness among farmers. “All the farmers meet up and decide conditions for use and also how to make the best of and protect the dam’s water resources”, explains LWC Presi- dent Souleymane Sorgho. Putting the village on the map Before the dam was built, Lagdwenda was cut off. No outsiders ever ventured there. With no jobs, the young people left the village for Côte d’Ivoire or Togo. But since then, all this has changed. “We now earn a living by work- ing the land”, says Mahamadi, who came back to the vil- lage in 2009 after 5 years abroad. Now the village has Water solidarity A small irrigation system of 8 ha has changed the lives of people from four villages in central eastern Burkina Faso’s Boulgou province. FIELd REPORT FROM BURKINA FASO From left to right: Adjaratou and her daughter-in-law plant their crops Chief Yamba with members of the local water committee (LWC) The Lagdwenda dam in central-eastern Burkina Faso © J ad e Bu rk in a DossIER 1 | SPORE 148 | AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2010 opened up to the rest of the country. “We have regular visits from people who have come from Ouagadougou or other parts of the country and who come to see what we are doing here”, says the chief. With the backing of the LWC, the farmers can sell their onions as far away as Lomé and are already reaping the rewards. “We have managed to make improvements to our houses and buy oxen to work the land”, says Hélène, who lives in Malenga Yarsé. Each farmer pays an annual contribution of FCFA1,000 (€1.52). “With this money, the LWC has been able to co-fund (ed note: with Danish aid) the building of a shop”, adds LWC treasurer Idrissa. working together But according to agricultural technician Harouna Nikiéma, threats hover over the future of the irrigation system. Rust has attacked the pipes, preventing water from circulating in some of the irrigation tanks. Some are dry, forcing farmers to carry water over a longer dis- tance than before (20 m instead of 5). “It’s a very tough job, especially for women who are elderly or breastfeed- ing”, says Nikiéma. And the water that gushes down the dyke makes gullies so that the plots become silted up. “Some plots cannot easily be farmed now because of the silting. That leads to a lowering of output”, says the technician. The farmers have not given in to these difficulties. “We are organising ourselves to work together on the irriga- tion system”, says Souleymane Sorgho. “But that is not enough because there are some jobs that need heavy equipment and expert help”, says the LWC president, who is hoping for government support. Inoussa Maïga for further infor mation African Water facility http://tinyurl.com/38t5xu9 CTA • Rainwater harvesting for increased pasture production CTA Practical guide n°3 http://tinyurl.com/24nnqlh • The rainwater harvesting CD and booklet (20 pp) ISBN 3-8236-1384-7 CTA number 1092 40 credit points fAo FAO Water www.fao.org/nr/water/index.html AQUASTAT http://tinyurl.com/5zp76r • Water Harvesting in Western and Central Africa http://tinyurl.com/278ugun fARM Foundation for world agriculture and rural life http://tinyurl.com/2uh4rzz gWP Global Water Partnership www.gwpforum.org/servlet/PSP ioWater portal International Office for Water www.oieau.fr/spip.php?sommaire&lang=en searnet Southern & Eastern Africa Rainwater Network http://tinyurl.com/2v9vvyb UndP • Human development Report 2006 beyond scarcity: Power, poverty and the global water crisis http://tinyurl.com/3x6x4qd World bank • irrigation investment needs in sub-saharan Africa Summary: http://tinyurl.com/32pkxcm World Water Council www.worldwatercouncil.org World water forum http://tinyurl.com/cs9xvq © J ad e Bu rk in a © J ad e Bu rk in a DossIER AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2010 | SPORE 148 | 1 Avocado production has soared, but in many ACP countries huge volumes are lost due to spoilage. With the right support, there is a burgeoning market for fruits aimed at the cosmetic and pharmaceutical sectors. Growing consumer acceptance of what was once considered a lux-ury fruit has turned avocados into a dynamic market. Output has accelerated in major producing countries, especially in the South. Market drivers in- clude an increasing awareness of avocados’ nutritional properties and an interest in its potential as a natural ingredient for the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. A highly nutritious food, popular for its deli- cate smooth taste, avocado (Persea ameri- cana) is a fruit that is generally used as a vegetable and makes an excellent weaning food for babies. It is rich in vitamins, min- erals, dietary fibre and antioxidants and contains high levels of healthy monoun- saturated fats. World production of avocados has in- creased more than four-fold over the past four decades, according to FAO. During the past 4 years, total trade has more than dou- bled with Latin America and the Caribbean leading output. The US is the largest im- porter, followed by France, the UK and the Netherlands. South Africa is the EU’s biggest supplier, with Kenya in fourth place behind Mexico and Israel. Avocados present good prospects for small-scale farmers wanting to diversify output and hedge against changing market conditions of traditional crops such as sugar, coffee and bananas. Factors limiting produc- tion include insufficient superior varieties, poor tree crop management practices, inad- equate market information and pests and diseases. The most