📅 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…
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Improved clearing is a simple and effective method that helps restore the soil while increasing agricultural productivity. It involves conserving and selecting a few young tree shoots during field preparation, rather than clearing everything. 🎯 Goal: Allow 1 to 3 stems to grow per stump in order to preserve useful vegetation.🛠 How does it work?…
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Greetings from Benin! URBANE’s M36 Consortium meeting is taking place in Cotonou, Benin. Important updates from our 6 Case Studies delivered with excellent results from the work on #synbiotics and #agroecological interventions, the work on the URBANE alternative business models and the interplay factors of disease emergence within the #OneHealth framework. ✔️ Day 1 was…
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Windbreaks are linear structures made up of trees and shrubs, used to protect agricultural areas, homes, and infrastructure from prevailing winds. They reduce wind speed, wind erosion, evapotranspiration, and improve agricultural yields in the protected area. Their effectiveness depends on their height, density, and orientation in relation to the winds. They create a favorable microclimate…
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Attended by the University of Ibadan who presented #urbane and some of the initial results, the conference focused on facilitating discussions on the Okra improvement status. Nigeria is the second largest producer of okra globally and discussions revolved around best practices, research findings, and innovations in okra cultivation, breeding, genomics, agronomy, IPM, nutritional quality, socioeconomic…
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by returning crop residues to the soil.. The Monrado consultancy has established an experimental farm in Benin, where they cultivate their land and raise their animals according to agroecological principles. ♻️ The practices they have implemented include the integration of a legume in crop rotation 🥜, the establishment of 3-year fallows 🌿, stopping the use…
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RNA integrates trees into agro-pastoral systems by preserving young shoots. 🎯 Its objectives are to improve soil fertility and yields, protect land against erosion, restore vegetation cover, produce wood and fodder, and safeguard endangered species. In doing so, it promotes biodiversity, enhances production and income, and increases drought resistance. 👍 Suited to Sahelian and Sudanian…
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Edible forests are an innovative approach to agriculture that combines trees, fruits, and vegetables to enrich biodiversity. 🐦🦋 Why adopt forest gardens?-Combat poverty and desertification: They provide food, create habitats, and revitalize ecosystems. 🌱-Environmental protection: They are part of the Great Green Wall initiative to halt desert expansion and combat climate change. 🌿-Food self-sufficiency: These…
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Francis Tei, is a farmer in Ghana, with a strong interest in agroecology. Francis already uses cover crops in crop rotation and companion planting to protect his crops, maximize biomass production, and reduce the use of chemical inputs (notably nitrogen fertilization). He also practices no-till farming, crop diversification, agroforestry, and adjusts the planting density and…
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Godfrey Nzamujo, the founder of Songhaï Farm in Porto Novo, Benin, based his model on the synergies between crop production, animal husbandry, and fish farming. Waste from one section becomes a raw material in another in the form of bioenergy. Nothing is lost, everything is transformed! This recycling allows for autonomy and efficiency, forming the…
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