URBANE 🇪🇺 and CIRAD 🇧🇯 discussion collaboration 🥬

📅 June 2025

📍 Republic du Benin

🤝 URBANE project & CIRAD (Centre de coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le développement)

We are pleased to announce we had fruitful discussions between URBANE partners and CIRAD which aimed at enhancing agroecological research and innovation in Africa. These discussions will leverage real-time plant health monitoring technologies to assess the impact of sustainable farming practices on crop performance and resilience in smallholder systems.

A Shared Vision for Agroecology

The collaboration centers on a shared mission to:

• Promote data-driven, low-input agriculture
• Empower local research teams and farmers with real-time diagnostic tools
• Evaluate and optimize soil fertility, crop health, and ecosystem services

Through this initiative, CIRAD and URBANE are bridging the gap between scientific research and practical field applications, with a strong emphasis on participatory methods and local capacity building.

Some discussion highlights

• Implementation of URBANE suggested protocols:
  • Deployment of SENSEEN NutriScope scanners to monitor plant nutrients, Brix, pH, and redox potential in diverse cropping systems.
  • On-farm trials assessing organic soil amendments, intercropping, and climate-resilient practices.
• Real-time feedback loops between farmers and researchers for adaptive management.
• Technical support and training for CIRAD agronomists and field technicians in diagnostic use and data interpretation. Take into account lessons from EU project SafeVeg ( https://avrdc.org/download/project-support/safeveg/SafeVeg-2023-booklet.pdf)

Strengthening Regional Capacity

This partnership reflects URBANE’s commitment to supporting West African agroecological transitions through scalable technologies and collaborative science. CIRAD’s long-standing presence and research infrastructure in Benin make it an ideal partner to pilot innovations and co-develop solutions tailored to local needs.

Field Updates Coming Soon!

Teams are now actively collecting baseline data and preparing for the planting phase. We’ll be sharing images, findings, and field insights as the project unfolds.