Livestock plays a central economic role in Niger, but it is highly vulnerable due to the high inter-annual variability of rain and hence pasture production. This study aims to develop an approach for mapping pasture biomass production to support activities of the Niger Ministry of Livestock for effective pasture management. Our approach utilises the observed spatiotemporal variability of biomas...

Cowpea [(Vigna unguiculata L.) Walp. (Fabaceae)] is the most important food legume grown throughout West Africa. The seeds of this legume protein source are the least expensive for most African populations. However, cowpea production is severely limited by the losses (60-70%) caused by Callosobruchus maculatus F. (Coleoptera: Bruchidae). Whereas many studies have been devoted to the ecology of ...

The seasonal abundance of African Invader fly, Bactrocera invadens and the influence of temperature and rainfall on fly catches was determined in two agro ecological zones; moist semi-deciduous forest area and the coastal grassland area of the Volta Region of Ghana for year of mango production. Traps containing methyl eugenol were used in monitoring the abundance of the Africa invader fly, Bact...

In Uganda, wild mushrooms are mainly collected during the rainy season and valued as a traditionally nutritious food by the rural poor. However, their nutritional attributes have not been adequately studied and documented. Comparative nutrient composition of five wild edible mushroom species was determined, namely: P. tenucuilus, T. tyleranus, T. clypeatus, V. speciosa and T. microcarpus of sub...

BACKGROUND Dietary exposure to high levels of the fungal toxin, aflatoxin, occurs in West Africa, where long-term crop storage facilitates fungal growth. METHODS We conducted a cross-sectional study in Benin and Togo to investigate aflatoxin exposure in children around the time of weaning and correlated these data with food consumption, socioeconomic status, agro-ecological zone of residence,...

In many developing countries, limiting factors for development of sustainable production systems include variability in agro-ecological and socio-economic conditions, poor access to geo-referenced data and information, and poor relationship between the civil society, researchers and decision makers. Working with Interactive Development Scenarios (IDS) models may provide a way to plan (agricultu...

The recent empirical literature on economic sustainability of certified export crops shows that certification standards that enhance yields are important for improving farm revenues and farmer welfare. However, limited evidence exists on the impact of organic certification on the adoption of agro-ecological practices. In this study, we use unique farm-level data from Ghana to examine the impact...

Varietal purity and proportions of grains with brown spots, fissured grains, chalky grains andwhole grains in a rice sample are important grain quality attributes influencing consumers'preference and price but little information exist on how these grain quality attributes are affectedby biophysical factors and pre-harvest practices. Several authors have studied in isolation theeffect of biophys...