important of these are anthracnose (Colletotrichum loeosporioides), root rot (Phytophthora cinnamomi) and Cer- cospora leaf spot (Cercospora purpurea). Anthracnose causes over 60% losses, par- ticularly after periods of extended rainfall. Handle with care Support needed by ACP farmers ranges from help with growing new high-yielding varieties to training in processing technologies. Many smallholders need more assistance in meeting phytosanitary regulations stipulated by Euro- pean supermarkets. South African Makgoro Mannya, who farms avocados in the Mieliekloof Valley in Limpopo, sells more than 80% of her out- put to Europe, and a key factor in accessing this market has been help from the South African Avocado Growers’ Association in meeting EUREP- GAP standards. Post-harvest con- servation also poses challenges. Avocados need careful handling and spoilage rates are high. Although Kenya has about 7,500 ha under avocado pro- duction, yielding an annual 81,000 t, some 30,000 to 40,000 t go to waste each year. Trials at the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) have succeeded in slowing production of the ethylene hormone, which is responsible for rip- ening. The technology has increased the shelf- life of avocados from 5 to 10 days and helped to reduce losses of fruit destined for export. Not just skin deep Since many tropical areas produce more fruit than can be eaten or sold, production of oil from the pulp of damaged or surplus fruit can be a useful way of earning extra in- come. One promising development is a new industry led by New Zealand with avocados processed to make top quality culinary oil sold to similar markets as olive oil. The po- tential for avocado in the natural cosmetic industry is likened to that of aloe vera in some quarters. Clinical trials have shown that avocado oil is absorbed by the skin more readily than most other oils, making it a valuable ingredient in cleansing creams, moisturisers, hair conditioners, lipstick, bath oils and make-up bases. Avocado oil is also being increasingly used as a natural sunscreen. Uses in the pharmaceutical sec- tor include topical application to relieve ec- zema and other skin conditions. Oil extraction can present difficulties for small-scale farmers, and the most successful initiatives involve schemes where support is offered for processing and marketing. Kenya’s Business Development Services pro- gramme has helped form avocado growers into groups and assisted them in negotiating supply contracts with processing firms supplying the domestic and export cosmetic market. The scheme also of- fers farmers training in record-keeping and helps them keep supplies of ripe fruit flowing through geographical mapping. The Kenya Avocado Farmers Associa- tion produced more than 780 t of avocado in 2009, for processing oil for creams and sunscreens, to be sold in the Netherlands and South Africa. “My production has more than tripled in the last few years”, said Gitau Mathenge, a farmer from Central Kenya. “Processing factories pay me about ten shillings (€.0.14) for each avo- cado sold to them. The business is lucra- tive unlike in the past when several tonnes would go to waste.” AVOCAdO Health and beauty Avocados on sale at a market in Guinea FoCUs 20 | SPORE 148 | AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2010 © S yfi a In te rn at io na l Mapping a way of life A unique mapping experience that in- volved South Africa’s vhaVenda peo- ple, as well as indigenous people from other parts of the world, has produced a video that charts the process. More than 70 vhaVenda people took part in the exercise to document their natural resources and sacred sites, guided by trainers in eco-cultural mapping from Colombia. Also present were indige- nous leaders from the Colombian Amazon and the Russian Republic of Altai. The case of the vhaVenda people echoes that of many other rural areas in Africa and elsewhere. Like many indigenous people, they have lost communally-owned territories as industrial plantations have expanded and have seen their land, resources, cultural values and sa- cred sites threatened. With support from CTA, women, men and young people from Tshidzivhe community, in Limpopo province spent 6 days exploring ways to map their traditional knowledge and practices for managing their natural resourc- es. The process involved the whole commu- nity, especially the elders and the makhadzis, women custodians of sacred sites. Trainees from Kenya and Ethiopia also took part and hope to carry out similar work- shops in their respective countries in 2010. reviving our Culture, mapping our Future, African Biodiversity Network/Gaia Foundation/Mupo Foundation/CTA watch the video at: http://vimeo.com/12401127 process contributing to better livelihoods and helping to safeguard biodiversity. Hidden resources Non-timber Forest products for livelihood improvement and biodiversity conservation Documenting Kenyan experiences CTA/AGROMISA/PELUM, 2010. 