Sciences and Technologies for Substainable Agriculture

Conservation and sustainable management of Ricinodendron heudelotii (Baill.) Pierre ex Heckel

2021-10-24T09:56:53+01:00

Ricinodendron heudelotii (Baill.) Pierre ex Heckel is an endemic species from tropical rainforests of Africa, whose edible seeds are very valued popular in Cameroun and Côte d’Ivoire and wood in great demand for sculpture in Benin. The study’s objectives were to perform a critical analysis of the available literature on this species and to highlight the research perspectives for its conservation. Some keywords were typed in the search engine 'Google scholar', in the database '' AGORA '', and specific scientific journals. Some criteria were used to select the relevant publications which were used for this review: this concerns, among other things, the relevance of the information source, the relevance and repeatability of the methodology used and the relevance of the results obtained. The analysis of the literature showed that R. heudelotii has a very high socio-cultural and economic value and an agroforestry potential that remains to be valued. Further studies are needed on about the reproductive biology of the species, the opportunities for genetic improvement offered by the existence of great intraspecific variability, the impact of climate change on the geographical range of the species, the distribution of ethnobiological knowledge among various sociolinguistic groups, constraints related to its domestication and the ecological and sociocultural factors that influence its conservation.

Characteristics of baobab pulp-based foods from urban areas of Benin

2021-10-01T08:38:14+01:00

Baobab is a multipurpose tree, with nutritional importance to African rural populations, and several products are derived from its fruit. The dehulled fruit delivers a pulp used for food processing. The present study aimed to characterize the baobab pulp derived products encountered in food outlets in Benin. Pulp based foods were inventoried and characterized for their physico-chemical composition, through the determinations of pH, Brix value, dry matter, color and their microflora, through the mesophilic aerobic germs and the enterobacteriaceae. The pH, Brix value, dry matter and color were assessed using potentiometric, refractometric, gravimetric methods, and the chromameter respectively; the microflora was evaluated by colony count method. Surveying the food outlets of the four dominant cities, nectars, syrups and pulp were noticed as the main baobab fruit pulp products commercialized. The pH, Brix value, dry matter of these foods, ranged between 3.3-3.7, 5.7-20.9 °Bx and 6.7-19.4 g/100g for nectars, 3.3-3.5, 58-69 °Bx and 52-58 g/100g for syrups, and 3.3-3.4, 54.5-61.5 °Bx, 84.0-90.8 g/100g for pulps. The color was orange for nectars, red for syrups and from orange to yellow for pulp, based on their hue value. Mesophilic aerobic germs and Enterobacteriaceae count in pulps ranged from 3.4-5.0 log CFU/g and <1-3.2 log CFU/g respectively. The baobab pulp derived products, namely the nectar, the pulp and the syrup, possess a strong variability in their quality, and the understanding of the processing and storage techniques will contribute to develop suitable technologies for each baobab pulp derived product.

Modeling of the dynamics of the occupation of rangelands of the transhumant in the Lower and Middle Ouémé Valley (Benin)

2021-09-09T13:00:33+01:00

The land unit’s use of rangelands of the Lower and Middle Valley of the Oueme (BMVO) in Benin does not follow rationality for sustainable productivity. The present study aims to analyze the spatial-temporal changes in the land use of rangelands and to model this dynamic. In this frame, Landsat ETM images from 1998, Landsat OLI 8 from 2008 and 2018 were used to map the land use units of the BMVO with QGis software. The CA_MARKOV model under IDRISI was used to model the spatial-temporal dynamics in 2035 and 2050. Dense forests, open forests and wooded savannas that have occupied 6.21% and 18.33% of the area in 1998, are gradually reduced to 1.06% and 0.28% in 2018. The areas of gallery forests (4.79%) and wooded and shrub savannas (16.01%) in 1998 decreased to occupy respectively 1.39% and 5.80% of area in 2018. Predictive modeling for 2035 and 2050 has shown that the BMVO rangelands will be dominated by urban areas; tree plantations and fields and fallows to the detriment of natural vegetation if current practices of natural resource use are maintained. Human pressures on natural resources combined with climate variability are the main causes of these landscape changes. The establishment of a new land use policy aimed at protecting the vegetation cover will allow this projection to be modified.

Prevalence of porcine cysticercosis in informal slaughter areas in Benin

2022-06-27T14:42:08+01:00

Pork meat is well valued and highly consumed by Beninese in the country. It is typically produced in an unsafe farming system that involves stray animals with poor health conditions. Also, the preparation of this meat is always devoid of standard procedure with respect to the official slaughter circuit and is generally done on informal private slaughter areas. This situation is to expose consumers to high risks of meat contamination with Tænia solium larva. In order to estimate the value of this risk, a parasite screening exercise was carried out, between March 2020 and January 2021, on 790 pigs which were intended for mass catering and prepared in private slaughter areas. Ante-mortem (tongue examination) and post-mortem (health inspection) were carried out for this purpose. The result of the study revealed that the overall prevalence of porcine cysticercosis is 7.83% nationally. Significant variations (p<0.05) determined by region, farming method, breed and age of pigs have been established. The Center and the Northern parts of the country represent the zone with the greatest risk in terms of prevalence which is 10.64% and 8.05%. This study further showed the systematic nature of the danger and requires that the control of this zoonosis be established as a primary public health issue.