64 pp. ISBN 978-90-8573-118-4 CTA number 1577 10 credit points better sales techniques One of the main difficulties cited by crop farmers and livestock keepers is selling their products for a good price. Mar- ket access is in itself a problem for many smallholders. Many also face problems in getting what they consider a fair return for their labours. The presence of middle-men, price fluctuations and disorganised supply chains are all frequent complaints. In order to overcome these problems, some farmers have developed individual and collective ini- tiatives. But these remain too few in number, and there is scant knowledge about how and where they operate. Against this background, Inter-Réseaux Développement Rural, a forum for rural development in the South, launched a pro- gramme to investigate these issues. The document produced as a result of the in- quiry is designed as a resource compendium of methods and tools used to create differ- ent forms of debate and exchange. Much of the space is devoted to case studies of initiatives run by farmers and their support organisations to help improve marketing of their products. Among them are examples of cashew nut producers in Benin, farmers and women processors in Burkina Faso who are organising the marketing of white rice, and contracts that are being set up between onion farmers in Burkina Faso and buyers in Ghana. market access and agricultural product marketing: promoting farmer initiatives Edited by P delmas & A Lothoré AFd/CTA/Inter- réseaux, 2010. 168 pp. ISBN 978-92-9081- 433-7 CTA number 1580 20 credit points Forests and biodiversity One of the most alarming results of the degradation of Kenya’s forests has been the erosion of water reserves and biodiversity. The experiences documented here show how communities living near forest areas have developed activities for Non-Timber Forest Products, in the Inventory of plant resources This publication forms the skeleton of the PROTA Databank, being a checklist of the plant resources of Tropical Africa. It presents 8,681 species, replacing the Basic list of species published in 2002, which listed just 6,376 species. It is aimed at specialists in the sector. updated list of species and commodity grouping in the prOtA series CTA/PROTA, 2010. 392 pp. ISBN 978-92-9081-431-3 CTA number 1568 40 credit points Valuing biodiversity Existing and predicted trends in climate change are increasing pressure on resource managers and policy makers to find new and creative ways of building adaptability and resilience into rural landscapes, while at the same time increasing agricultural output. Much of the current innovation in environ- mental policy is focused on experimenting with market-based instruments (MBIs). The use of MBIs recognises that natural resourc- es, such as agrobiodiversity, are too complex to be effectively managed through regulatory measures alone. Not everyone agrees with this approach, however, and a fierce debate is raging between proponents and critics. With plenty of case studies, including some from ACP countries, the chapters ex- plore relationships between the exploitation and conservation of agricultural biodiversity and the livelihoods of agricultural communi- ties. The book looks closely at the contribu- tion of ecosystem services when it comes to placing a value on biodiversity in the market- place. Several chapters assess the potential for MBIs to encourage the protection of bio- diversity, while others focus on the success of innovative non-market initiatives in conserv- ing agrobiodiversity for rural communities. ■ Agriculture, biodiversity and markets: Livelihoods and Agroecology in Comparative perspective Edited by d Carpenter & S Lockie Earthscan, 2010. 336 pp. ISBN 978-1-84407-776-2 US$96 • €79 Earthscan dunstan house 14a St Cross Street London, C1N 8XA, UK Fax: +44 (0)20 7242 1474 www.earthscan.co.uk PUBLICATIoNs AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2010 | SPORE 148 | 21 PUBLICATIoNs Making lighter work While men in many rural countries now often have access to some form of technol- ogy for farming and processing, women gen- erally struggle through their long days using traditional methods that are highly intensive in terms of labour, time and energy. Domes- tic chores such as collecting wood and water take up precious amounts of time that could be used to improve household income and food security. Yet a wide range of technologies now ex- ists, many of which could help address some of women’s labour constraints. Here, some of the devices are explained and reviewed. Among them are improved stoves, rainwater harvesting systems, hoes, planters and grind- ing mills. Also examined are techniques such as conservation agriculture that can reduce the time needed for labour-intensive tasks such as weeding, and oil-seed presses and oth- er processing equipment that can help women earn more revenue with less effort. Examples include a fish smoker in Ghana that enables women to process three times as many fish in one day, and a mechanical grater now used by women in Nigeria to prepare cassava for the popular convenience food gari. ■ Lightening the Load: Labour- saving technologies and practices for rural Women By M Carr & M hartl Practical Action/IFAd, 2010. 96 pp. ISBN 978-185339-689-2 GBP22.49 • €27 Practical Action Publishing Bourton hall Bourton-on-dunsmore Rugby warwickshire CV23 9QZ, UK Fax: +44 1926 634502 publishingorders@ practicalaction.org.uk www.developmentbookshop.com Agreeing about water People involved in managing water are increasingly called upon to negotiate workable agreements to use, distribute and care for this precious resource. Help is at hand to reach effective agreements with this explanation of constructive approaches to fairer water allocation. Negotiate: reaching agreements over water Edited by J dore, J Robinson & M Smith IUCN, 2010. 120 pp. ISBN 978-2-8317-1028-0 US$25 • €20.50 For Earthprint’s address, see page 24 gone fishing Industrial overfishing has taken a heavy toll on fish stocks in the oceans of ACP regions. Depletion affects nearshore subsistence fish- ers, whose contribution to the informal econ- omy, nutrition and the community is often overlooked. Growing evidence is emerging of serious collateral damage to marine environ- ments due to degradation of the seabed and through climate change. This analysis, based on contributions from 24 fishery experts, of- fers a detailed account of the current situation and calls on leaders, scientists, fishers and en- vironmentalists to take action, to save marine capture fisheries and the many communities that depend on them for food and jobs. Although the picture painted is bleak, it is not entirely without hope. The authors also highlight successes in the struggle against ille- gal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU), as well as increases in inshore stocks due to well-managed marine protected areas (MPAs) in places such as Belize and Fiji and examples of effective rights-based management. Topics covered in this wide-ranging book in- clude the World Trade Organization’s negotia- tions on fishing subsidies, the impact of Pacific traditional law on Pacific fisheries, regional management in the Caribbean and the effects of climate change on Caribbean fisheries. ■ From Hook to plate: the state of marine Fisheries - A Commonwealth perspective Edited by R Bourne & M Collins Commonwealth Publications, 2010. 256 pp. ISBN 978-0-903850-37-7 US$26.95 • €22 Commonwealth Secretariat Marlborough house, Pall Mall London Sw1Y 5hX , UK Fax: 44 (0)20 7839 9081 www.thecommonwealth.org Eyeing-up land This report focuses on four cases of what it describes as land grabbing by foreign firms in Kenya and Mozambique. It contributes to the debate about the lease or purchase of agricultural land by outsiders and investigates impacts that include forced evictions of rural communities from their agricultural lands, pastures, forests and fishing grounds. Land grabbing in Kenya and mozambique FIAN, 2010, 44 pp. downloadable as a PdF file from: http://tinyurl.com/2w3phct Community forests Recent years have seen an increasing share of forest resources turned over to communities for ownership or management. Since 2002, 15 of the world’s 30 most forested countries have increased the forest area available for hus- banding by local groups. Among the reasons for this global trend is the growing recognition that conservation, sustainability and better livelihoods for those who depend on forests may be complementary goals. Here, a 3-year study carried out in ten countries and three re- gions – Africa, Asia and Latin America – seeks to assess the impact of these improved local for- est rights. Through detailed research, includ- ing investigations in Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Ghana, the book asks two key questions: Do stronger community rights help local peo- ple to derive more benefits from forests? And do they strengthen incentives for sustainable forest management and protection? The answer appears to depend largely on each individual case and location. While in many cases these rights have been significant, new statutory rights do not automatically re- sult in a greater say in how forests – and their by-products – are managed. The implementa- tion phase has faced obstacles just about eve- rywhere, though organised communities have generally fared better in defending their rights. The studies also assess opportunities and hur- dles regarding markets for forest products and the effects these issues have on incomes. ■ Forests for people: Community rights and Forest tenure reform Edited by d Barry, G R dahal, A M Larson & C J Pierce Colfer Earthscan, 2010. 294 pp. ISBN 978-1-84407-918-6 US$39.95 • €33 For Earthscan’s address, see page 21 Managing grasslands A report from FAO reviews the opportunities and challenges for grassland carbon sequestration, a practice that can improve productivity, leading to more forage and enhanced incomes for livestock keepers. It also identifies ways of fostering the inclusion of grasslands in future climate agreements to promote longer term adaptation to climate change. Challenges and opportunities for carbon sequestration in grassland systems: A technical report on grassland management and climate mitigation. FAO, 2010. 64 pp. ISBN 978-92-5-106494-8 US$24 • €20 For Earthprint’s address, see page 24 22 | SPORE 148 | AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2010 PUBLICATIoNs Nanofood The advent of nanotechnology has massive potential for new products and applications in a wide range of industrial and consumer sectors, including food. Two books examine the prospects, and weigh up some of the risks. FAO/WHO expert meeting on the application of nanotechnologies in the food and agriculture sectors: potential food safety implications FAO, 2010. 130 pp. ISBN 978-92-5-106506-8 US$30 • €24.50 Nanotechnologies in Food Edited by L Castle, Q Chaudhry & R watkins RSC Publishing, 2010. 224 pp. ISBN 978-0-85404-169-5 GBP110 • €130 RSC Publishing Thomas Graham house Science Park Milton Road Cambridge CB4 0wF UK Fax: +44 (0)1223 423623 www.rsc.org/books Value chain finance Like large producers and traders, small-scale producers also need access to appropriate finan- cial services to get the most out of the products they have to offer. Cash flow problems rank as one of the major obstacles for smallholders to obtaining higher revenues from sales and value addition. Farmers want to be paid immediately, but traders do not have the ready cash to buy their produce. Traders need working capital so they can buy and transport produce, but lack the collateral to get loans. Processors cannot get the money they need to buy equipment or ensure a steady supply of inputs. These difficul- ties are compounded by the reluctance of most banks and microfinance institutions to become involved in rural finance, perceiving it as risky and costly, with cash flow requirements that are irregular and difficult to manage. Value chain finance can offer solutions to such dilemmas. Explained here in clear terms, this approach involves linking specialised fi- nancial institutions to the value chain so they can offer services that build on business rela- tions. A bank may loan money to a trader be- cause the trader has a regular supply of pro- duce from a farmers’ group and a supermarket as a loyal customer. With examples to show how this innovative system can work in prac- tice, chapters include financing rice farming in Rwanda, financing the honey chain in Kitui, eastern Kenya and the soybean value chain in Ethiopia. A final section lists organisations, websites and publications that focus on value chain finance. It also gives the contact details of the people who contributed to the book. ■ Value chain finance: beyond microfinance for rural entrepreneurs KIT/IIRR, 2010. 280 pp. ISBN 978-94-6022-055-5 - €25 KIT Publishers PO Box 95001, 1090 hA Amsterdam, The Netherlands www.kit.nl - publishers@kit.nl sustainable investments With growing investment in agriculture, mining and petroleum projects, there is an increasing need to ensure that the terms benefit rather than undermine local communities. This guide discusses ways to structure investment contracts so as to safeguard sustainable development. It can be used as a background document for training sessions or for individual readers interested in learning more about this important issue. Investment contracts and sustainable development: How to make contracts for fairer and more sustainable natural resource investments. By L Cotula IIEd, 2010.104 pp. ISBN 978-1-84369-765-7 US$25 • €20.50 For Earthprint’s address, see page 24 Crop by crop Still on the subject of biofuels, a new guide offers extensive coverage of more than 80 of the main crop species known to be suit- able for producing bio-energy. For each crop, it gives a brief description and outlines the methods of propagation, management, har- vesting, handling and storage, processing and use. Selected references are presented in each case. Other chapters give a detailed overview of biomass and its energy potential, including practical information on harvesting, trans- port and storage as well as conversion tech- nologies. Although this is mainly a factual reference guide, the book does not ignore the social and environmental issues sur- rounding biofuels, including the controversy over competition for food crops. Armed with facts and figures, it urges more investment in bioenergy crops as a lever for rural develop- ment and a source of clean energy. ■ Handbook of bioenergy Crops: A Complete reference to species, Development and Applications By N El Bassam Earthscan, 2010. 548 pp. ISBN 978-1-84407- 854-7 US$240 • €195 For Earthscan’s address, see page 21 Electronic library Infonet-biovision.org is a web-based information tool offering trainers, extension workers and farmers, mainly in Africa, access to up-to-date information in issues such as crop management, diseases, pests and environmenally sound technologies. The information is available on CD-ROM. Farmer Innovation platform Infonet-Biovision, 2010. Cd-ROM Free except postage Infonet-Biovision c/o ICIPE, PO Box 30772-00100, Nairobi, Kenya infonet@icipe.org www.infonet-biovision.org A bio-future The production of biofuels has soared in recent years as a reaction to rising oil prices, and in response to pressure to reduce green- house gas emissions. One of the most obvious impacts of this development has been a lively debate on crop availability and prices and the role biofuels play in this. Analysing the extent to which biofuels compete with food production, the authors weigh up some of the pros and cons of biofuels. They also go much further. The book discusses a series of other technologies that allow significant amounts of fossil fuels to be replaced by biomass. Starting with an overview of the major bio- based technologies, including production of biofuels, biogas, biomass feedstocks for chem- istry and bioplastics, the authors explain how the markets work and the implications for various stakeholders. They come down firmly on the side of the new bio-based economy, claiming that these technologies will allow us to produce, trade, transport and consumer in a more sustainable manner. Whatever one’s opinion, one thing if certain: these new bio- systems will change the way we live. ■ the biobased economy: biofuels, materials and Chemicals in the post-oil era Edited by h Langeveld, M Meeusen & J Sanders Earthscan, 2010. 336 pp. ISBN 978-1-84407-770-0 US$99.95 • €81 For Earthscan’s address, see page 21 LIC TI s AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2010 | SPORE 148 | 23 islanders at risk There is copious research to show that climate change poses a particularly serious threat to Small Island Developing States (SIDS). However, responses have generally failed to match the scale and severity of the danger. Nor has there been a great deal of inquiry into how people living on islands can change their lifestyles and livelihood practices to cushion the effects of global warming. Concentrating mainly on the Pacific Islands, which are already suffering greatly due to climate change, the authors explore ■ some of the reasons behind the slow progress in implementing adaptation poli- cies and strategies in the region. They make a special point of focusing on the people who actually live on these islands, in marked contrast with most studies that examine the risk to the coasts and islands themselves. They suggest that with more ef- forts to understand the social systems and values of island societies, quite a lot could be done to prepare people for what lies in store, and to help them protect their fami- lies, homes and incomes. Climate Change and small Island states: power, Knowledge and the south pacific By J Barnett & J Campbell Earthscan, 2010. 232 pp. ISBN 978-18-4- 407494-5 GBP49.99 • €56 For Earthscan’s address, see page 21 smart solutions A new book on water policy answers the urgent call for smart policy and investment solutions to the developing world’s water resource challenges. It examines the interplay between globalisation, water management, and food security, and recommends innovative approaches to water management. global Change: Impacts on Water and Food security Edited by A Biswas, S Cline & C Ringler IFPRI/Springer, 2010. 266 pp. ISBN 978-3-642-04614-8 GBP90 • €108 Springer Berlin heidelberg www.springerlink.com springerlink@springer.com downloadable as a PdF file from: http://tinyurl.com/2wjh5cy HOW tO ObtAIN pubLICAtIONs CTA publications mentioned in spore are marked by the green leaf symbol, and these are available free-of-charge to subscribers to CTA’s Publications distribution Service (PdS). Other readers can buy these titles from CTA’s commercial distributor. Only agricultural and rural development organisations and individuals resident in ACP countries can apply for PdS subscriptions. Each PdS subscriber is assigned a certain number of credit points annually for purchasing publications on CTA’s list. The list of CTA publications can be consulted on CTA’s electronic catalogue: www.cta.int All other publications, indicated by a square, are available from the publishers listed, or through commercial booksellers. Commercial distributor SMI (distribution Services) Ltd PO Box 119 Stevenage hertfordshire SG1 4TP United Kingdom Fax: + 44 1438 748844 Email: CTA@earthprint.co.uk website: www.earthprint.com safer pork A guide to biosecurity measures throughout the pork production and marketing chain aims to prevent and control animal diseases that are known to spread primarily through human activities. Particularly drawn up for pig farmers in developing countries, but also for veterinary and technical service providers, it offers guidelines and recommendations to make pork production safer. good practices for biosecurity in the pig sector: Issues and options in developing and transition countries FAO/world Organization for Animal health/world Bank, 2010. 92 pp. ISBN 978-92-5-106507-5 US$20 • €16.50 Earthprint Ltd PO Box 119 Stevenage hertfordshire SG1 4TP - UK Fax: +44 1438 748 844 customerservices@earthprint.com http://www.earthprint.com Women and trade Trade can have a massive impact on ru- ral women, in both a positive and a negative sense. This book goes straight to the heart of the matter by homing in on 20 case studies, which pull together the links between trade, gender and economic development. Half of the examples chosen focus on the gender impacts of trade policies, examining the dif- ferent consequences for men and women. In this section you can read about the effects of tariff reductions on sugar in Kenya, the gender impacts of trade liberalisation on the Jamaican poultry industry and the effects of changing trade regimes on the St Lucian ba- nana industry. The other case studies look at women who have linked up with global markets – includ- ing FairTrade, organic, niche and mainstream outlets. It examines how they have done this and looks at their support networks, which range from governments to NGOs and from people’s organisations to the private sector. ACP women who have managed to tap for- eign markets include producers of natural skin and hair products in Fiji, honey produc- ers in Uganda and women from Swaziland who have landed export contracts for their indigenous products. ■ trading stories: experiences with gender and trade Edited by M Carr & M williams Commonwealth Publications, 2010. 282 pp. ISBN 978-0-85092-873-0 GBP20 • €24 For Commonwealth Publications’ address, see page 22 PUBLICATIoNs 24 | SPORE 148 | AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2010 CARIBBEAN YOUTh Take up your video cameras! 1 How is a telecentre useful to rural communities? Information is a public good. By offering collective information and communication services, telecentres play a crucial role in narrowing the knowledge gap. It is an important step towards modernisation and development for rural areas, which are generally isolated and disadvantaged.  qUEsTions foR KodA TRAoRé on the rise of telecentres in Africa Coordinator of CTA’s ICT4Dev programme, Koda Traoré has a degree in Information Science from the University of Benin and in ICT and Development from the University of Limoges. In 1994 he was seconded to CTA from the Ministry of Agriculture in Niger. Having coordinated various information programmes at the Centre, among them the Virtual Resources Centre, the Question-and-Answer Service and the Rural Radio Packs Programme, he is currently in charge of CTA’s Rural Telecentre Programme. My 5 dates 1974 Major drought in Niger 1984 Meeting with Cheikh Anta-diop, Senegalese writer and anthropologist 1993 First multi-party elections in Niger 1999 Visit to Gorée Island, a tragic reminder of the slave trade 2008 Election of Barack Obama in the USA Young West Indians, video is an ideal tool for discovering the world of science and farming. Get to know more about what is involved in agriculture by taking part in our new video competition and, camera in hand, do your bit to support scientific and technological innovation for rural and agricultural development. (read page 26) 2 Are there enough telecentres in ACP countries and are they easily accessible? There has been a sharp rise in the number of telecentres over the past 20 years. Many are situated in urban and peri- urban areas, but numbers have increased significantly in rural areas as well. Access varies according to individual countries. It generally depends on questions linked to gender or rural poverty, which often limit the use of telecentres. 3 What constraints do they face? Telecentres face serious problems of sustainability and viability. On the economic front, for example, they have difficulty in finding suitable management systems that would enable them to generate revenue, deal with competition from the big firms and adapt to technological changes. 4 Do they work together to supply larger volumes of information? Yes, to a certain extent, through exchanges of experience and training conducted by national, regional and international networks. On the other hand, they do not have enough links with other national agricultural systems, such as extension and research. That is an important source of information which unfortunately is still used very little. 5 How can the use of telecentres be developed? Improvements in telecommunication infrastructure and the liberalisation of this sector in ACP countries open interesting perspectives for public-private partnerships. More needs to be done to integrate telecentres with information and agricultural knowledge systems. They need more direction so that they become a crossroads for knowledge at the service of communities. They should also work as real companies – with a social vocation of course, but governed by strict rules based on healthy management. NEws FRoM CTA www.cta.int AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2010 | SPORE 148 | 2 © C TA G er n ot H ub er © L AI F- RE A • CTA will take part  in the International  Book Fair scheduled  for Nairobi, Kenya, in  September. Together with  Oxfam, it will organise  a workshop on digital  publishing • Speaking  to ACP ambassadors, the  Centre’s Director, Michael  Hailu, called for more  support for agriculture to  help tackle poverty more  effectively • The Brussels  Briefing on 15 September will be on funding for  rural development • Take  up your mice! We are  organising a series of  12 training sessions on Web 2.0, open to all, in five countries of Central and West Africa • CTA  will soon be evaluating  the Question-and-Answer   centres that it funds. The  aim is to ensure that they  continue to be effective and dynamic • Confirmation of co-publishing partnership  with Engineers without  Borders in Cameroon. SMS Agriculture is celebrated each year in the Caribbean. In October, Grenada will welcome participants from a wide range of backgrounds: ministries of agriculture, rep- resentatives of regional organisations and associations, researchers, journalists and media professionals and agricultural entre- prises. The Caribbean Week of Agriculture en- ables all those involved in the agriculture sector to meet and exchange opinions. It also offers the opportunity for pro- ducers and politicians to make direct contact. There is an action- packed agenda for the week: a meeting of the region’s Ministers for Agriculture, technical workshops, round tables with journalists, displays of agricultural products and cultural events. CTA will be busy too! As al- ways, it will play a full role in all the activities and will jointly organise a roundtable on agricul- tural issues, a briefing on agricultural enterprise, and a planning meeting with regional media. The Centre will also put its publications on display. If you are interest- ed or want to find out more about activities planned by CTA for the Week of Agriculture, contact José Felipe Fonseca: fonseca@cta.int CARIBBEAN YOUTh Take up your video cameras! People, water and ICTs is the theme of the photo contest that we are organising as part of our annual seminar in November 2010. Would you like to take part? Just click on http:// annualseminar2010.cta to post your photo or to vote for your favourite photo. The first prize? A digital camera and the opportunity to participate – all expenses paid – in the annual seminar on water man- agement for sustainable development in Pretoria, South Africa , where the best photos will also be on display. wEEK OF AGRICULTURE Rendez-vous in the Caribbean PhOTO CONTEST Ready, set, click! (continued from page 25) It is not enough to be trained in science, technology and bet- ter use of scientific and technical informa- tion. It is also important to know how to diffuse information and use it to good ef- fect. Here, information and communication technologies (ICT) play a key role. Our con- test, which is being jointly organised with our Caribbean partners, seeks to promote the importance of science, technology and innovation for improving agricultural output and stimulating eco- nomic development. If you are between 18 and 35 years old, involved in agriculture, agri-business, economic or rural development, natural sciences, engineering or communications in the Car- ibbean; if you are creative and enjoy communicating; if you love making videos, don’t delay – enter the con- test now, but first contact Judith Francis: francis@cta.int B G ar de l © h em is .f r NEws FRoM CTA 2 | SPORE 148 | AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2010 Agricultural leverage On the role of agriculture in economic development and poverty reduction in Africa, mr scott bafeno Athyla writes: “First, the agriculture sector typically accounts for a large share of national income and employment in many developing countries (…). Second, agriculture is an engine of growth and, beyond its contribution to food security and farmer’s income, can have significant leverage on the rest of the economy.” Focusing more specifically on the democratic Republic of Congo, he continues: “Rural roads are literally the foundation of rural development. Good road networks lower the costs of everything else (…). Basic infrastructure and services are particularly weak in most of rural dRC. Lack of access to affordable inputs limits further increases in production and productivity (…). On the consumer side the absence of a functional transport system escalates food costs, aggravating the situation of the urban poor.” Mr Bafeno Athyla also stresses the critical importance of short-term emergency aid and underlines the central issues in delivering such assistance: targeting and helping the most vulnerable to transition into a more productive life. short and long term Our article on fertiliser prompted a number of readers to write to us. One of them, michael rickaille, says: “I agree with Ken and Mathew in promoting the use of organic fertilizer instead of chemical fertilizers. however in deciding on the use of any technology one has to do a cost analysis not only considering the short term but also the long term as well as the sustainability of that technology. So in essence there are advantages and disadvantages to any technology, it is for one to consider the pros and the cons within the context of their goal”. A passion for mapping Reviving our culture, mapping our future, our video on participatory mapping (see page 21) has proved very popular, especially on Vimeo (www.vimeo.com/12401127). Juliette mills, business development coordinator at the International Herald Tribune, writes: “Mapping is something we spent a lot of time on in the ‘old fashioned’ English system: I’ve since had a fascination with it. Time in Turkey as a young teenager opened the doors of my imagination when I discovered that different cultures have different ways of illustrating space and time through maps. This interest has resurfaced more recently in relation to information systems design and architecture (...). The dancing ladies brought memories of an extraordinary experience in 1985 when I was an American Field Service scholar. The heteroclite group was up in the italian ‘arrière pays’ of Bolzano (they had not seen foreigners since 1944) and put on a show. My South African camarade, a Zulu princess, spontaneously joined with ThE most extraordinary dance I have ever had the pleasure of assisting. (…). In full apartheid, I had little idea of what it meant for this young lady to be up in the rugged dolomites dancing away. Only after did we talk about what an achievement it was. (…) The video is nicely produced. I’ll social network it.” Public health at stake Christian secke found the article on food standards (spore 141) interesting. having worked in 2007 on the bacteriological quality of street food sold in dakar, he believes that there is still much to be done to improve food quality control, especially in central African countries. Food quality is a public health issue which, he claims, needs to be taken seriously by public authorities. NEws FRoM CTA M@il box Reader services Write to spore CTA — Spore redaction PO Box 380 6700 AJ wageningen The Netherlands Fax: +31 317 460067 Email: spore@cta.int subscribe to spore SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR ThE PRINTEd VERSION ARE: • free to organisations and individuals in ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific) and EU countries: CTA Spore subscriptions PO Box 173 6700 AJ wageningen The Netherlands or spore@cta.int • for other individuals and organisations: €36 annually (6 issues) from commercial distributor (see page 24) SUBSCRIBE TO spoRE E-NOUNCEMENT Subscribe to the free spore email summary (90 Kb) at: http://spore.cta.int or send a blank email to join-spore-en@lists.cta.int For text-only: join-spore-text-en@lists.cta.int SEE spoRE ON A SCREEN • Satellite distribution: capture spore ’n More broadcasts on the Afristar channels of the First Voice International’s multimedia programmes. Further information available from: spore@cta.int Reproduce spore • Articles in spore can be freely reproduced for non-commercial use, if credited as coming from spore. Please send a copy to the editors. • Reproduction for commercial use requires prior permission. AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2010 | SPORE 148 | 2